May 27 - Vision Loss and COVID -19

These past weeks I have been struck by the similarity of the words that have been used to describe the global spread of the corona virus to the words used to describe the personal onset of loss of sight. I know that some of the words that I have heard to describe both this time in our world history and its emotional impact are the same words I might have used to describe how I felt with the abrupt change in my own sight.

Have you been watching on television and have you heard the corona virus described as: devastating, challenging, difficult, unprecedented, horrible, isolating, dark, extraordinary, or uncertain?

Although it has been some time now since my own sight loss crisis, these might have been some of the same words I could have used to describe that experience in my life. They are likely the same words that anyone who has faced some sort of grief or personal loss might use.

Although I didn’t analyze my feelings at the time, looking back I can see that many of my feelings were similar to anyone who has experienced a significant loss. They were feelings commonly associated with grief. They were feelings of loneliness, isolation, anger, sadness, disappointment, depression, confusion, unbelief or denial. For many, these are the same feelings that are associated with the coronavirus and its global spread. COVID-19 has robbed us of time – time which we would ordinarily be spending with friends and family, time of celebrating together and perhaps grieving together, time to make plans for the future.

Just as the time frame of adjusting to my vision loss was uncertain, so right now it is difficult to see ahead and to make plans for the future. However, on a note of optimism, I can say that as I write this I feel fairly well adjusted to living with limited sight. So too, I think that it will be the way of the pandemic. Right now we are going through this period of uncertainty but at some point we will emerge to the other side. How we will adjust to the new reality is still unknown, but if we stay strong we will be able to do so. Hopefully we will support each other as we reset our way of thinking and reinvent ourselves in the new pattern of our lives. 

While adversity can come to any of us on a personal level, we are now all facing the same challenge. We might be in separate boats, but we are all facing the same storm. Let’s continue to throw lifelines to each other until the crisis of COVID-19 is behind us.