by admin | Jun 10, 2019 | News
Trisha Ebel never let on just how bad her vision was. She had her first cataract removed at age 8 and developed glaucoma. She couldn’t read the blackboard even with glasses. She took driver’s education in high school, as well as private lessons, but failed the road test not once, not twice, but three times. Friends only heard about the first attempt. Her vision continued to deteriorate, but she kept up the ruse. “I would never tell anyone, ever! I wanted to fit in,” she said.
Trisha earned a certificate in travel and tourism after high school and was hired by an agency, but the owner let her go because she did such a poor job sorting brochures she couldn’t read. Then she took a job at a child care center because it didn’t entail paperwork. After marrying, she got another office job, but again was fired.
Staying at home to raise her children, Andrew and Aimee, made it easier for Trisha to hide her vision loss from the world. But as they approached their teenage years and began spending more time with friends, she felt isolated.
“I was so afraid to go out by myself and do anything,” she said. Trisha realized she had to do something. In 2006, she began attending Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey (then called NJ Foundation for the Blind), learning Braille and computer technology and taking aerobics and mobility classes. She became a volunteer after two years, helping others with low vision learn to use computers.
“I became a different person. I learned to accept my vision loss and got the tools I needed to live an independent life,” the 52-year-old said. “I went from having a confidence level of one to well past 10!” The experience also launched her career. Trisha became an assisted technology instructor, and a few years later an independent living assistant at Heightened Independence and Progress in Bergen County, providing support to people who have lost their sight. “I want to shout about all Vision Loss Alliance has done for me!” she said.
Trisha and her husband, David, live in Secaucus and enjoy ice skating, biking, cooking and traveling. She also volunteers on Vision Loss Alliance’s program committee. “My life is just so perfect. I don’t care that I can’t see, and I don’t think I’d have become the person I am if I hadn’t lost my sight,” said Trisha, her 2-year-old guide dog, Shelby, sleeping at her feet.
by admin | Jun 4, 2019 | Events
Volunteers served up grilled hotdogs, burgers, and chicken with plenty of sides as guests connected with old friends and made new ones at Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey’s Beyond Sight picnic. “It is wonderful being here with friends, and meeting new people,” said Wharton resident Misty Hagan as she hugged Rockaway Township resident Alisha Hawkins.
The June 1 event at Vision Loss Alliance’s Denville location celebrated the 76-year-old nonprofit’s past, present and future. It attracted former and current participants — and some newcomers — from all over northern New Jersey. Several members of Vision Loss Alliance’s Board of Trustees and the entire leadership team attended. Art therapy intern Marisa Juliano, music therapy intern Barbara Rose Smith, and drum circle facilitator Alfred Fredel were on hand to lead activities.
Florence Blume and Carol Jaskula made the trek from Clark in Union County. Blume attended Vision Loss Alliance for years, but a lack of transportation options stopped her. “I love it here, and I would be up here all the time, but it takes two hours each way,” she lamented. “I love this, getting together with people who are a pleasure,” said Robin July, who’s in her second year of Vision Loss Alliance’s technology program. “These people are very special to me.”
Longtime participant Lucy Steinthal used her hands to help see molds of faces and art supplies laid out in the art studio. Across the room, guests wrote words and drew images on a canvas expressing what Vision Loss Alliance means to them. “I resent that I can’t do what I once could do, but this place has really helped me cope,” said Steinthal, a Pompton Plains resident. “The support they’ve given me is great.”
Longtime participant and volunteer Peggy Kane of Rockaway Township said, “This has brought people together who haven’t seen each other for a long time.” “I’m having a blast,” said Millburn resident Chris Franz, who took part in the djembé drumming circle. The picnic was also meaningful to community members who helped set up and clean up, served food, and greeted and guided guests. “This is a great experience,” Denville high school student Emily Dobbs said. Volunteers included three members of the Chester Lioness Club.
by admin | May 28, 2019 | News
Morristown Medical Center recently donated $25,000 to Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey to support its low vision occupational therapy program.
“Our committee felt that adding occupational therapy as part of a wellness program was an important component to help people who are losing their sight achieve a healthier and better quality of life,” said Joseph Nazzaro, chair of the Morristown Medical Center Community Heath Advisory Committee. Morristown Medical Center is part of the Atlantic Health System, which operates five other hospitals and another 400 treatment sites in New Jersey.
