Lucy’s story
Speakers:
L: Lucy
VS: Voiceover Speaker
VS: Fewer than 1 in 3 hospitals offer support to people newly diagnosed with sight loss. This is Lucy’s story.
L: I’m 26 years old and I was diagnosed with macular degeneration when I was 21.
I was obviously in shock. I didn’t know how to cope. I didn’t really understand anything about my condition. I’d never heard of macular degeneration. So I was there at 21, unable to get a job because people don’t hire you when you’re – well, people wouldn’t hire me once they discovered I was visually impaired. I just didn’t know what I was meant to do. I mean, I wasn’t able to learn to drive, I wasn’t able to – I was barely able to walk down the street by myself.
To be fair, being told I was actually losing my sight – I find it difficult to really explain, because I think my brain has just blocked it out because I was going through such a horrible time. And when you don’t understand how this is meant to work, it’s very difficult to see anything positive, if you don’t understand what your condition is and how that’s going to affect you – whether you’ll be able to survive the rest of your life, because I didn’t know there was support.
It wasn’t until four years after I was diagnosed that I gained support. Four years after I was diagnosed, I gained understanding and help for me to deal with my condition. I am now working in a job that I love, and confident going out and doing everyday tasks.
VS: Every 15 minutes, someone in the UK will be told they are losing their sight. You could help them get the support they need from a sight loss adviser.
L: A sight loss adviser can make a real difference.
VS: Please donate £5 now by texting LUCY to 70800. Thank you. Texts cost £5 + 1 message at your standard network rate.
RNIB – supporting people with sight loss
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rnib.org.uk