Talking Sense – Volume 45, No 4, Winter 1999
59 year-old Pearl Shaw had been told that she was losing her remaining sight - but she was still determined to take part in Sense’s first Overseas Challenge to Nepal. Georgia Veats spoke to her recently about why she decided to carry on with the trek and how this experience helped her cope with the onset of severe sight loss.
"Six years ago" she says, "I was driving to work, where I was a forklift truck driver, when I saw little lights in front of my left eye. By the time I arrived at work the lights had turned into little red tadpoles. I was rushed into hospital and diagnosed with a torn retina. Three failed operations later it was confirmed that I would never see out of my left eye again. I was also warned that the same thing could happen to the right eye at any time. It was all so out of the blue it took a while for me to come to terms with it."
Go for it!
Although she stopped working, Pearl did not let her partial sight deter her when, a few years later, she saw a feature on the Sense Nepal Overseas Challenge on BBC See Hear. "As soon as I saw the piece, I just picked up the phone and dialled," says Pearl. "I’ve always been into walking but had never done anything like the Nepal trek before – I just got this gut feeling. I said to myself ‘Yes Pearl, you want to do this, so you can do it!’ I’ve always believed in living life to the full. Even after loosing the sight in my left eye, I’ve continued to lead a hectic social life; going ballroom dancing and enjoying my hobby of walking. Although I’d travelled quite a lot before my sight problems, I’d never been to Nepal – somewhere I’d always wanted to see."
A tough setback
Shortly before setting off for Nepal, Pearl was told she had a cataract in her right eye that could not be removed. This meant she faced the prospect of losing her sight completely over the next few years. But despite this diagnosis, Pearl was determined to go on with the Nepal Challenge. "I asked my specialist if it was safe for me to go on the trek," she says. "He told me there was a danger of me receiving a hard blow to my head, which could detach the retina from my right eye as well. ‘Well,’ I thought, ‘that could happen to me at any time,’ so I told him I’d be back to see him with my trek sponsor form in a day or so – I think he was pretty surprised!"
Before going on the trek, Pearl psyched herself up "I thought; if I’m going to go, I’m going to do it," she says. "As soon as I arrived in Nepal I felt it was a very spiritual place – the experience of visiting the country changed my whole perspective on life. There is so much poverty there but the people are so happy. It was a shock to see how other people live – they are so un-materialistic. It really changed my attitudes to life and made me realise how much I really have to live for, despite my sight problems."
Meeting the challenge
The trek was a big challenge for Pearl but no one on the trek found it easy. "The first day was very hard work," says Pearl, "and there were many times I felt I couldn’t take another step. But I’d look around at the other people in my group, many of whom were younger than me and didn’t have any sensory impairment. They were finding it just as hard if not harder than me – some people were even reduced to tears at some points, and I realised I was probably doing ok!"
Joining Pearl were two other people with sensory impairment; a man who was profoundly deaf and a woman with Usher syndrome. "Everyone on my trek was fantastic," says Pearl. "Most people knew I had impaired vision but no-one treated me, or the other people on my trek with sight and hearing problems any differently – we were just part of the group."
Summit of achievement
"The biggest challenge for me was coming down the mountain," she adds. "Losing part of my sight means I’ve lost the definition around objects. Coming down, the rocks were a problem for me as they looked like a block of colour – a bit like stairs are at home. I kept falling over, which worried the other trekkers, but I was fine. I just said ‘don’t worry - I’ve got plenty of padding!’ Of course there were the hard days when I thought ‘my feet work, my brain works but my bloomin’ eyes won’t do it’ but I kept these thoughts to myself and just carried on. It was definitely worth it as I felt such a sense of achievement at the end of the trek."
Move on up
Since taking on the Sense Overseas Challenge, Pearl has become more involved in Sense’s work through the Sense Holiday Programme. "Volunteering on a Sense holiday was a learning experience for me as well as an opportunity to help deafblind children get the most out of life," says Pearl. "Being around children who were born with impaired sight and hearing, and often other physical and learning disabilities, helped me put my sight loss into perspective. It was also incredibly rewarding to be a part of enabling deafblind children to enjoy a holiday like any other kid would."
Pearl loved Nepal so much that she is going on her second Sense Nepal Challenge this year. "I knew when I was there that I’d just have to return," says Pearl. "I am convinced that going to Nepal so soon after my second diagnosis helped me come to terms with my sight loss," says Pearl. "People say my eyes light up when I talk about going back to Nepal this year, and although I have started to take steps to plan for loosing my sight completely, like learning Braille, I fully intend to continue making the most of my life now and in the future."
