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[Niall] My name is Niall McMurtry and I am the
programme organiser for Finding your Feet.
Finding your Feet is a way of providing support
for people who are still adjusting and coming to terms with sight loss.
It is also aimed to help their companions and close family members
who are also affected by the sight loss experience.
[John] My name is John Fisher and on July eleventh this year
I went blind overnight. It has caused me a few problems.
This is Glenda my wife and carer.
[Glenda] And we're still getting used to it so
we speak between us if we both start getting a bit emotional.
[Peter] Right, well my name is Peter ***.
I was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration.
I've reached a situation where this is virtually gone
and this is about seventy to eighty per cent gone.
[Niall] For people who have experienced sight loss,
we know that often people will talk about feeling overwhelmed
and not really knowing how to get to grips with this new situation.
[Sarah] I'm Sarah. I'm thirty nine. I'm well known at the eye hospital since 2001
when I was told I had advanced stages of proliferative retinopathy.
A couple of years after that I was then told that I had macular ischemia.
I am on sick leave at the moment. I am a community children's nurse
and I met with Emma and barely two weeks ago and met a different consultant
at the Bristol Eye Hospital who said I was now going to be registered
as severely sight impaired. I just hope to get support
and some ideas on where I now go with the rest of my working life and my future.
[Niall] Thank you very much.
[Sarah] Sorry for crying everybody.
[Participant] No, it does you good.
[Niall] Coming on a Finding your Feet programme
can be a key first step to managing this new situation
through the opportunity to meet people who understand
and who are experiencing something similar. It's time well invested
and there is something for everybody.
[Course tutor] Does everybody know what 'Pen Friend' is?
[Mixed response of 'yes' and 'no']
[Tutor] What this actually does is allow you to label any product,
any part of your home, anything, with your own voice.
The long cane is primarily the cane that most people actually consider
to be 'the white cane'. This is an example here…
[Niall] One of the things that Finding your Feet programmes are about
are helping people identify what they can do for themselves.
So its got a self-care, self-management approach
and also an element of health education.
[Tutor] This afternoon we're going to discuss
what a healthy diet consists of as well as looking at healthy snacks
and specific nutrients which can help with eye health.
[Sarah] Day one for me has been really good. It started off with me crying
but as the day has gone on I've started to feel much more positive
and I feel that I've seen a few bits and pieces,
I've talked to other people, so yeah feeling much more confident
and really looking forward to tomorrow.
[Tutor] So I'll just say a little bit about what we're going to do
this morning. We're going to spend the next hour up until the break
really thinking about the emotional impact of sight loss.
What sorts of feelings are you aware that you are feeling
in relation to sight loss?
"Anger"
"Isolation"
"Frustration"
[Paul] My name is Paul Frisby, I'm from NHS South Gloucestershire
and my role is in commissioning health services.
I was very struck by the amount of conversation, the dialogue
that was going on between people with sight loss, and their carers
and the people running the course, you get a very positive feeling;
that their confidence had improved, that they had enjoyed
and found useful, the discussions.
[Peter] Absolutely desperate some days to do things…
[Tutor] So really coming to the end of your tether?
[Peter] Yes, you know you can't do it
but you're desperate to try and do it.
That brings a lot of frustration.
[Niall] The best thing I would say that people can get
out of Finding your Feet is the opportunity to meet with other
blind and partially sighted people and breaking down isolation
and sharing those challenges, exploring those solutions,
is a very strong element of the Finding your Feet experience
and it is very valuable.
[Peter] Suddenly I have a whole host of contacts I've made.
I've got a whole pile of extra knowledge of things
where I can go and seek help to carry out certain tasks
by way of equipment or by way even of financial help
and also morale assistance from other people with like disabilities.
[Paul] I think Finding your Feet is of great value to the participant
and to people with sight loss. I think it will also help
health and social services support them because I think people
who have been on the course will be more independent
and more able to take control of their lives.
[Niall] People's capacity to cope is being increased so hopefully
that means there'll be reduced risk of coming back and requiring
further health and social care support. We think that's a big element
of what Finding your Feet is about.
[Sarah] It’s the end of the two days now and I'm really tired.
It's been two very long days but I've learnt so much,
that I do need to come to terms with my sight loss.
I do need to ask for help. I do need to talk to friends and family
and not just keep it all bottled up. I'm feeling very positive now
with 'finding my feet' and moving forward with all this information.
It will take me a little while to reflect upon it but
I am getting there now and I feel much more positive.