Late blind and kept in the dark

Soman a 59 year old man from Ernakulum in Kerala contacted Eyeway Helpdesk at Little Flower Hospital (LFH), Angamaly. He was referred to the Helpdesk by the doctors of the hospital. Up until four years ago he worked as a truck driver and provided for his family comprising his wife, daughter and a son without any hiccups.

Owing to a nerve damage, he turned blind four years ago and his life took a turn for the worse. He has been estimated a vision loss of more than 80% by the LFH doctors. This has prevented him from driving anymore and has pulled brakes in his income. His son works but stays away from the family thus not financially supporting Soman. The only source of income now for the family is his daughter’s income. That also is not going to be permanent since she will be married off in the future.

Soman seemed unclear of his life ahead in his conversations with the Eyeway counselor. Late blindness has taken him by shock, clouding his thoughts. Our counselor guided him to enroll for rehabilitation training in Kerala Federation for the Blind (KFB). He was also suggested to get a Disability Certificate at the earliest so he can officially gain access to government schemes and provisions as a visually impaired person. Heeding to the recommendations made by Eyeway, Soman has joined the rehabilitation training programme at KFB. Once he completes his training, we will be able to further guide him on possibilities of getting back to work and life.