Nazzaro said the project “fits well with the committee’s mission of funding health-related projects that support our community health needs assessment.” He added: “We were impressed with the collaborative efforts of Vision Loss Alliance and felt our support would be leveraged to a broader reach.”
Vision Loss Alliance’s low vision occupational therapy teaches participants ways to maximize their remaining vision. It covers home safety, cooking, grooming, medication management, paying bills, reading, appropriate lighting, watching television, and using the computer. Program Director Elsa Zavoda, an occupational therapist certified in low vision by the American Occupational Therapy Association, provides the one-on-one sessions.
“Vision loss doesn’t mean life has to stop,” Zavoda said. “People dealing with it can adapt, learning to do things differently.”
More than 160,000 New Jersey residents are either blind or have severe vision loss, and that number is expected to increase as the population ages. Adults age 60 and over make up 20 percent of the state’s residents, but that percentage is projected to grow to more than 25 percent by 2034, according to the state Department of Human Services’ most recent State Strategic Plan on Aging.
“We are grateful to Atlantic Health System, which is committed to building strong communities and recognizes the value of empowering individuals who are blind or visually impaired,” Vision Loss Alliance Executive Director Kris Marino said.
Contact Zavoda at ezavoda@vlanj.org or 973-627-0055, ext. 1335 for more information. Most major health insurance plans, including Medicare, cover low vision occupational therapy.
by admin | Mar 12, 2019 | News
As a nation, we’re getting old. And with aging comes changes to our eyes. The number of people who are blind and low vision in the U.S. is projected to double from by 2050 from 2015 totals. March is Save Your Vision Month. Here are tips from the National Eye Institute for keeping your eyes healthy:
- Get regular dilated eye exams. Glaucoma, diabetic eye disease and age-related macular degeneration often have no warning signs. The earlier they’re detected, the better the outcome.
- Eat well. A vegetable-rich diet nourishes your eyes. Be sure to include spinach, kale or other dark leafy greens. Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids also have eye-health benefits.
- Quit smoking. It’s just bad for you. Smoking increases your risk of eye disease and conditions that can rob you of vision.
- Control your weight. Obesity increases your risk of developing diabetes and other conditions that can lead to vision loss.
- Find out if there’s eye disease in your family. Many eye diseases and conditions are hereditary. It’s important to know if you are at a higher risk.
- Wear sunglasses. Sunglasses protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays. Be sure to choose a pair that block both UV-A and UV-B
- Blinking rests your eyes and helps prevent strain. Make a point of looking away from screens every 20 minutes for at least 20 seconds.
- Wash your hands. And don’t rub your eyes. Keep germs away to avoid infection.
by admin | Feb 11, 2019 | Program
Stacey has a vivid image of the Barnegat Lighthouse in her mind that’s untainted by the degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa that makes everything look fractured. “Like a broken mirror,” Stacey explained. Stacey worked for weeks to bring her sunset Jersey Shore memory to life on a large canvas with vivid colors, soft fabrics and plenty of glitter to make her ocean sparkle.
“That’s all her in every way,” said Marisa Juliano, one of three Caldwell University art therapy graduate students interning with Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey’s art therapy class. Juliano helped Stacey consider her options for materials, offered encouragement, and brought supplies to Stacy, who has health problems that make it hard for her to get around. “I asked questions that led her to her own discoveries,” Juliano said.
“The intern program really benefits the students, giving them the extra attention that, as a solo group leader, I can’t give,” said Vision Loss Alliance art therapist Traci Bitondo, a Caldwell University alumna. Jen Albright became the program’s first intern last winter, and is now in her third semester. She has worked for months with David on his Gothic cathedral model. “Jen has helped me take it from the mind into the three-dimensional,” said David, an architecture buff who was born without sight in his left eye.
“We act as the third hand. We assist without being too intrusive,” Albright said. She has been impressed with Vision Loss Alliance. “It offers so many different modalities for wellness,” she said. Intern Alyssa Udijohn added, “We act like vessels to help them create what’s in their heads and make it real. They know what they want to do.”
