I can't comment on your work or career, but there are still ways to enjoy entertainment and media after losing vision. I lost mine very suddenly 4.5 years ago when my retinal artery threw a stroke and occluded the blood supply. This happened after several surgeries with complications trying to fix some vision problems I was having and a retina reattachment surgery that didn't take. My eye just gave up one night and that was that.

I was a hardcore gamer as well and am a major movie nut, plus I was an animator and VFX artist for TV, films, and commercials. Hyper visual is the term I use. All that went away in 30 minutes.

Now, I play audio based games and accessible games on my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. I make board games accessible using braille. I relearned how to code and now build accessible websites, test apps, and have become a serious accessibility advocate. My sighted girlfriend and I attend hockey games regularly where I listen to the action with a radio. Movies in the theatre and at home have audio description, as do some TV shows and all Netflix properties, plus Amazon and hulu are getting into that as well. I listen to audiobooks, attend storytelling events, go out to eat, and still do most of the things I used to do when I could see. It's a challenge and it takes hard work and adaptation, but there definitely is life after vision loss.

The Department of Rehab helped me get back into working order, as did the Lighthouse for the Blind here in San Francisco. You have time to learn and adapt, to figure out something you can do career-wise through those and other resources. Learn braille, explore accessible technology such as screen magnification, inverting colors, and screen readers. Orientation and Mobility classes will teach you how to use a cane and navigate your surroundings independently, plus you can learn that even when you are not blind; they just blindfold you for the classes.

When it happens, you will miss your vision. You will miss seeing things and participating in what you used to enjoy. That's all ok, as it's all part of the adaptation process, but you will find new things to do and new ways to enjoy the same things just with different senses.

Get mobility and orientation training. Learn to use public transportation. Learn to use Voice Over on your iphone. Learn Braille up to Grade 2. Those are things that helped me the quickest.

>All we can do is slow it down.

Follow everything by the book. You want to retain as much vision as possible (obviously). Don't be lazy/careless.

You can still listen to movies, play video games (there are audio video games), listen to music. Etc. Find hobbies that don't completely revolve around sight (if you're going 100% blind). There are even blind people that play sighted games on YouTube who are completely blind (using audio cues).

If you love *playing* video games then now is a good time to learn programming & game dev so that you can create video games for yourself (and others) who are blind.

Learn grade 1 & 2 (sort of like levels 1 & 2, don't let the terminology confuse you) braille. Save up for a refreshable braille display. Learn how to use the built-in screen readers on Windows, OS X, Android, & iOS (whichever platforms you use).

There's always a way to "pivot" your sighted career into a blind career. Start now before you don't have a choice.

Like /u/Marconius said: learn to code! This is not the end my friend!

I’ve been blind most of my life and when I wasn’t I didn’t have much vision to start out with.

I think you have got great advice here.

Start out with learning braille first grade 1 and then grade 2. Train your fingers not just your eyes. Learn how to use screen readers voice over on the iphone, voice over on the mac or else nvda or jaws on Pc.

Get a cane and use it learn how to use a cane. It’s easier to get a job if you have a degree as a blind person, but think about something you need to do without vision. There are jobs in the medical field you can do, probably not the one you are doing now, but it also doesn’t sound all that high paying. I know a few medical people are blind, I don’t know them personally but I know they exist. I knew a girl who was going for her md degree who was a blind woman. I heard about a blind doctor who did surgeries. I bet some forms of primary care isn’t too difficult to do if you have good screen reading. I am diabetic and when I go in the doctors just say hi, look at charts and graph and goes good or not good, you need less or more meds. And then you go away. So I imagine something like that is doable. Maybe looking in to a person’s throat may be harder but you may be able to get an assistant. I mean work is still possible if you want to work for it.


Medical transcription is actually a really popular blindie job.


I mean getting out of the medical field is possible too. Go back to school or take what you know and move on to another job.

Get in touch with your state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) office (there may or may not be a separate agency specifically for working with people with visual impairments--it depends on your state and is about 50/50). They are free and will provide services/training/assistive technology to help you keep your job as long as possible and/or help you transition into a new career (including paying for schooling, training, etc). Like others have said, also look into getting vision rehabilitation and O&M training. These will teach you how to get around and do everyday things with low/no vision. You don't have to go through this alone,

Find the local chapter of the National Federation of the Blind and go to a meeting. They will know what local resources exist to get you training with cane travel, screen readers, etc. With the right training you can still hold down a job.

Getting to know others in the blind community will help a lot as you make friends with similar challenges. My NFB chapter has served as a support group of sorts for me in a lot of ways.