Joan is registered as severely sight impaired and has macular degeneration and therefore no central vision and extremely limited remaining sight. Joan approached her GP when her husband passed away as she was feeling very low and worried how she would cope without him due to her sight loss. The GP referred Joan to My Sight Notts.

Joan first attended our Shared Vision course in 2022. Shared Vision is a series of workshops that help you to come to terms with your sight loss. Focusing on the practical and emotional effects, Shared Vision gives you the opportunity to express how you feel, sharing your experiences with others and learning from each other.

Joan felt scared stiff when she came for the first session as she didn’t know what to expect. However, she had an open mind and completed the course. Joan said

‘After the course I felt happy to go anywhere and was much more relaxed.’

Joan has gone on to access a number of our services including coffee morning and the Nottingham social group. Through accessing these services Joan has been able to share experiences with other people with sight loss as well as taking part in activities and going on outings.

Bigger Picture Project

The Bigger Picture Project is designed to introduce people with sight loss to technology that would enable them to visit the theatre, music and sports venues. Joan was invited to a performance of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at the Nottingham Playhouse. Joan kept the headset on for the entire performance (no mean feat given the length of the play) and at the end said “I wouldn’t have missed this experience for the world.”

Joan went on to explain that she was able to see characters and props at the very back of the stage; she was also able to follow the play and identify which actor was talking – all things she would not have been able to do without the technology.

Explaining what My Sight Notts has done for her, Joan said

“My Sight Notts showed me there is a lot out there that I can access in all ways.”