Winning against AMD.
4.4 Personal Highs and Lows
Randomly:
- Losing all my business friends, my sports and leisure activities and all my friends.
- Eliminating the embarrassment of “forgetting” something. I didn` t forget I just didn`t see them. Then I found bright orange tape from the RNIB and applied it to my glasses case, my phone, my favourite kitchen knives, gardening tools, luggage and knapsack, A Huge Win. In fact also innumerable small wons.
- Not being able to read to my grandchildren, recognise faces or see a smile. No words can describe this loss.
- Enjoying a simple walk over the Downs on my own . A big WIN for my self-esteem.
- Buying an electronic keyboard to memorise favourite piano pieces before I lost the ability to read music, too late. A real bummer.
- Removing the “second” hand from my watch so I could tell the time again! A Great Little Win.
- The constant battle to live life normally or at least as normal as you can. Very tiring.
- Making my own way independently to York from Shoreham By Sea, a major win for my self-confidence. A Major WIN.
- Getting a disabled bus pass, very frustrating, though easy once you got the Sight Impairment certificate, most people give up, what a battle.
- Planning and executing my last climb in Snowdonia, climbing the knife edge over the Clywds. A Major WIN for self-confidence and resilience when the going got rough.
- Filling out a form for claiming assistance allowance because I spent three hours going through in fine detail all the things I could no longer do. Dreadful.
- Gradually getting my peripheral vision to work well, a VAST WIN.
- Getting my smartphone working fully, a Huge huge huge WIN.
- Progressively bringing all my music into digital form and loading onto my phone, a Delightful WIN.
- Working on the allotment and seeing the plants growing and then enjoying the fruit, flowers and vegetables we have grown, a LONG WIN.
- Learning how to play tennis again, and developing a new sport and new friends, what “Joie de vivre”, A Huge WIN.
- Testing out my Berghaus waterproof trousers, brilliant. A warm and dry WIN.
- Helming a racing yacht in a close quarters race (even if only once!). An AMAZING WIN.
- Realising that with Eps Tennis I have a unique solution for a whole lot of people whether ex-tennis players or others, that will help them regain their self-esteem
- The Tennis Club suddenly decided that Volunteers would have to pay fees. They all resigned and naturally the visually impaired players followed them. Back to where I was four years ago. No more mixed doubles, finished for now.
- The daffodils are in flower. Great.
- Went walking over the Downs and have now devised four or five new routes. Saw my first butterflies of the year, Large Yellow, and listened to the larks, wonderful.
- And now the sailing season has started again.
- A week’s sailing in the Solent, gaining more confidence and meeting new people
- A brilliant Black Rock Race, beautiful sunshine and a superb wind gave us and express trip (one hour each way) and a third place.
You need lots of WINS.
Every WIN is important.
Most difficult challenges giving the biggest WINS.
Lots of little wins are wonderful for the soul and builds up to a BIG WIN.
You really can rebuild your self-reliance, resilience and self-confidence.
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Winning against AMD – Age-related Macular Degeneration