Family Wellbeing Service case study: Margaret and Colin

Colin Fowler, 59, of Linlithgow, contacted Sight Scotland’s Family Wellbeing Service for some advice on magnification to help his mum, Margaret Fowler, after reading about our helpline in his local newspaper.

Margaret, 85, has the eye condition macular degeneration, which has made reading a struggle. The Family Wellbeing Service team introduced Colin and Margaret to electronic magnification to help Margaret read her favourite magazines independently again – and she’s delighted to now be catching up on reading stories about the Royals. 

Colin said: “My mum started having problems with her sight a number of years back and was diagnosed with macular degeneration. It’s been quite a gradual deterioration of her sight.

"There wasn’t much forthcoming support offered when my mum was diagnosed, so we’d been trying to find solutions together up until we got in touch with Sight Scotland. We’d bought some handheld magnifiers in the past and they were of some use but she could only see so much with them and they weren’t really the best to help her get reading. 

“My mum’s now been trying out an electronic magnifier and it’s a great bit of equipment. She’s really pleased. As a relative and carer I found the service very reassuring. Anita was always very prompt at getting back to me, there was excellent communication.”

Find out more about the Sight Scotland Support Line and our Family Wellbeing Service for people impacted by sight loss.