Turning on the Light: Tips, Tricks, and Stories for Better Living with Low Vision

By Ms. Jordan Hancock and Steve Neuendorf

Author Jordan Hancock has grieved over the sight difficulties that she will face for the rest of her life. But to help her cope with her changing situation, she decided to share her insights, stories, and lessons with those who might find them most helpful.

Turning on the Light presents some of her personal stories and offers tips and tricks she has learned over years of study and learning. This narrative provides valuable information and guidance for those who are visually impaired, their caregivers, and their loved ones. It is full of ideas for adapting to diminished vision and dealing with fundamentally important day-to-day routines. It also features ideas on how to cope with the reality of your diminished sighted world, exploring the practicalities of navigating the kitchen, bathroom, clothes closet, and jewelry box and dealing with everything from food organization to travel and shopping. Through self-reflection, humor, and spirituality, you can overcome the challenges that each new day brings.

Designed to help those with impaired vision, this guide seeks to help you feel more comfortable, safe, and secure in your everyday life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781982226497

Ms. Jordan Hancock

Jordan Hancock lost her husband and her eyesight more than a decade prior to writing this book. She has a background in sales, publishing, public speaking, and community action, including through Rotary International. She currently lives in Commerce Township, Michigan.

Book preview

Frustrated

Today I sit at my kitchen table. I have purchased fifteen black markers and tablets. I feel so frustrated. I want to share so much with you about being visually impaired and the resultant ramifications.

I think back to when I first became impaired. It was instant, with no warning. I decided to have my eyes checked because small print was so hard to read. I went in to do so. My husband, Gary, went with me. They told me they would dilate my eyes and that driving was not recommended. I was told my eyes would return to normal that afternoon, but they didn’t. I waited until the next morning, and they still didn’t return to normal. That afternoon, I became quite concerned.

The next morning, I could not see anything but a blur.

The third day, we returned to the doctor. I remember people coming out into the waiting room and taking pictures. What’s that for? I asked. There was no answer.

They led me back into a chair and looked at my eyes and said, You’ll be okay We were told to go home, which we did. And I was not OK, and I did not get better …

That was fifteen years ago. My vision is still fuzzy and blurred and my perception is off. Doctors tell me I have (age-related) macular degeneration (AMD). So, I went stubbornly into the Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired (SAAVI).

Tucson is a great town. Not only does it host an acknowledged college, but it also has a huge Veterans Administration center and SAAVI, a state-run school for the visually impaired.

It was close to the holidays when my husband gently took me to the school. There was only one other woman and me. Both our husbands stood behind us in a classroom. They stared at each other across the room. The door quickly opened, and in came a woman who said, My name is Lynn, and I have one thing to say: you will never go totally blind—never. With that out of the way, let’s get down to work. I looked at the other woman across from me, and we both began to cry. I had no idea that these thoughts were so shallow in my subconscious.

School was a blessing, and I took every class that became available. Our husbands became fast friends they had so much in common. The other woman was Fran, and she and I are still friends. After graduation, I decided to stay on and share with others all I had learned for healing and knowledge. It was amazing to see college students come to SAAVI with their