Thursday 14 August 2008

All About Me

Hi and welcome to my world!

For my first entry I thought it would be good if you got the chance to get to know me. Then when I ramble on about things in future posts you will have some sort of idea of what I'm going on about!

Where Do I Start?
Well, I'm Selina, twenty and live in Leicester. I have a rare genetic eye condition called Norrie's Disease. I live at home with my parents and brother. My brother also has Norrie's Disease and unluckily for him he is totally blind and has severe learning difficulties too. I have no pets, but used to have two rabbits called Flopsy and Cotton Tail.

Eye History?
I was born fully sighted, but lost the vision in my right eye at the age of two and some sight in my left. I had a couple of operations when I was two to put in some preventative measures, so my eye would grow normally. At the age of seven the medics diagnosed me with Norrie's Disease even though they were convinced that a female couldn't possibly get it! At the age of ten I woke up one morning and had blurry vision, I still insisted on going to school, but by the evening I was totally blind. My consultant in Leicester who specialises in squints informed us that I had a haemorrhage and he would organise for another doctor to operate. However, my parents refused and went in search of Professor McCloud who operated on me previously and diagnosed me.

Prof originally worked at Moorfields, but had moved to Manchester Eye Hospital. I was booked in for surgery, but had to wait an agonising two weeks. Eventually the time came and I had one of many operations.

I never did have a haemorrhage, but numerous detached retina's, cataract, holes in the retina and scar tissue development. After becoming totally blind I did regain some useful vision for a while, but always lost it again. Now, I am just left with light perception and have been told that there is nothing more that can be done for me.

Everyday Life?
My boyfriend, Jack of seventeen months is a massive part of my life, but lives in London! I do have plans to move down there, but you'll hear about the progress of that in the coming weeks. I love to read and loan books in Braille from the National Library for the Blind. I am currently reading 'Journey' by Danielle Steel. I like to keep active and go to the gym, play Goalball and do athletics.

I work at my local Council, as a Business Admin Apprentice in the Adult learning Department. I've been here for eight months and absolutely detest every second of it! I have been looking for another job, but due to lack of experience and disability I have had no luck!

I use a long cane to get out and about, but my skills are minimal. I am on the waiting list for a Guide Dog and have been for four months now. I can't wait to get a dog, as I know it will make life so much easier and I'll be a lot more independent.

That's all for now, but I'm sure you'll hear again from me soon!

1 comment:

Jen said...

Welcome to the world of blogging! Have fun!