Journey into Blindness: An Inspirational Story of Overcoming Trauma and Regaining a Valuable Life

By Kent Christy

Kent Christy offers his readers the moving story of his gradual loss of vision and the trauma and emotional turmoil this caused in his life. As he notes in his introduction, going totally blind is in many ways not so different from the experience of losing a limb, developing a debilitating illness, or going through the trauma of losing a loved one, or even ones home. A tumor found on his right optic nerve leads to the surgical removal of Kents eye when he is a toddler. He copes with compromised vision and a prosthesis until his good eye begins to fail at sixty-three, eventually leading to blindness. He works through the stages of grief and learns to rebuild his life and find acceptance and hope.

Through sharing his experiences of coping with blindness, the author is testifying to others that it is possible to work through the many ups and downs of a challenging journey. It is possible to move forward and get back to the business of living ones life with joy and purpose. In addition, family, friends, and caregivers will gain insight and understanding of the process of loss and thereby be able to provide better-informed support.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532028304

Kent Christy

Kent Christy, a retired auto parts salesman, loves interacting with people and enjoys being in the outdoors with family and friends. Kent lives with his wife in a small town in southeastern Pennsylvania.

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Copyright © 2017 Kent Christy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-2829-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-2830-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017911151

iUniverse rev. date: 07/17/2017

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 Stages of Grief

Chapter 2 History of a Man

Chapter 3 Journey into Blindness

Chapter 4 A Bad Day

Chapter 5 Emotional Ups and Downs

Chapter 6 Learning to Live with Blindness

Chapter 7 Charles Bonnet Syndrome

Chapter 8 Interaction with Family and Friends

Chapter 9 Closing Remarks

Appendix

Organizations That Can Help

Works Cited

PREFACE

A S I WAS emerging from depression and into a state of acceptance of the loss of my eyesight, I got a whim to write a book about my experience. My wife, Alexis, challenged me to write this book.

I worked with coach and mentor Melanie from Inspiring Women to Regain Energy, who encouraged me and provided the emotional motivation factor. She helped me define the road map and identify what I wanted to write and what steps were needed to accomplish the work. Because of Melanie’s help, it was clear in my mind why I needed to write the book for my own emotional healing and how it could be inspirational to others experiencing loss. I appreciate what my new friend Melanie has done for me.

A special thank-you goes out to my wife, Alexis, for all her secretarial work in keying in my words, doing the needed research for specific sections, and editing the manuscript. The process of working through the emotional turmoil of my loss while writing this book has increased the bond between us.

And last but not least, special appreciation goes to my family and friends who have critiqued my work and given input for my book. Since I was not a literary giant, I needed help and structure. Many thanks go to Mary from Mary Groll Marketing; Ellen from the Bucks County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired; Jeanne, author of Between Now and Then; my thoughtful neighbors John and Donna; and my dear friend Chad. These caring folks have put extensive time and energy into editing the manuscript. Bruce from Bruce P. Kinsey Photography took my visual idea and made it into a spectacular silhouette of my journey. Kay from Brand New World Marketing developed a creative website and video for my book.

INTRODUCTION

I WROTE THIS book to help others understand what it is like to go blind or to lose a large portion of your well-being through some type of life-changing disability. Going totally blind, in many ways, is probably not so different from the experience of losing a limb, developing a debilitating illness, or going through the trauma of losing a loved one or even a home. My hope is that the description of my journey will be helpful to those experiencing blindness or any other type of loss and be an interesting story for all.

Through the communication of my experiences, I am testifying to others that it is possible to work through the many ups and downs of a challenging journey. It is possible to move forward and get back to the business of living your life. In addition, family, friends, and caregivers can gain insight and understanding into the process of loss and thereby provide better informed support.

Chapter 1

STAGES OF GRIEF

A S INDIVIDUALS, WE all suffer in different ways as we go through the stages of grief due to some loss. It’s easy to lose hope and feel that we cannot go on after whatever we have experienced. But we have to go through a myriad of experiences in each of these stages before we are ready to move forward and play the hand of cards dealt to us.

I include the stages of grief in this work because, in my personal journey, I have experienced and worked through each. The order in which these stages occur can vary, and the time spent in each stage can differ as well. We can leave a stage and return back to it at a later time. Hopefully in the process, we rebuild our lives and find acceptance and hope.

Kübler-Ross Model: Five Stages of Grief

The Swiss doctor Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, MD, introduced the stages of grief in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. She had been studying the emotional state of severely ill people. The model Kübler-Ross developed applies to anyone facing past or impending loss, whether it be sight, a limb, a home, a friend or loved one, or even your own impending death. The following information of this grief model is from her book:

• Denial and Isolation: The first reaction may be a state of shock followed by denial (Kübler 1969, 40). A typical response might be "No, not me, it cannot be