It was early morning in the Seattle airport as I sat at my gate, cane in hand, waiting to board a connecting flight to Anchorage, Alaska. An older woman sat down next to me, and we began what to me felt like idle conversation. Soon it was clear that is was something more than that….
“I’m not going to let anything stop me, that’s just it.” – Riley Rolen. It was a cool fall Saturday evening when Riley was walking back from a football game with her family. At the time, Riley was 21 years old and attending Oklahoma State University. She had just finished attending an OSU Cowboys football…
“When I first came into Alphapointe, I felt like I was home.” – Tara Hopkins When Tara Hopkins was 38 years old, she fell into a coma due to complications related to the COVID-19. When she awoke from the coma 3 months later… she couldn’t see. Life Before Vision Loss Tara grew up in the…
The journey of rehabilitation, which at Alphapointe is about learning to live with vision loss, is filled with challenges and milestones. Adults navigating vision loss must build skills in everyday tasks like cooking, laundry, and managing money. They also gain experience with adaptive technology and, in many cases, braille. But perhaps the most essential skill…
It was a hot summer day in August 1996. I was just 7 years old and I was sitting in a swimming pool, waiting for another boy about my age to jump onto the other end of a large inflatable I was on. When he launched off the platform and landed, it sent me upward…
“It can be a curse, or a blessing.” Olivia Ballmer …. Olivia Ballmer was driving down the highway with her oldest daughter in the car when she began to go blind. Without warning. Vision in both eyes became blurry. Her daughter was able to help her pull the car over, and Olivia began to cry…
“Everyone has a story,” says Emily. “It might be that they just get up, go to work every day and come home, but it is still their story.” – Emily Cauthon Emily did not sit; rather, she stood at her desk over her computer. She strained her eyes to read the text on the screen,…
“When I lost my sight, I thought my life was over. Alphapointe taught me that it is just beginning.” – McKenna Lewis. Someone once told me that if you break your leg and go to the hospital, there will be a plan in place for physical therapy and recovery before you leave your room. The…
“Embrace your vision loss because you can learn to live with anything … you have to try.” – Marco Blake Like so many others, Marco Blake started driving when he was 16. He would go on to drive several vehicles, from family cars, to a police cruiser, and even a school bus. But one day,…
Q and A with Alphapointe Occupational Therapist, Shannon Fugate There comes a moment for adults dealing with vision loss when glasses, medication, or surgery no longer work. In that moment – when it feels like there is no place left to turn – the Alphapointe team can step in and help someone continue living independently…