Dear LPG, 

I recently read an article about the effect that a blind person is having on one of their friends without even realising it.  The article was not written by the blind person’s friend but by that friend’s daughter who, although it might be argued can see the situation from a pretty subjective point of view, says a lot of things that I can relate to. 

I also have a friend who is blind but she has not let that disability stop her from keeping her life focused.  Among other things, she has always played the piano quite well and decided that if Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles could do it without looking at the notes, she should be able to too.   

I remember her telling me that there are two ways of dealing with any such situation.  She always said that she could either get so upset that she accepted that she would not be able to do anything worthwhile once the darkness hit, or she could start working out what she was going to do with her future.   

She is a very close friend who was given the news of what was going to happen not long before her retirement and I remember spending quite a bit of time with her as she researched the things that she would be able to do once it happened.  I also was there on quite a few occasions when she had a good cry about it and used the words, ‘Why me?’, but for all that, I have no idea about what it really feels like to find out that you are going blind. 

Even though I watched and was there for all the anguish she felt and the hurdles she felt that she needed to jump in order to continue to be satisfied with her life, I can’t begin to understand what she really experienced.   

I think that persevering with her piano playing had a lot to do with her positivity; it gave her something to talk about apart from her blindness and the sense of achievement she is now having after lots of practise and frustration at times, has helped her so much.  

I know that we are not all piano players but I think that having a project or two has made all the difference to my friend.  Even with friends to help and describe the tasks and projects that seeing can make so much easier, it has not been easy for her and watching while the mistakes are made without being able to do much about it can be a challenge for a sighted friend too, but achieving anything has its challenges.   

With that in mind I found a bit of online information about things that the friend of anyone who might be going blind might consider trying their best to get them into.  All the people talking about it happen to be relatively young and some of the activities mentioned might need some serious research, but nothing is impossible if you try. 

AY, Grove Park. 

 

AY offers a few internet ideas…

 

 

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