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I lost about 60% of my visual field and a great deal of my acuity due to optic nerve damage caused by a blood clot in my brain at age 38. Your mom needs to demand to consult a neuro-ophthalmologist immediately. She needs to get everything documented and then as soon as she is able, consult her own specialist for a second opinion. You may have a good malpractice case on your hands. As soon as she gets a diagnosis of legal blindness or confirmation of the true extent of her vision loss, she should apply for disability benefits, because even with clear cut cases it takes months to process. Even if she ultimately returns to work, the SSA provides incentives and resources to help disabled workers return to employment. She also needs to see a low vision specialist. Mine referred to me to services like orientation and mobility training, vocational rehab, tax incentives for the blind, etc. And also keep check on her mental health. I went though a heck of a grief period where I told my wife I wish I had just died. Living with partial sight was initially debilitating and it took a toll on my mental health. After using resources and relearning how to do things and just getting used to living with my limitations, things got easier and even though things are different now,I am thankful I am still here with my family and have a fulfilling life.

Uhm, this is only somewhat related to your question but... shouldn't you be suing the hospital? This is outrageous and absolutely unacceptable. They took away her sight and now they're just not gonna give a rat's ass??

I would get in touch with the local affiliate of the NFB. They were a huge help in my emotional adjustment to blindness. nfb.org

Where are you located?

If you are with her, Netflix has a selection of shows and movies that are audio described. You can check this out in the language section.

First- talk to a lawyer about malpractice and suing the hospital that left the needle in.

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Second- there are lots of products out there to help the visually impaired but most are pricey.

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If you mom has an Iphone or computer there are lots of free apps and you can start on windows by turning on her Speech recognition so she can use the computer offline and on through voice commands. $1

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You ca also download Alexa for free for any PC. $1

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Third and most important is to make yourself available when they need help. Most people want to be independent and older people don't like asking for help even when they really need it. So make it a routine to call your mom a couple times a day to see how things are going and if there is anything she needs and visit as you can to check that the house is safe and clean.

Hi, once she gets home, it would be quite useful to have an Echo device, Alexa can be quite useful. It’s simple to operate once it has been set up. On there, she can listen to music, audio books, pot casts, news, radio stations, play games, and the list is extensive. You can even have it set up so that it’ll make calls to phones or other Alexa units.

blind from birth

I recommend a talking scale, kitchen if she likes cooking, and bathroom if that is something important to her.

braille/large print playing cards so she has something portable that she can do with others.

maybe some sort of liquid indicator at least for the first month or so.

I realize this isn't exactly the kind of response you are looking for, but talk to a lawyer. If they botched her operation, then botched the second one such that it caused her to go blind, then I should hope you can get some compensation. It'll come in handy; there's a lot of expense associated with disability and it's not always covered.

First order of business: hire a good lawyer and sue the hospital.

Second order of business: use the money you receive in compensation to invest in Aira. aira.io. That service is almost equal to actual sight.

I’m the president of one of the local chapters of the national Federation of the blind, Texas affiliate. The national Federation of the blind has lawyers who will consult with you on what you should do, and we also have tons and tons of resources that I can’t even begin to name, just go to www.nfb.org
And there’s plenty of resources there for you. You can become a member of your local chapter for around five dollars a year, and you’ll learn a ton there and can ask many more people some questions as well. And once your mom gets out of the hospital and recovers enough to travel, she can go to the local chapter meetings with you. We do all kinds of things as Federation family members, we definitely advocate for the rights of the blind and visually impaired, and we have plenty of ideas and tons of networking that can be done as well.

When I lost my vision, I immediately went to my Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired office here in Omaha. They were able to help me get started with a white cane, helped me set my phone and computer up to read EVERYTHING to me, and provided a projector for my office so I could do my work.

I also suggest finding information about support groups. I wish I had, since I became visually impaired later in life.

Wait will she still have some sight left? Or is the rest of it going as well? I would invest in a good flashlight. They are so much better these days compared to what you use on your phone.