Blindness

My name is Daphne Coker. I was born in Heston. I'm a local person and I've lived in Heston all my life. I now live in a new block of buildings which I moved into last October, so I've been there a year, in sheltered accommodation which is a lovely building. I'm a very active person. I'm very interested in people and I like to go and knock on doors and have chats with my neighbours. I also belong to British Airways clubs which I have joined years ago and I also run a club which I've been running for 20 years at the Heston District Community Association next to where I live now. So all in all I go on buses on my own but if I go shopping for clothes or food I do like people with me to give me some advice on sizes etc. But basically I find most shop assistants very helpful towards me. I do think it's your attitude towards them sometimes that helps them to help you. I can go back 20 years where I wasn't very happy with treatment I had at one hospital. I was told there was nothing wrong with my eyes so I went back to my doctor and asked to go to Morfields where I was then told that I had macular degeneration and she assumed that I knew I had it And I said, what is it? How can I get rid of it? And that's when she said to me, you can't get rid of it. It's there. So that was a bit upsetting because I think she assumed that Ashford Hospital had informed me I had macular. But they hadn't. So that experience then was very hard for me to suddenly realize I would have to give up driving eventually and I can't read or write properly. So that's very upsetting. but I can't blame anybody for that, that's just life. I had an experience again at Ashford Hospital where I went to the clinic where I was told that my left eye would be quite suitable to have the cataract removed. And my son had two days off and we went up to the hospital. I had 100 drops put in my eye. And then when I went to see the consultant ready to go down to the theater, he said, I'm sorry Mrs. Coker, your eye is not suitable for an operation. Well you can imagine how devastating that was to me and my son and I just started to cry and they advised me to go to a special clinic where I could get some aids so that was a help but that was a very bad experience for me and for my friends because they were all looking forward to me having some eyesight in my left eye. Anywhere you go I think you should make everybody aware of your eyesight so they're more helpful and if anybody says to you oh it's over there say instantly where is over there because they walk away and think that over there is sufficient for you so please say to anybody please show me where it is don't accept over there