Some history

I am the first person in my family, that we know of, who was born with a visual impairment. The way my Mum told the story, she knew there was something wrong straight away. However, it took some time to convince the medical staff that all was not well. When  I was eventually referred to an ophthalmologist they diagnosed me as being completely blind, having both micro-ophthalmia (small eye) and congenital cataracts in both eyes. Their course of treatment consisted of recommending that my eyes be removed for cosmetic reasons! This conclusion would tend to undermine the story which my mother told but we won't hold that against her! As you can imagine, my parents were very upset to hear this. They both agreed though that removing my eyes was not an option and thank goodness for that.

After a few weeks, my mother noticed that when she laid me down my head would always turn towards the source of the light. It took quite some time to convince the same medical professionals that I was in fact not completely blind. Unfortunately, this still did not mean that there was any treatment available but at least there was hope.

As a child I would go to the hospital for appointments to monitor my eyes and when I was about three years old I was admitted so that they could give me a general anaesthetic to enable the doctors to ascertain how I was able to see anything at all. It turns out that there are microscopic holes or hole (not quite sure which) in my cataracts which I manage to see through. The level of sight I have is very limited, meaning that I am registered blind, but it is definitely better than having no sight at all.

I was born about forty years ago (a girl doesn't want to divulge her exact age!)  and thankfully when my daughter was born, eleven years ago, medical science and attitudes had evolved.

Where to begin?

I don't know about you but I always find it hard to know where to start. There are so many things I would like to say but which should be first? Since I decided to write this blog I haven't been able to get to sleep because all the different ideas I have are buzzing around my head! I say "when I decided" but what I should really say is when my sister finally convinced me it was a good idea and kept me up until she had helped me set it up!

Well, I think the first thing I should say is that I am very happy. This is mostly due to the fact that I have a wonderful family, most especially my amazing husband and two beautiful daughters.

I would like this blog to be a sharing of what it is like to have a visual impairment, both the challenges I face and also the amazing opportunities I have had. I hope that this information will shed some light on what it is like to be blind (at least for me anyway, I can't speak for everyone).

Starting out

First time blogging. I intend to share my thoughts and experiences of both having a visual impairment and raising a child with a similar difficulty.

Please watch this space!