Jackie
What a fantastic article.
All The Best,
Ken
On 6 Nov 2021, at 16:35, Dominique Farrell <dominiqueafarrell@xxxxxxxxx>===========================================================
wrote:
Lovely article my good friend! Thought to share it with you all!
From: irlcom@xxxxxxxxx <irlcom@xxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Tony Sweeney
Sent: 6 November 2021 10:17 am
To: irlcom@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Irlcom] I’ve been going blind since I was 16 – treat me the
same as everyone else, says Donegal woman
I’ve been going blind since I was 16 – treat me the same as everyone
else, says Donegal woman
A WOMAN who started losing her sight at 16 has urged people to treat
those with sight loss the same as everyone else.
Jackie McBrearty, from Donegal, was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa
three years ago, after trying to ignore her failing sight for a long time.
Jackie McBrearty has Retinitis Pigmentosa and Sasha helps her
She had never really been able to see at night and was short-sighted but
when she turned 16, it got much worse.
Jackie said what she wasn’t aware of until is that her mother had spoken
to a specialist when she was a child and knew she would lose her sight
around that age.
But her mother said she hadn’t wanted Jackie to dwell on it and wanted
her to get on with living her life.
Today Jackie can see nothing in her right eye and only shades of light
and dark in her left eye.
Despite several surgeries over the years to try and slow down the loss
of sight, she can now only see what she calls spotlights in her eye.
Thankfully she had good people around her: “When I first lost my sight
at age 16 my family didn’t change their attitude to me.
"They treated me the exact same. Life is the same as having your sight,
except you just have to do things differently.â€
Jackie says her sight loss has made her determined to live independently
and fully.
She said: “I moved to Sligo when I was 18 to a hostel for people
training in the NTDI centre.
"Then I got a flat and a house. I went to Sligo Institute of Technology
and undertook a degree in social care.â€
Originally Jackie had tried to hide her disability, even hiding her
cane, but in 2007, she was matched with her first guide dog, Bangles.
She added: “I now fully accepted my sight loss. In fact, it felt like a
coming out for me!â€
'GARDAI HELPED WALK MY GUIDE DOG'
For Jackie, her three guide dogs – Bangles, Rhum and Sasha – have had a
profound impact on her life.
She continued: “My guide dogs have changed my life for the better. They
have inspired me, kept me company, and given me so much freedom.
"I went from being scared to go walking, to walking along listening to
audio books and relaxing. Having them has been an ice breaker with
people too.
“Gardai were also a massive help during Covid. I rang them up and
explained my guide dog needed a proper run off the leash.
"Normally I would have a friend or family member who could do that but
it wasn’t feasible during the pandemic.
"The guards were just great, coming every day during lockdown. They
still pop in to say hello which is great.â€
SIGHT LOSS STATS
Most recent statistics show that there are almost 272,000 people in
Ireland living with sight loss.
But Jackie, who now lives in Sligo, said she wishes other people would
be more accepting of those who are blind.
She said: “Sight loss doesn’t change or define a person.
"People are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. Just treat
someone the same way as you did before they lost their sight.â€
Fighting Blindness is holding a virtual public engagement day tomorrow
from 10am to 2pm as part of the two-day internationally-renowned Retina
conference event from November 5-6.
REGISTRATION is free at www.fightingblindness.ie
<http://www.fightingblindness.ie> .
The Irish Sun
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