Taking a stroll around the neighborhood, hopping on the city bus, or meeting up with friends for lunch all seem like fun and easy everyday activities. But for Susan Reed, these activities started to become unattainable.
As her vision progressively declined, she lost her confidence, independence and the fear of venturing out into the world without her family by her side was overwhelming. She found herself withdrawing and isolating. Feeling hopeless, Ms. Reed sparked a conversation with her doctor’s assistant and thankfully that conversation is what brought her to Lighthouse of Pinellas.
Ms. Reed has only been with us for a short while but the confidence she’s gained radiates off her when she speaks about what she’s learned. From not being able to cross the street safely, to now knowing how to ride public transportation independently, Ms. Reed said she couldn’t have done it without Lighthouse of Pinellas.
“I was really thrilled working with Karli, because now I feel safer,” said Ms. Reed. Not only has she found the confidence she needs to travel safely, while attending our Coping Courses she found a group of friends whom she continues to remain in contact with. “It was nice to speak with other women with varying degrees of vision loss and to know there are other people out there. And we plan to get together soon,” she said.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve missed being face-to-face full-time with our clients and exploring adaptive ways for them to do what they love is at the core of everything we do. Thanks to the generous support of our community we’ve able to continue to light the way for our clients.
Want to learn more about our services? Give us a call at (727) 544-4433 or fill out our contact us form.