Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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My mom suddenly went blind and doesn't know what to do (self.Blind)
submitted by Medical_Pomegranate6
Hello Redditors,
My mom mysteriously and suddenly went partially blind/low vision last year. Everything appears painfully bright and blurry to her, she sees color strangely, and says she can't see people's heads (I think maybe she's lost her center of vision?). She can operate a computer/phone if everything is very zoomed in, and she puts her face up to it, but her use of those is pretty limited. Her doctors, even after a year, have been unable to determine the cause of the blindness, and hope for her vision returning is starting to look slim.
She lives alone, and unfortunately does not have any family nearby. She has trouble getting around because she has trouble operating the Uber app and can't see/identify the car approaching, and friends/family aren't around to help her and I'm living in a different country at the moment.
She feels very hopeless and depressed about life. She cannot do anything of the things she used to enjoy doing.
What is someone who suddenly went blind, who lives alone, supposed to do in a situation like this? How does someone learn the skills to cope with blindness, get to the things they need to get to and be productive? Who is she supposed to talk to to get her help and walk her through this very challenging new aspect of her life? She has been mostly talking to the doctors who are trying to diagnose the issue, but they don't seem to be giving her guidance on how to deal with it in the meantime.
Thanks for any help/advice you can provide.
My mom mysteriously and suddenly went partially blind/low vision last year. Everything appears painfully bright and blurry to her, she sees color strangely, and says she can't see people's heads (I think maybe she's lost her center of vision?). She can operate a computer/phone if everything is very zoomed in, and she puts her face up to it, but her use of those is pretty limited. Her doctors, even after a year, have been unable to determine the cause of the blindness, and hope for her vision returning is starting to look slim.
She lives alone, and unfortunately does not have any family nearby. She has trouble getting around because she has trouble operating the Uber app and can't see/identify the car approaching, and friends/family aren't around to help her and I'm living in a different country at the moment.
She feels very hopeless and depressed about life. She cannot do anything of the things she used to enjoy doing.
What is someone who suddenly went blind, who lives alone, supposed to do in a situation like this? How does someone learn the skills to cope with blindness, get to the things they need to get to and be productive? Who is she supposed to talk to to get her help and walk her through this very challenging new aspect of her life? She has been mostly talking to the doctors who are trying to diagnose the issue, but they don't seem to be giving her guidance on how to deal with it in the meantime.
Thanks for any help/advice you can provide.
AllHarlowsEve 9 points 2y ago
What country is she in? There are centers that people can go to after losing vision, as well as governmental agencies that provide training for her in her own home. It'll also affect the designation of if she's legally blind or not, which is the cutoff for these services, typically.
TheYear2046 4 points 2y ago
Exactly this. Country location matters sadly. Although no matter the country, almost all smart phones have an accessibility feature that can turn on a text to speech feature when you swipe on the screen. I'm not blind yet but have degrading eye sight so I'm training myself to use the tech while my eyes are still viable. Tech will be one of her best friends. The quicker she learns it, the less frustration later on. Research convienence and assisstance technology. Check out www.blindnesssupport.com for other resources.
[deleted] 2 points 2y ago
I’m also progressively losing vision and have been trying to figure out what things to learn now. Is there any other tech you’ve found helpful to focus on now?
DogsSureAreSwell 1 points 2y ago
Aira ( https://aira.io ) provides operators that tell you what your phone is pointed at.
There are also now camera/vr visors that redirect a video of what you are facing to your residual vision.
I'm in the assistive not blind community, so that and screen readers is the end of my knowledge.
Our state NFB chapter is very active and helpful.
There are also now camera/vr visors that redirect a video of what you are facing to your residual vision.
I'm in the assistive not blind community, so that and screen readers is the end of my knowledge.
Our state NFB chapter is very active and helpful.
[deleted] 1 points 2y ago
So cool about the visors. I was hoping something like that might exist. My optic nerves are still fine so it feels like maybe in the future they could just bypass the eyes and go straight into that nerve.
TheYear2046 1 points 2y ago
Yay for learning. To be honest, I'm about a year into researching and testing and it's been a continuous hunt to find the most non-broken systems. Apple does a great job but they are not accessible when it comes to price 😭 World Services for the Blind has great info
[deleted] 1 points 2y ago
I’ll check that out, thanks!
Medical_Pomegranate6 [OP] 1 points 2y ago
Thanks everyone. She is in the U.S. I will look into the rehab option. Is this something that she will need to get via her doctor or something she can "self-refer" into?
B-dub31 2 points 2y ago
She needs to see an ophthalmologist to determine what is causing her vision loss. The ophthalmologist can refer her to a low vision specialist, who can in turn set her up with other resources like orientation and mobility training and assistive tech training. One thing that has made a big difference for me is using an Alexa smart device at home. You can link appslike ride hailing to this and use voice control. She can also learn to use her phone via voice control and touch rather than visually.
BlueZone123 1 points 2y ago
If she is in the U.S. she can receive rehab training.
yunibyte 1 points 2y ago
If she is in the US she can get disability and training. A friend of mine had an early onset of similar symptoms and was able to qualify, we are in NJ if it makes any difference. He was diagnosed with LHON’s.
He receives a stipend for disability and though it’s not anything as much as he made while working it helps him out. He was able to enroll into a special school for the blind/visually impaired and where they gave lessons in Braille and mobility training/cane techniques for about 6 months. They seemed to accept students of all ages.
I am not sure the name of the exact program, his siblings and parents helped him enroll.
He receives a stipend for disability and though it’s not anything as much as he made while working it helps him out. He was able to enroll into a special school for the blind/visually impaired and where they gave lessons in Braille and mobility training/cane techniques for about 6 months. They seemed to accept students of all ages.
I am not sure the name of the exact program, his siblings and parents helped him enroll.
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