Choking back tears, 76-year-old Carol remembers the moment she finally felt hope again.
After losing much of her sight and feeling alone for months, she walked into CNIB’s Community Hub in London, Ontario, with her husband by her side. There, a CNIB specialist named Vera welcomed her with a caring smile and helped her see for the first time that she wasn’t alone. In fact, there was a whole community of support and resources waiting for her at CNIB.
“It was such a relief after feeling so alone,” Carol says. “Vera was so welcoming.”
The news she wasn’t prepared for
Months earlier, Carol had walked out of an ophthalmologist’s office feeling very differently.
She had just been told, abruptly, that she was going blind. There was no conversation about support and no discussion of what might come next. She left bewildered, not knowing how she would navigate what lay ahead.
“I walked out the door feeling like I’d been told, ‘Okay, there’s nothing more we can do for you. See ya,’” she says.
In the months leading up to that appointment, Carol’s vision had begun to slip away. Living with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, the world grew blurry and distorted, and her peripheral vision slowly disappeared. Before she knew it, even simple, everyday tasks began to feel daunting.
After being told she was losing her sight, Carol felt increasingly alone. She worried about what the future would look like and how she’d manage on her own.
“I was in a real, real bad state,” Carol says. “I cried a lot. I felt like I was going crazy.”
For a long time, Carol remained in that place of fear and sadness, unsure how to move forward. Then everything changed.
Discovering she wasn’t alone
After reaching out to CNIB, Carol’s phone started to ring again and again. Calls came in from CNIB staff across different programs, each one offering information, reassurance, and guidance about supports that could help her move forward.
But it wasn’t until that night at CNIB’s Community Hub in London that Carol truly felt she was going to be okay.
Sitting with Vera, she felt welcomed and heard. They talked through what she was facing and what help was available at CNIB. For the first time since her diagnosis, Carol could imagine what came next.
Before long, she started taking part in CNIB peer support groups, both in person and online. Connecting with others who understood what she was going through was transformative for Carol – helping her feel less isolated while also giving her practical tips from people navigating similar challenges.
“Just knowing there were people who understood made such a difference. You don’t feel so alone,” says Carol.
Carol’s experience even helped shape change for others. After learning how abruptly she was told she was losing her sight – and how little guidance she received about what came next – our team has been working with the ophthalmologist’s office where she received that news, helping support more compassionate conversations and clearer connections to care.
A path forward
Today, Carol’s journey with sight loss continues. There are still challenges, and there are still days that feel harder than others. But she no longer faces them alone. With CNIB by her side, Carol is learning, adapting, and finding her footing in a life she didn’t plan for, but one she’s meeting with confidence and a growing sense of possibility.
“CNIB really changed things for me,” she says. “I don’t know where I’d be without CNIB. They showed me there were still things I could do, and that mattered a lot.”
Carol found her way forward with support from CNIB. With your help, many more can do the same. Please consider donating today to ensure no one has to navigate sight loss without support.