Case studies
| Case studies |
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Sandra* Sandra is a young at heart 63 year old who went blind following an accident. Sandra has no colour perception and describes her sight as ‘living in a grey fog all the time.” Sandra also has a hearing impairment which makes being independently mobile even more difficult because hearing is an important tool for people who are visually impaired. Sandra recently moved back to England having lived in Canada for a while. The streets are laid out differently here and she was experiencing difficulties going out and about. Sandra’s goal was to familiarise herself with the essential places in her home-town, identify hazards and be able to navigate herself safely around town. Working with Rachael, ESAB’s Mobility Officer, Sandra worked on her long cane technique and learnt to recognise tactile paving, controlled crossings and landmarks to help her navigate. After five sessions and lots of practice, Sandra had learnt to safely walk to various locations she wanted to be able to reach independently and, crucially, she had stopped falling over. A positive side effect is that because Sandra is now walking more regularly she is also feeling fitter. Before her training Sandra was particularly nervous on stairs: “I was scared of steps and it worried me if the lifts broke down or there was a fire I would not be able to use the stairs. I feel so much safer now I know I can use steps safely. And it will be good exercise making myself use the steps rather than the lift once a day.” Gill “ESAB is very accessible because I know someone is at the end of the phone. They are very helpful, kind and understanding.” Gill Gill is 80 and when ESAB’s Low Vision Support Worker, Maggie, first met her she was very frightened about the prospect of going blind, particularly as she lived alone and had no relatives close by. Gill’s fear was partly because she didn’t understand her eye condition, so Maggie explained it to her and also talked to her about the potential treatment. Maggie accompanied Gill to the hospital when she went for a lucentis injection because Gill was, in her own words, ‘petrified’. Gill said “Maggie put me at ease and took the fear out of my life.” Fortunately, Gill’s lucentis treatment was successful and she has since regained some sight in one eye, but she still only has partial sight. Gill finds reading difficult now and her sight loss has affected her mobility, with stairs posing a particular problem. This meant doing household tasks was becoming increasingly difficult. Gill was managing on her small state pension and was not getting any disability benefits. ESAB helped her to apply for attendance and disability allowance and this enabled Gill to employ someone to help with household tasks which has made a huge difference to Gill’s life. Gill also came on one of ESAB’s daily living strategies courses. This not only increased her confidence and her knowledge about available services but helped her to trust organisations that could offer her support. Gill had been intent on managing on her own up to this point. Gill said “the course gave me confidence and I also made a friend on it. My new confidence means I can go out and meet up with my friend regularly so I don’t feel so isolated anymore.”
* some names have been changed to protect identities 15 April 2010 |