"You don't know it all."
A close call on a walk changed the way Lance thinks about living with vision loss. It reminded him to stay open, keep learning, and keep moving forward.
Hadley
“You don’t know it all.”
Lance: You can't be too sure of yourself, you really have to understand and it's a continuous education of how to read your environment and so on and so forth.
Marc: This is Hadley’s Insights and Sound Bites, where people facing vision loss share what has helped them cope and adjust.
Lance: I'm Lance Farmer and I'm from Oxford, Florida. I have the trifecta, I have glaucoma, macular, and I had a couple of strokes. I have no peripheral vision and a very narrow field of central vision.
So my first clue was in my work, I couldn't see the computer very well, but I just thought I needed new glasses. And I noticed that out in the field I was having more difficulty seeing machinery and so on and so forth. And then one weekend, my wife followed me in her vehicle and I drove home and she said, "Are you okay?" She called me and said, "Are you okay? Are you sleepy?" And I said, "No, I'm not sleepy." She says, "Well, you're all over the road. You're running up on the curb." And I said, "Well, I think I maybe need some new glasses." So then she started really kind of putting two and two together and we went to the doctor and within about three to five minutes in the doctor's chair, he said, "Oh yeah, your driving days are over." And that was the start, it just happened that fast.
Recently I was out walking with my dog on an adventure actually to find a Dairy Queen. I knew where I was at, I knew there was a sidewalk there. So I took my family pet but on the way back, I used my cane to follow the ramp, but long story short, I got out into the center of a four lane highway.
And I came face to face with a semi-truck, screeching its brakes and laying on this air horn and had a near miss there. And that really grounded me to the fact that, you can't be too sure of yourself, you really have to understand and it's a continuous education of how to read your environment and so on and so forth. So I came home, I threw that white cane in the trash and I sat down and I told Bailey, my dog, I said, "I'm done. I'm not walking anymore. We're just going to have to sit here." And that lasted about 30 minutes, regrouped and I took my wearable magnifier back to that corner, looked through the view master of the view and understood the lay of that. So I educated myself and then I got help to how to understand that intersection a little bit more.
And I think that was a turning point for being grounded, not to get ahead of yourself, but also not to give up. You don't know it all. You still have to keep learning, you still have to keep trying, you still have to be aware of your surroundings." So that experience grounded me 100% to you're not done learning,
It was very humbling, very grounding, very ... It was a good turning point to say, "Hey, don't give up, use your skillset, use your tools in your toolbox." You can survive, you can make it happen.
Marc: You never know who might need to hear your story. If you’d like to share with us, just leave us a message on our Insights & Sound Bites voicemail. By calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can use your smartphone or computer and email us a recording to [email protected].
All Episodes
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Episode 94
For Dottie, losing her vision meant giving up many things, and there was one farewell that hit especially hard. But after making a difficult choice to let go of something she loved, Dottie found a new perspective on what she had lost—and gained.
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Episode 93
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Episode 92
As Mary's vision worsened, the life she'd always known began slipping out of reach. She wasn't sure where to turn or what might help. But a chance meeting changed things for her in ways she now hopes to pass on.
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Episode 91
When Susan began losing vision, she grew fearful about the future. But she found a source of hope and courage.
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Episode 90
Early in her journey with vision loss, Char was bitter and angry at the world. But one day, a heartfelt conversation helped her turn a corner and, as she put it, "look at vision loss through different eyes."
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Episode 89
The impact vision loss had on Todd's life was profound. Through cycles of anger and depression, he often took it out on those who cared most about him. Then he started channeling those emotions into a new activity, and that made all the difference for him and his family.
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Episode 88
When Pat was diagnosed with an inherited retinal disease, her doctor told her she wouldn't go completely blind, but her life would change forever. And while it's been a hard road, she's found some things along the way that help.
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Episode 87
Debbie has found a place near her that helps unleash her creative streak and her desire to give back to the community, a place where how much she can see doesn't matter.
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Episode 86
Doug was filled with uncertainty after realizing that the vision he lost was unlikely to be restored. His anxiety grew as the silver bullet he hoped for never materialized. But he did find things that helped him manage and continue to live his life with purpose.
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Episode 85
When Nancy's vision deteriorated to the point that it was challenging to navigate streets of a neighborhood she walked for decades, it was humbling. But a friend's comment surprised and inspired her. Her perspective started to shift.
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Episode 84
Macular degeneration was no stranger to Valerie, her mom had the condition. Early into her own diagnosis of AMD, treatments worked well and her vision remained stable. Over time, however, she noticed more significant changes, which became increasingly challenging both emotionally and physically. That's when she began to change her perspective, and that change made all the difference.
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Episode 83
Scott went to multiple specialists in search of a cure for his eye disease. He would often sit and just think about going blind. But one day a son's random comment took his mind off of everything and reconnected the family.