Norma our owner in the news “Losing sight gave me passion to help others?”

Taken  from the original article by Maria Croce Daily Record Monday 7th 2019

Pdf of the original article can be found here 

Norma Baillie suddenly and unexpectedly lost her sight at the age of nine – but she hasn’t let it hold her back. And she’s gone on to use her personal experience to help others with sight problems.

Norma, 50, from Saltcoats, Ayrshire, said: “Until the age of nine, I was a fully active, lively kid. Then on my first day back to school in primary five, I lost my sight. We were sitting in class and the teacher said to do some work from the board, but I couldn’t see it.”

Norma was taken for tests and told she had Stargardt disease, which affects the retina.

She added: “They said I was going blind. I’ve got no central vision. I’ve got no detail. I can see shape and movement but can’t see any details, so I can’t recognise people’s faces, and I can’t read any text.”

Norma has always been encouraged by her parents to follow her dreams. She said: “If I said I couldn’t do something, they’d say, ‘Yes, you can – find a different way to do it’.”

She went on to qualify as a rehabilitation worker for social services, helping people who had lost their sight. Norma also trained as a personal safety instructor. She added: “Losing my sight has given me a passion to support other people.”

Norma launched her own business PrioritEyes, which provides rehabilitation staff to support people who are blind and partially sighted.

She said: “It doesn’t matter how long I’ve been visually impaired, I’m still frustrated trying to do things. But I think I’ve made as best as I can out of my situation. I’ve been doing this job for 25 years, and I absolutely love it.” www.prioriteyes.co.uk