Sarah’s
Sightline Story
Eight years ago I was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy; a complication of diabetes where blood vessels in the eye are damaged. Whilst I still had some vision, I would attend cookery courses for people who are visually impaired. These were great and I’d often be selected to take to the stove first as I was still confident to do so.
As my sight loss progressed my confidence ebbed away, and I soon found I wasn’t confident to socialise in person anymore.
The COVID pandemic solidified that, and I rarely go out these days.
When Sightline matched me with Steven* I was so nervous before our first call; what if we didn’t hit it off? I’d be right back to square one; just me, my cat and the dog! I needn’t have worried. From the very first call Steven made it clear we could talk about whatever I wanted. My loss of sight was only mentioned in the first 5 minutes of that very first call; we were soon immersed in our mutual love of music and that has been a common theme throughout all our calls ever since. Steven is a singer and thinks I should take up playing an instrument; I’d love to play the drums but not sure how the neighbours would feel about that!
“It might be hard for people to understand the positive impact these calls have on my life. They improve my wellbeing ten-fold and I always put the phone down with a smile on my face looking forward to next week’s conversation.”
Perhaps one day my confidence will return enough for me to venture back out to my cookery group; for now I’m just so grateful for the calls I have with Steven; they’re the highlight of my week.
If you would benefit from a telephone befriending relationship please get in touch today.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
Call 0800 587 2252 or email us at info@sightline.org.uk
To find out more, please contact us:
(*0800 numbers are free to call from BT landlines and most mobile networks)
