Discussing the Little Things We Miss Because of Sight Loss | Episode

If you ask someone what they miss after losing their sight, many times they say something big like not being able to drive. But, there are a lot of little things that you miss as well. Today, we'll share a few of those things from both the sighted and visually impaired perspective.
Got questions? Have a thought? Feel free to share in the comments below!
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[@yvonneletien8223]

Driving and shopping are the ones I miss the most. Never realized what a gift it was to walk into a store and be able to find what you want

[@lynnenicholson6968]

Apart from the not being able to recognise faces across the table, and just sitting and reading a book or magazine I pick off a shelf (lifelong bookworm so that was/ is difficult) I think it’s no longer being able to watch a sparrow and marvel at the myriad shades of brown in its feathers that I really miss. I’m blessed that the town I live in here in the UK has a good bus service, I live close to shops, and a train station. If I don’t want to use a bus I can safely walk across town in an hour. I can also walk out in the countryside as I live on the edge of town and we have public footpaths, bridleways, and byways of all traffic that provide safe places to walk. Right now my joint problems are the only reason I’m not striding through the Hertfordshire countryside (March has been consistently wet this year so rather than slipping in the mud and injuring myself I’m waiting for drier weather). Anything I really want to do for the most part I’ve found a way to do. But then again I’ve always been stubbornly independent finding a way to get things done before my sight loss (as a solo parent of 3 children after an abusive marriage I couldn’t wait for someone else to shift furniture or find a solution to the latest problem).

[@ahmedd320]

I feel so thankful and grateful for the blessing of sight that God has given me. I am sorry for your loss. May your lives be just as fulfilling.

[@janetbeagle4563]

My husband misses playing catch with our grandkids and easily seeing their faces. The littlest grandkids just move too fast for him to catch even a glimpse.

[@courtneypalmer2331]

I miss the moments. Like being able to sit across a room and seeing someone's face. For example, if my husband was sitting across the table from me and looking at me admiringly I'd want to be able to see that and meet his eyes and give him a smile. It's those things that matter to me, although I do miss not having the sofa inches from the tv

[@anodysseyofsteven1985]

Hi, Derek and April! If there is one podcast that I enjoy the most, it is always listening the two of you! You guys do such a wonderful job and complement each other so well! I really truly truly love both of you and only wish the best and lots of blessings in your life! I was actually just thinking about this the other day and I miss definitely playing video games! I was a pretty average game player, but after losing my site, I just can no longer see the computer like I used to. Another thing that I miss is window shopping and people watching. Like you were saying, Derek, we can’t just go into a store and just browse everything on the shelf and make a wish list. Now we have to plan ahead just like Apple was saying. I do miss also watching TV and being able to see the action or wondering who is talking or who is doing whatever they’re doing in the show. I tried audio description and yes, it did help, but what was so aggravating was that it would be talking in the middle of dialogue that main characters or show characters are saying. So then I end up missing what they said And I only get what was done. So I have not really gone back to audio description. I also have noticed that with audio description, the dialogue that is going on in the show or movie is very mute or low in volume and the action part is louder, and you can hear the audio description much better. And that drove me nuts! I definitely am working on trying to find ways to enjoy what are used to enjoy and do. I am always constantly looking for new technology or programs or software or whatever I can get my hands on to make it so that I’m able to do the things that I used to in the past. The other thing I miss is being able or I should say wondering what it would be like to be able to hear things. Not only did I lose my vision, but I also have a hearing loss. And even though I wear hearing aids, There are times I just don’t get what is being said or a frustrate the people around me because they have to constantly repeat themselves. So I’m always dreaming about what it would be like to hear 2020 Thank you so much again guys for all that you guys do and I can’t, find the words to express how much listening to your podcast does for me and helps me. I am always in anticipation for either the podcast or just even videos with just you talking Derek. Thank you for being a blessing and not only my life, but I am so in the VIP community!

[@DanielKukulka]

Same I also miss playing video games. I have a similar attitude when it comes to audio descriptions. One time it got to a point where the audio description would mention every single detail in the show I was watching, no matter how small.

[@hollymcknight8581]

When I was a kid video description started. The first movie that I ever saw described was top gun, the original. Everyone that I watched it with was glad to have the description, because they told what kind of planes they were.

[@melanies.6139]

I also miss being able to watch TV like a sighted person. We have a ginormous TV but it’s still more comfortable for me to watch shows on my iPad. I can see more details that way and it’s less visual fatigue.

[@jackccrofootjr7228]

Live alone. Not being able to find things I set aside and can't remember where I laid them. I can't just call someone to help. To share something from one of your other posts. Why do we attempt to hide our vision loss. I practiced for 30+ years, saved many lives. My IQ is 6 pts higher than Einstein. I still write a Medical Research Column. When people find out I am blind they tend to treat me like a brainless homeless man. My opinions tend to be dismissed because I am blind I must also be dumb. Also, I hate that because I am blind, so many people talk loudly to me, almost shouting, they assume I must be deaf also.

