by Lois Williams          

My mind flooded with anger, frustration, fear, and confusion that day in October 1999. Unexpectedly, within a few hours, I had lost my eyesight.           

The day had begun with hope and promise. My sight had been a problem for some time, and in 1998 I had been diagnosed with severe retinopathy. But surgeries to stop leakage, reattach retinas, and remove cataracts all seemed to have been successful. The last of the surgeries had taken place two weeks earlier; my vision was vastly improved, and I was looking forward to driving my red Grand Am again soon.            

But upon leaving work for a routine doctor’s appointment, I sensed that things were looking gray, then foggy. When the doctor arrived in the examining room, I told her about my dimming vision. She called the ophthalmologist. His diagnosis was that hemorrhaging had started inside my eyes, and there was little that could be done. I was staggered by the news.          

Outside the doctor’s office, I was helped into a van for the ride home. At home, the driver assisted me out of the van, but I refused further help, although by now everything was black. I groped my way to my house and discovered I didn’t know how to identify the house key on my ring, or to find the keyhole in the door. When I finally did get the door open, I had to stop and make a mental picture of the house and then decide what to do next.          

I could not go to work the next day. I needed to let my supervisor know, but I could not see her phone number. I had trouble dialing my mother’s number, which I knew by memory, but after several tries the phone rang. When my mother answered, I sobbed that I was blind.          

It felt like my life had ended; I was useless. I tried to prepare my husband’s lunch. It was a disaster. So I went to bed with a pounding headache and a feeling of deep despair.          

The next day I felt a glimmer of hope. I had planned to attend a seminar on diabetes. I did not feel prepared to go out in public, but my husband and I ventured out anyway.          

When friends saw us, they asked Morgan what was wrong with me. Finally someone actually spoke to me, but in a loud voice, as if I were an imbecile. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Somehow I managed to get through those first horrible experiences. 

My work supervisor and work associates were not sympathetic, and before long I was forced to resign my job. But not long after that, I attended a health fair and met a representative of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Soon I became a volunteer with the organization. I also began assisting with cooking classes, and started linking up with other diabetes organizations.  

Before long, I was asked to serve on the Alabama Department of Public Health Diabetes Task Force and began making presentations about diabetes in numerous towns and cities in my home state of Alabama and in other states. My mission was to explain how diabetics could avoid blindness and other complications caused by the disease.  

Gradually, some central vision returned to my left eye, and occasionally I had light perception in my right eye, though the opaque light was usually distracting rather than helpful.        

In 2005, I was invited to give a presentation at the Second Annual Diabetes Today Conference at Tuskegee University. Soon I was asked to be a board member for the Diabetes Action Network, a division of National Federation of the Blind. I was voted secretary, then vice-president, and I am currently president of the Diabetes Action Network. 

I have come a long way from that bleak time when I first lost my vision. I firmly believe it is through divine intervention that I have been able to change my lifestyle and have been permitted, by God’s grace, to do what I have done. It has been proven over and over and over again that I, as well as many others with disabilities, have much to contribute to society. I have discovered that a so-called disability can sometimes be the springboard for greater accomplishments.          

Why did I lose my eyesight? Ignorance about diabetes is the answer. That’s why I talk to everyone I can about what I have learned. Had I known about the complications of out-of-control diabetes, I would have chosen healthful nutrition, and would have gotten into the habit of regular exercise. I am doing those things now. I believe that is why some of my vision has returned. I am quite sure there is a correlation between my blood sugar levels and the quality of my current vision.          

I no longer suffer from anger, frustration, fear, or confusion. My life is rewarding and full. My ignorance about diabetes has given way to a life filled with information. It is life-changing information.          

I have developed an acronym to help me and others stay on course in combating the effects of our diabetes. It is D I M E—Diet, Information, Monitoring, and Exercise. Consistent attention to these four concepts enables one to take control and stay in control of diabetes and to have a full, rewarding life.          

For more information about the Diabetes Action Network, of which Lois Williams is the current president, go to: http://www.nfb.org/nfb/diabetics.asp