Through Our Eyes: A Whole New World

“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 Kansas City area, and before losing her vision she was a young single mother of two, as well as a certified nursing assistant. She worked the night shift so she could always be available for her kids.

“My mom always taught me that no matter what, I keep a roof over my head and take care of my kids,” says Tara. “I knew that in the nursing field, I would always have steady income and be able to support my children.”

When the pandemic hit, Tara was on the front lines. Like so many others in her profession, she caught the virus, which altered the rest of her life.

COVID -19

When Tara was infected, she discovered that she also had an auto-immune disease, which had gone undetected until she was sick with COVID. Because of this condition, the virus attacked her lungs so severely that she went into a coma. Over the next three months, Tara would be kept alive on a ventilator, breathing through a tracheostomy in her throat.

“For the first two years, I struggled with extreme depression,” Tara admits. “I refused to accept that I was only 38 years old, a mother, had a job, and am now blind.”

When she finally woke up, she couldn’t see. Her doctor told her that her vision loss was caused by low blood pressure, which meant her optic nerve didn’t receive the necessary blood flow and oxygen.

“My doctor said that basically my eyes had a stroke,” Tara says.

Now, due to her lung issues, Tara is unable to get enough breath to walk for any length of time, making the use of a wheelchair and oxygen tank essential.

Tara slipped into a coma at age 38. When she woke up, she couldn’t see, breath without assistance, or walk.

Life After Vision Loss

“For the first two years, I struggled with extreme depression,” Tara admits. “I refused to accept that I was only 38 years old, a mother, had a job, and am now blind.”

Collectively, Tara would spend ten months in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities before she was finally able to return home.

“I went through all the necessary rehabilitation to regain my fine motor skills,” she explains. “But rehabilitation could only take me so far, and when I got out, I was, of course, still blind and I felt lost.”

“I took a tour of Alphapointe and it felt like I was home,” says Tara.

While Tara had successfully recovered her motor skills after being in a coma for three months, she now had to adjust to life with vision loss and felt as though she had no idea where to begin. Her friend, Miyya, a former Alphapointe client, told Tara she should come for services.  

“I took a tour of Alphapointe and it felt like I was home,” says Tara. “I was just so comfortable. I had always been well kept as a blind woman, everything was taken care of for me, but when I came to Alphapointe, it was a whole new world.”

Tara is currently making her way through Alphapointe’s comprehensive rehabilitation program, learning Orientation and Mobility, (O&M) Activities of Daily Living, (ADL), Adaptive Technology, (AT) and how to read and write Braille. Her ultimate goal is to live on her own completely independently for the first time in five years.

“Before Alphapointe, my mom was my caretaker while I sat and watched TV because I had nothing to do and nowhere to go,” Tara says. “Now, I’m getting up, doing my make-up, doing my hair, and getting ready to go outside, because going and learning at Alphapointe gives me that motivation.”

Tara expresses what it means to her to do simple things like put on new clothes, and “look cute.” Even more than that is her desire to learn be around others who understand what she is going through and the challenges she faces.

What the Future Holds

Tara has many months of training ahead, but she approaches every day with excitement and eagerness to learn the skills.

Once she graduates, she wants to be a social worker so that she can help others who are going through the experiences she has successfully survived.

“For the last five years I have had to rely on others to be there for me; I was constantly on someone else’s time,” Tara says. “Because of Alphapointe, I can be there for myself. I am now on my time.”