(CHARLOTTETOWN – Sept. 21, 2011) With the Prince Edward Island election on the horizon, Barbara MacDonald would like to see further investment in CNIB’s vision rehabilitation services, so more Islanders who are blind and partially sighted can have the confidence and freedom to fully participate in life.
In October 2002, the Charlottetown-resident was working as a licensed practical nurse when her life took a frightening and unexpected turn.
“My shift that day was like any other as I began my rounds and chatted with my patients and colleagues. When I bent down to grab something from my cart, my vision became incredibly blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out. It was the last shift I ever worked,” she says.
MacDonald was diagnosed with optic nerve atrophy – resulting from a brain tumor– which reduces the field of vision and affects the ability to see faces, colours and fine details.
She underwent surgery in Halifax to slow the deterioration, however, she lost the majority of her vision later that year.
“I never thought in a million years that at 42, I could lose my vision and my career,” MacDonald says. “After that, little things like going to the grocery store or crossing the street became monumental challenges.”
In what MacDonald describes as a “life-changing decision,” she turned to CNIB, a charity dedicated to helping Islanders who are blind and partially sighted lead full, active lives and see beyond vision loss.
Through the services offered at CNIB, MacDonald participated in a peer-support program that helped her deal with the emotional and social side of losing her sight – and connected her with others in her community who are facing similar circumstances.
“I was working in healthcare for more than 25 years and then all of sudden I felt like my life was over,” she says. “The incredible support and encouragement I received from CNIB helped me realize that I was still the same person, I just had to do those everyday activities in a different way.”
According to MacDonald, there is one CNIB service that has opened an entirely new chapter in her life: orientation and mobility (O&M) lessons that taught her how to travel safely and independently in her community.
Equipped with her new white cane and O&M instructor, MacDonald learned traffic-listening techniques and safe routes around downtown Charlottetown.
MacDonald has also learned to identify the most accessible means to get to and from wherever she wishes to go – whether it is taking a bus or slipping on her snow shoes for her winter walks at a nearby golf course.
“My cane represents my freedom,” she says. “I love being outside and always on the go – I haven’t let my vision loss change that.”
More than 4,000 Islanders have self identified as having functional vision loss and this figure is expected to double in the next 20 years.
MacDonald would like Prince Edward Island’s government to develop a comprehensive vision health strategy that will invest health care dollars in vision rehabilitation services to effectively meet current and future demands.
“More funding means more Islanders like me can learn strategies for cooking again, taking the bus or walking safely with a white cane,” MacDonald says. “We shouldn’t have to rely on a charity for vision rehabilitation; it needs to be a part of our healthcare strategy.”
Baldur Gylfason, CNIB’s vision rehabilitation specialist, also feels the organization’s services are instrumental towards helping Islanders fully participate in life.
“Vision loss costs Islanders $79 million a year,” Gylfason says. “Continued investment in vision rehabilitation services can reduce the personal and economic costs, while improving the quality of life for persons living with chronic vision loss.”
As a former nurse, MacDonald urges all parties to commit to making vision health a priority.
“Government needs to address vision loss as part of its commitment to health care,” she says.
For more information about CNIB’s vision rehabilitation services, call 1.800.563.2641 or visit www.cnib.ca.