by admin | Nov 6, 2019 | Blog, News
Help us raise awareness & connect with people in your community! Follow the infographic on how to invite someone to follow our page.
Steps:
1. Select the 3 dots at the top of our page, next to the “share” button.
2. Scroll down and select “invite Friends,” which brings you to a pop-up window.
3. If desired, write a personal invite in the top text section of the pop-up. This invite goes to all the people you invite.
4. Tap on all the names of the people you would like to invite by scrolling down. Alternatively, you can pick “select all” from the right hand.
5. You can also check the box in the bottom, which sends the invite via Facebook messenger as well, not just as a notification on their Facebook home page.
6. Hit “send”!
by admin | Oct 31, 2019 | Blog, News
Happy Halloween! October is Halloween Eye Safety Month. A gentle reminder to all be wary of using non-prescription contacts for costumes to ensure eye safety.
Image description: There are 4 orange pumpkins on a dark blue background. The background also has faded bats on the right and a spider web on the left. The top of the image says in orange text “Buying Cheap Halloween Contacts?” followed by smaller green text “Trick’s on you. Without a prescription, contacts can cause:”. The causes are listed each pumpkin. They are as follows: “Sores and scars, Eye infections, Corneal abrasions, scratches, Blindness.” The bottom of the image has black text “Halloween Eye Safety Month” on an orange background.
by admin | Sep 29, 2019 | Blog, News
Uveitis is a form of eye inflammation. It affects the middle layer of tissue in the eye wall (uvea). Uveitis (u-vee-I-tis) warning signs often come on suddenly and get worse quickly. They include eye redness, pain and blurred vision. The condition can affect one or both eyes.
Possible causes of uveitis are infection, injury, or an autoimmune or inflammatory disease. Many times a cause can’t be identified. Uveitis can be serious, leading to permanent vision loss. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to prevent the complications of uveitis.
Patients with uveitis are also at increased risk of developing glaucoma because of the uveitis itself, and because of the use of corticosteroids which are the mainstay of uveitis treatment.
Image description: Left side shows an eye that is not affected by inflammation. Right side shows the same eye, with the shape of the pupil no longer circular, and the sclera (the white area) red and inflamed.
by admin | Jan 4, 2019 | Blog, News
January 4 marks a special day in the world of blindness. It is the birthday of Louis Braille, educator and inventor of a system of reading and writing for use by people who are blind or low vision, known worldwide as Braille.
Thus, today is celebrated as #WorldBrailleDay, to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people.
Interested in learning Braille or know someone who could benefit from learning it? Get in touch with us by calling 973-627-0055 ext. 1312.
by admin | May 28, 2018 | Blog
When Charlene began to lose her sight she was struck by how much her life was going to change. For her entire life she had been a voracious reader “I would sit up all night, holding my eyes open to finish a book,” she said. This was my whole life, to read.”
As her sight diminished, she stopped reading. “I was devastated,” she said. “It was horrendous. To think that someday the lights would go out and it would be dark until the end.” It was at this point that she heard about Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey. “I heard wonderful things about wonderful people. They were painting, They were cooking. They were having fun.”
Charlene made the decision to attend the one day Essential Low Vision program to learn more about living with vision loss. She immediately felt welcome. “I walked in and I met other people. There were no sad sacks here. There was too much laughter, too much humor, too much comaraderie.”
She joined the Better Health & Wellness program and came every week to Denville, where she learned to paint. She painted so much that after her pictures lined the walls of her home she began to give them as gifts. “I had to come here at 71, and going blind, to find out I like to paint! And people like what I paint,” Charlene said.
Charlene now tells everyone she meets how Vision Loss Alliance changed her life, and encourages everyone living vision loss to call and register for classes, She tells them “Vision Loss Alliance changed my life… I may have lost my sight, but I have not lost my vision.”
by admin | May 28, 2018 | Blog
Diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease at age 8, Bergen County resident Debbie skillfully adapted to her deteriorating vision through young adulthood, marriage and motherhood. But in 2015, at age 53, the loss was so dramatic that it drove her into a severe depression.
“I felt like I couldn’t take care of my kids. I couldn’t drive. I couldn’t go anywhere. I just sat on the couch for a year and a half,” the married mother of three said. “Every other time my vision dropped, I was able to adapt, but I knew this was a final thing. I just kept crying.”
Debbie has degenerative myopia, the seventh leading cause of legal blindness. Her right eye suffered a retinal detachment and sees only light and darkness, while objects viewed through her left eye appear to be flashing, and she lacks depth perception and peripheral vision, she said. There are areas of total vision loss in both eyes.
Fate brought her to Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey. At the Elmwood Park Diner, Debbie met Dennis, whose wife, Lori, attends Vision Loss Alliance’s Better Health & Wellness program. Noticing Debbie’s cane, Dennis told her about how Vision Loss Alliance helps people with vision loss reclaim their independence.
“When he mentioned an art class, I perked up,” said Debbie, who had studied design in college.
Dennis drives his wife to Vision Loss Alliance in Denville on Thursdays and offered to drive Debbie too. She enrolled in immediately, taking a full day of classes and participating in peer support counseling. The depression soon lifted.
“This place saved my life!” exclaimed Debbie said. “It awakened me, and I feel good.” Art therapy, not surprisingly, became her favorite class, as well as time speaking one-on-one with the art therapist.
Debbie looks forward to spending Thursdays at Vision Loss Alliance. She takes an energy class, two sessions of art, yoga and music appreciation. “They feed my mind, body and soul,” she said. During lunch, she chats with the other participants. “I help other people, some who can’t see at all, and that makes me feel good too,” she said.
Joy has returned to Debbie’s life. She recently celebrated her twin daughters’ b’not mitzvah.
“This place is what pulled me out of depression,” Debbie said. “I enjoy everything here – especially the people.”
