you may want to be her partner in this since she will need family and if this is hereditary you may want to be aware as well. I hope she has reached out to the Association for the Blind and her state health department that deals with the blind/visually impaired. Both organizations off support and training. I lost my vision while living in Washington State so this is my reference starting point. They provided me with the correct sun glasses, how to use a hat!! yes that is helpful. Reader for my phone and PC, braille training. Also cane training which is super important to be independent. Sizing the cane to you/her.

You can learn these skills so she has someone to talk with about her challenges or progress. I will also offer any assistance i can provide in support of her new reality. Mike

Look for information regarding a good rehab center for the blind.

https://www.nfb.org/about-us/training-centers

There's a million things I could say and you haven't said whether that 50 per cent is likely to get worse, but if it does then the main thing I'd pass on to your sister is that she will be amazed how okay it can be. I went from normal sight to nothing when I was 19 and I'm never going to be one of those people who tells everyone how great it is. I wouldn't wish it on anyone but the biggest problem is not the disability, it's the being so exhausted from dealing with it all the time while I do other normal life stuff, which I take as a sign I'm doing something right.

I have been asked to mentor three people so far who have all been in what sounds like a similar situation and who have been "fiercely independent" and didn't want all the standard stuff. If that 50 per cent does get worse, what happens depends on the person. Some people just sign up for all the official help and go with it. Other people are not into just going with the crowd, don't like the institutions, find it all a bit stifling. Then they might just want to sit at home and brood on it. Obviously that's not a great idea but that's what I did for way too long, so I can't really complain. I like to think it left me with a pretty decent understanding of what goes on in people's heads, though, especially if they want to do it all on their own terms. That can work and I think actually is a really good thing in general.

Whatever your sister wants to do, help her make it work. There's so much to talk about but the one last thing I'll say is to watch out that it doesn't get to you. The first person I mentored reminded me of me so much that it was quite hard to process for a while. You won't have that experience but you will take a portion of her problems onto yourself and you need to be okay with that.

Stay in touch.

Investigate $1 for an independent person this is very helpful, but as an indipanednt person she probably has done a lot of research. explain your concern for her, then listen.

Alcohol.

Lots of it.