Saturday, February 16, 2013

Blind But Not Battered


 
LAST WEEK I shared with you about an incredible story about the Thongs.

Although the couple were suddenly struck with stroke, they did the best they could to turn the disease around - even to the point of calling it a “blessing from God.”

Not all disabilities, however, occur overnight.

Some are so subtle that it may take several years before you realise you have it.

Madam Lim, 55, who hails from Klang, Selangor, knows perfectly what that feels like.

A legally blind mother of two grown-up children and a devoted wife and homemaker, Lim faced two major problems with the onset of her disability.

The first was realising that she was going blind. The second was what does she do from then on?  

Although born with perfect vision, Lim now has a condition called Retinitis pigmentosa or RP – an inherited eye disease that gets worse over time. There is no cure for the condition.

“The problem started manifesting itself only when I was about 17-years of age. And the funny part is two of my siblings also have it but none of us knew about it until later,” said Lim with a laugh.

“I started to kick things over like footstools and smaller objects frequently and sent them flying across to the other end of the room. I thought that I was only being clumsy and even got told off by my parents about it,” Lim went on to explain. 

“I had trouble seeing things below my feet and especially at night. So much so I had to pin my focus on each object that I wanted to avoid knocking over.   

“I had serious trouble making out things on the classroom’s blackboard. I had to go near the board or ask other classmates to tell me what they were in order to write them down.”  

Thinking that it was only a problem with short-sightedness Lim visited an optician and got herself a gleaming pair of eyeglasses.

The problem was Lim did suffer from short-sightedness. And the eyeglass specialist didn’t see another bigger and more worrisome problem in her eye.

Despite her new shades, Lim still kept on having night blindness episodes, walking into puddles and holes in the road and falling down the stairs.  

It wasn’t until one of her brothers with a similar eye problem had gone to see an eye specialist when Lim and her family realised that there was, pardon the pun, more to their problem than what normally met the eye. 

Even upon visiting a specialist and after diagnosing her condition, Lim says the doctors she consulted could’ve been more helpful in helping her cope with her illness.

“Instead of just saying that he ‘hopes that my condition would stabilise one day’ and to ‘take care’ of myself, he offered no useful health advice on how to deal with it physically and emotionally,” Lim recalled.

Fortunately Lim eventually met other blind friends who helped her along. 

One of her first lessons was how to hold a while cane.

“It had to be about three steps in front and away from me in order to ‘detect’ objects like stones, lamp posts and even uneven ground that I could trip over or bump into,” explained Lim who is able to make out some shades of light and object shapes.

Rearranging the furniture in her home and keeping it barrier-free is vital for the blind.

“We have to know exactly where they are so that we don’t knock into them and have a nasty accident.” Lim pointed out.  
Lim said she is proud that her entire family got involved in her rehabilitation process – from her children right up to her hubby who has always been an invaluable support.

Even though Lim lives in a split-level home her blindness does not stop her from being the perfect homemaker.

She does the cooking and cleaning in the house. 

“You would be surprised by the things the blind can do even if they can’t see. I still cook the favourite meals for the family – the proudest of my creations and ability is my chicken rice,” Lim laughed.  

“And cleaning is made easy once you grab and feel the furniture around you especially when you are armed with a vacuum cleaner!”

Lim said her blind friends are her best motivation.

“I am not worried about the future as I once was before. What is more important now is the love, understanding and support where there is no short supply of in my family I’m glad to say.

“Sometimes I do occasionally miss the gift of being able to see a beautiful scenery of nature and photos of holidays gone by but when I think of my family, they are irreplaceable!”

Last week Lim and her family took turns to do all the necessary spring cleaning to usher in the Year of the Snake.

And guess who did the cooking? Wrong! It was Lim’s turn to take a break and leave everything to her hubby.

Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!  

The End

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