Your
vision is important. Most of us take it for granted. Yet 224,000
Irish people are starting 2017 blind. Imagine what that would be
like. The impact it would have on your life. It’s a scary thought
to think about what you would lose.
Over
the Christmas one of my friends Granny, Cathy, passed away. I rang
my friend to pass on my condolences and we got chatting about Cathy’s
age related macular degeneration (AMD) and how many things must have
changed for her when her vision deteriorated.
Cathy
lived a great life; she was a nurse, mother to 9 children and had 42
grandchildren. When she was 64 she had to give up her license and
stop driving. But she seemed happy to be driven around by one of her
children surrounding by a few of her grandchildren.
Other
things changed as well. She was an avid reader but that stopped too.
Cathy used to ask my friend to read her the headlines from the Irish
Times every day after school. And if she liked the sound of a
particular story she would read it to her.
Her
grandchildren became her eyes in many little ways. If she was buying
them sweets or comics in a shop she’d have a bunch of money in her
hand at the till and call one of them over to count it out for her.
Cathy seemed to enjoy involving her grandchildren in all these things
and to strangers they probably thought he was doing it to make her
grandchildren feel like a grown up. Rather than Cathy needing their
help to see.
So
my message about your vision is this: I don’t believe in worrying
yourself about what might or might not happen in the future. But I do
believe in looking after what you have. And something as simple as
having an eye exam every 12 to 24 months is the best way to look
after the health of your eyes and your vision.
Many
people who lose their vision could have prevented it by having an eye
exam.
So
with it being a new year I want to help you start the year right by
looking after your vision.
We
are doing two good things this month – which is good for you, and
also for a very good cause.
GET
YOUR EYES TESTED AND HELP SPONSOR THE TRAINING OF A GUIDE DOG PUPPY.
Get
your eyes tested in January and we’ll donate €50 to Guide Dogs
for the Blind.
Guide
Dogs provides help to thousands of blind and partially sighted people
across Ireland through the provision of guide dogs, mobility and
other rehabilitation services. They also campaign for the rights if
those with visual impairments and invest in eye disease research.
Our
goal is to raise €1000 in January to sponsor the training of a
Guide Dog puppy.
A
guide dog puppy means someone will get their independence back when
they get a Guide Dog who will become their eyes and allow them to get
out and about.
LOOK
AFTER YOUR VISION AND GET A €50 GIFT CERTIFICATE AS A THANK YOU
FROM US
When
you get your eyes examined in January, not only will you be looking
after your own vision and helping raise money for Guide Dogs For The
Blind, we’ll also give you a €50 gift certificate that you can
use towards new eyewear (you can also give this certificate to a
friend if you don’t need new glasses). So you will get a little
extra as a thank you for looking after the health of your eyes and
helping someone else who will get a Guide Dog because of the funds we
raise.
WHY
WE’RE SUPPORTING GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND
-
Five people will go blind in Ireland this week.
-
There are currently 224,000 blind or partially sighted people in Ireland who rarely leave home alone.
-
There is expected to be 270,000 blind or partially sighted people in Ireland by 2020.
-
Half of the dogs they train are needed to replace dogs that have retired.
-
Training a guide dog costs €38,000 and takes 24 months.
-
Guide Dogs for the Blind commit to providing a guide dog for life and a guide dog owner may have up to eight dogs in their lifetime.
-
The average working life of a guide dog is five to six years.
-
There are nearly 350 guide dog owners in Ireland.
-
The guide dog service receive no government funding and they rely solely on donations.
So
make it a New Year’s RESOLUTION to check your vision and start the
year in high resolution!
A
private eye exam is €37 or covered if you make PRSI contributions
or if you have a medical card. You will receive a €50 gift
certificate towards new glasses. And we’ll also donate €50 to
Guide Dogs for the Blind.