Case Study: Paddy Kirk
I had no warning before I lost my sight. I was out on the tractor working in the fields when it happened. The sky went black. I didn’t know it then but I had detached retinas. The doctor said it directly – and that’s the way I wanted it – ‘there’s no other way to say it to you’ he said – ‘you’re blind’. I was depressed for sure. It’s such a shock. I went from earning money and working every hour to earning nothing.
The NCBI community resource worker called out in a couple of days. I knew there was no other way to do it except to get on with it but NCBI helped me be alive again. They gave me back total independence. There’s a huge level of support there. Pretty soon I was able to get around. Anything that comes up now, doesn’t phase me. I’ll try anything.