[@LifeAfterSightLoss]

Totally know what you mean. People are just unaware of how to interact with a person who is different especially if they have never been around someone like that. It certainly can be frustrating.My hope is to always leave them with a little more understanding of what to do and not do the next time they encounter someone who is different. Thanks for sharing!

[@InspiredInsights4U]

I hate the label of being disabled. It’s sort of goes along with oh there’s a disabled vehicle on the side of the road. I eat is broken. Well I’m not broken. Yes I know I don’t have my vision any longer and it’s been about four years now, so I’ve been coping and adjusting to that but I was highly technical prior to my site loss. I came from my High level of knowledge and not only technical matters but business matters and that knowledge still is within my head. Yes, I have to find different ways of expressing it to others if they’re only a visual person, but I can do that, and it hasn’t diminished my intelligence at all yet being looked at is all you’re blind you’re also broken And no I’m not. I am highly capable and I hate actually hate the word disabled. Thanks for Sharon.

[@blindnessisaspectrum6237]

I miss reading the print without having to blow it up to the size of a billboard.

[@heneverreturnasahorse9773]

I can no longer do my (used to be favorite things) woodworking, basic mechanical work, basic electrical work, all the handy-man work I performed around the house and our property, I still play guitar but I can't easily see my place on the fingerboard so difficult pieces have a lot of "clams", my wife's misses my driving the most (no more RV trips since she doesn't care to drive), sight seeing, and my Blackberry Passport. I loved using a Blackberry while the rest of the world moved to smartphones. Well, now I have been humbled to using Apple (which I swore I would never use before my sight loss.). I miss COOKING as I prepared most of our meals, but no more, I now am the director. I left TV when the world went woke in the 21st century so I don't miss TV. I miss TV from the 60s, but I don't miss anythintg woke. I miss riding bikes and motorcycles. I guess that is about it. Finally, I miss my favorite passtime of my life - golf, and my second favorite passtime, reading..

[@lynnenicholson6968]

You know that most people who complain about things being “woke” think accessibility is woke. Including the full range of humanity fully allowing people to live their lives isn’t being woke it’s being a decent human being. It’s the way my parents bought me up. I’m 61.

[@bethannd9892]

I miss going anywhere alone. I miss going to the store alone and taking my time and looking at things and feeling things. I miss deciding on the spur of the moment to do something as small as it may be. So in essence, I miss the spontaneity of life. As we know everything has to be planned ahead of time. This also includes I miss going to the restaurant And just picking up a menu and deciding whether they’re what I’m gonna order. I must always check out menus ahead of time and decide what I will eat. That’s my major thing is the lack of spontaneity. 16:54 16:58 17:05

[@LifeAfterSightLoss]

Yeah the lack of spotinaity is a real thing I miss. Glad to have resources to interact with those things, but being able to just go somewhere on a whim is very nice. Thanks for sashing!

[@DianaWilson]

Driving! Definitely driving. I was a car girl growing up. I loved tinkering on cars as well as taking long leisurely car rides. I even drove for a living for a little while. Besides missing the act of driving, I miss the freedom that comes with it. I can't just jump in my car and go to the store to pick something up. That is probably the thing I grieved and mourned most when I started losing my eyesight.

[@Un_talented_talent]

I can relate to that one . Bmw girl here. 🫤

[@smoothcriminal2142]

I was born with optic nerve hypoplasia. Right eye doesn't work at all and while the sight in the left eye is serviceable at 20/80 the field of view is extremely narrow. While there's a lot in life i've missed out on (and may or may not be bitter about) there isn't anything i "miss" yet. Though that'll probably change in my 50s. In my 30s now so, something to look forward to.

[@safepethaven]

I wonder if as in decades past, there is a "hardship" license for children to get a drivers license for situations to help actually work the farm, not just where usually adults would do the driving or vehicle errands but now cannot. My peers in the 50s and 1960s, most who lived out in the country, [Illinois] could certainly operate tractors and other farm vehicles but with certain limitations could drive much younger than age 16. A few of my friends who attended rural schools even rode their family pet horse to school until they had to attend high school in town and rode the bus.

[@aaronwetzel9702]

This may sound silly, but I miss the ability to "read lips" while in a group of people to understand what they're saying. I don't have hearing issues, but in big groups, I have a tough time hearing conversations and I never realized how much I relied on being able to read peoples' lips as a helper to understand what was being said in a conversation. I feel isolated in groups/parties/gatherings because I miss so much conversation.

[@LifeAfterSightLoss]

I actually totally know what you mean! I sometimes have to have the TV a little louder because I am missing the lip reading skills. That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing!

[@Tweetiebyrd13]

I miss being able to jump on my bike and going for a ride by myself

[@elizabethmefford7200]

I miss reading a real book, not on iPad.