Liz Wheeler was just 18-years-old when she was diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa.
She says she first noticed a problem with her eyes after she began bumping into objects during the dark when she couldn’t see.
‘It was so subtle that I only went to see a doctor when my great aunt waved at me when I got out of a car, and I didn’t wave back, and then she saw me instinctively running my hand along the wall to orient myself and walk toward her,’ she recalls.
Over the years, Ms Wheeler, now in her 30s, says her sight slowly got worse.
Liz Wheeler (pictured) began to go blind when she was just 18-years-old. After completely losing her vision at age 26, she got a guide dog, named Poppi
‘Like a tunnel closing in on the world, I just kept seeing less and less. It was gradual,’ she tells FEMAIL.
‘I lost the outer edges, then stopped seeing more than a few people in a crowd, then whole people.’
By 26, Ms Wheeler was considered legally blind, which means she had less than 10 degrees of total sight remaining. But since then her vision has deteriorated even further.
Ms Wheeler says Poppi (pictured as a puppy) gave her back ‘independence, safety and freedom’
‘It was like a fog came over the little vision I had left. Things started to go blurry and detail disappeared,’ she says.
‘Where I once saw eyes on a face, they became like dark marks on skin instead. I now can’t see very much or very well. I can’t read normal text. I can’t see a whole word on a page. Can’t see a whole dinner plate or even a whole fork. I get tiny pieces of the world but not very clear,’ she adds.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever find the words to express how hard it is to lose your sight. How scary it can be. The resilience and the need to find ways to adapt, change and be happy,’ she tells FEMAIL.
After going blind at age 26, Ms Wheeler says she became anxious and scared to leave her home
According to new research by Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australians are most afraid of losing their sight – even more so than a limb. Despite this, only half of Australians have had their eyes checked in the last 12 months.
‘While the idea of going blind is scary for most, you never think it could happen to you until it does,’ says Ms Wheeler.
Yet, every year, more than 10,000 Australians are diagnosed with un-correctable vision loss. Of those, over 3,000 will become blind.
Only half of Australians have had their eyes checked in the past 12 months. Every year more than 3,000 people become blind
‘The biggest impact for me and I’m sure other Australians with vision impairment was losing my ability to live and move independently,’ says Ms Wheeler.
‘I was anxious, scared and not leaving the house. I hated being alone in public because I didn’t feel safe or confident.’
A few years ago Ms Wheeler got herself a guide dog, Poppi.
‘The day I received my guide dog Poppi changed my life. She gave me back my independence, safety and freedom,’ she says.
Only one in four people who need a guide dog actually has one. Ms Wheeler says she is now able to move independently with Poppi by her side
‘The same path that used to take me 20 minutes to navigate on my own now only takes five minutes with a guide dog, it’s amazing that I can walk at the same pace I did before losing my sight.
‘Poppi has changed everything for me and opened up my world,’ she adds.
‘I cannot express how grateful and lucky I am. I have my freedom. I can do the little things in life that had felt beyond me.’
To donate, visit the Guide Dogs NSW/ACT website.