Today is October the 13th which means it's World Sight Day!
Aimed at raising awareness of blindness, visual impairment and sight in general, today means a lot to me.
If you don't already know, I have been registered blind since I was a small child. I live with Rod Cone Dystrophy which affects the rods and cones at the back of my eyes and means that I'm at high risk of retinal detachment. It also means I have no central field of vision, ie I look out of the corners of my eyes instead of straight ahead. I'm also very sensitive to light and my vision is incredibly blurry. I also have Nystagmus which makes my eyes wobble uncontrollably and I am severely short-sighted, I can see about three meters without glasses and I have to have print text in about size 18. I also have no depth perception which means when out walking, I trip a lot because the ground looks flat to me.
I will eventually lose the little remaining sight I have. However, I am content with my blindness, after all, it has made me who I am today. Sure, I will never be able to drive, but I have never let my disability stop me. I think that is one of the most important things, not letting anything get in the way of your hopes, dreams and accomplishments.
Being visually impaired is something I have always incorporated into every single thing I do and in every part of my life where I can. Because it is something very personal to me, and I want to be able to show people who are sighted as well as fellow sight-impaired people that sightlessness does not mean you cannot enjoy your life and do exciting things, or that you can't challenge yourself and prove people wrong. You can, you just have to do things a little differently.
One thing that happened to me yesterday that reminded me of my blindness is that I managed to break a glass that splintered into tiny pieces. I cut my hands and had to get the glass out of my skin very carefully. It was an accident, one that anyone could have had. But it just reminded me that I am visually impaired. I do have a lot more accidents than most people because I physically can't see. I also had to remind myself that I am ok, that I am more important than the glass. That doesn't mean it hasn't panicked me, or that I'm worried that the next time I try to do the washing up, it might happen again. Accidents are inevitable, it's just something that happens, and that's ok.
On some days, I would give anything to have better eyesight. But for the majority of the time, I am thankful for my disability. Even though I have bad accidents, I can't keep up with some of my peers and I experience chronic fatigue. Because it has always been part of me. But I also appreciate how important sight is because it can be something people take for granted.
So, on this World Sight Day, you don't always need sight to live. Blind and visually impaired people are living proof of that. But caring for your sight, even if you don't have any or much vision like me is something everyone should practise.
Until the next time.
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