By Elin Williams – My Blurred World
What lessons can be learned from having a vision impaired sister? This is a question I’ve wanted to ask my brother for quite some time now and, after months of waylaying the thought, I’m finally putting it on the table for him to ponder over. And naturally, I’m asking him to enlighten my curiosity by noting his thoughts in a blog post.
Over the years, I’ve often referenced the fact that I believe that sight loss not only impacts the person experiencing it but also those around them.
I don’t doubt that the unpredictable nature of my sight stealing disease has left its mark on my family too, and I want to make a conscious effort to highlight this on my platforms because, despite it being my experience, it feels as though vision impairment is a part of my parents and my brother’s story as well.
As a family, we’ve started with this blank canvas in which we’ve had to draw on whenever we’ve learned something different about either being vision impaired, or what it’s like to navigate the experience as a parent or a sibling of a blind/VI person.
Being vision impaired has cemented a fair few realisations for me personally but I’m always curious to know how it impacts my loved ones,
My parents kindly honed in on their own experiences in a Q&A I did with them in an article for VICTA a few months ago, so now it’s my brother’s turn.
My brother and I are like two peas in a pod. We’d lock horns as kids, sure, but our bickering hardly stretch beyond a couple of hours before we resumed our random chats and laughter.
If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember my brother’s first foray into noting his thoughts about having a vision impaired sibling in the form of a piece he wrote for my blog back in 2018.
That post seemed to garner a lot of interest and many people got in touch to share their sentiments when it comes to their own experiences. So, I’ve roped Meilyr back in today (and only for a slightly higher price than last time) to chat through some of the things he’s learned from having a vision impaired sister.
I’m really looking forward to see how this post pans out so I hope you enjoy reading too.
Let’s find out what Mei has to say, shall we?
Having a vision impaired sister has definitely opened my eyes to experiences and perspectives I otherwise wouldn’t know of.
From a young age, I’ve developed an understanding of Els’ disability and I continue to learn new things as time goes by.
Although it’s never changed the dynamic of our relationship, I’ve always tried to be mindful of her disability and empathise wherever I can. I try to apply this empathy to the wider disability community too and appreciate the value that can be found in people’s stories.
The conversations we’ve had over the years have taught me a lot about inclusivity and the importance of being mindful to the things and people around us.
LEARNING NEW SKILLS