Imagine going to sleep one night and waking up the next morning unable to see – that is what happened to one of our veterans, Janice Mitchell.
Recalling the moment that Janice knew something wasn't right she said, “It was Friday, I remember that. I went to bed on Thursday evening and my world was normal, then when I woke up on Friday morning, 60% of my vision had gone.
"I got up and walked into the doorframe, I simply thought I’d had a dizzy turn. Then in the bathroom, I also banged into the doorframe.
“Being a retired nurse, I soon realised ‘something’s happened with my eyes’.
Janice is a retired nurse from Edinburgh, before experiencing vision loss she lived a very active lifestyle, enjoyed going for long walks and spending time with her daughter and three grandchildren when her life changed forever in September 2018. After waking up unable to see, Janice's daughter took her to see an optician, there they reported severe pressure in both Janice’s eyes – known as an angled closure attack – caused by a suspected glaucoma. Janice said: “I thought the optician would put eye drops in, and I would be away. But when he said ‘glaucoma’, I knew what it was, and I also knew that whatever sight had gone would not come back.”
After vising A&E, it was confirmed that Janice she was diagnosed with glaucoma, causing 60% sight loss, no peripheral vision and no depth perception. She also had ‘night blindness’ where “everything is black at night; I am totally disorientated and in a completely different world”. Three eye surgeries follow to prevent deterioration. Janice explained: “Once I had the diagnosis, I was left to get on with it. I was simply given a leaflet for Guide Dogs for the Blind and RNIB. I never even looked at it for the first week, I went into denial. The world had become a very scary place and, yes, I would have a cry at night.”
“I was told Sight Scotland Veterans ‘will take care of you’ so I called them and an angel from Sight Scotland Veterans swept in on a Tuesday, and for the first time in months, I felt that I had a safety net,”
Getting support
Fortunately, a few months later, Janice was talking to a support worker who asked: “I don’t suppose you served in the Armed Forces? If so, you have won the lottery!” referring to Sight Scotland Veterans. As a former Wren, Janice served in the Royal Navy for three years, so was delighted to hear she qualified for much-needed help from us.
“I was told Sight Scotland Veterans ‘will take care of you’ so I called them and an angel from Sight Scotland Veterans swept in on a Tuesday, and for the first time in months, I felt that I had a safety net" she added.
We immediately got in touch with Janice and began her long white cane training, so she could get back to her long walks in the park again.
White cane training with Sharon
Janice discovered using a long white cane was harder than she thought – especially when we set up six weekly training sessions with her! Long cane training with our mobility instructor Sharon began in March 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic. With gloves, facemasks and hand sanitiser (for the cane), Sharon took Janice out for the training. She was surprised by what the training involved: “We all see blind people in the street, and they make it look easy using their white cane, but it is so complicated! There is so much more to it than I thought, like ‘shore-lining’ (moving the cane to the edge of the pavement). It takes six weeks to learn how to use it – I thought it would take 10 minutes!”
"We see asking for help as a weakness, especially if we served in the military, but it is a sign of strength.
“When you reach out and get help, you’re treated with respect and dignity. My only regret is I didn’t find out about them sooner.”
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