Autumn put her head on my knee and I burst into tears. It was the happiest day of my life ... Guide dogs change lives, I'm proof of that
| Published date | 10 November 2021 |
| Publication title | Wishaw Press |
Rather than tell them she'd been registered blind, she'd listen intently to what they had to say in the hope of picking up a clue that would reveal their identity.
As her vision diminished, so too did her confidence and her love for living.
She feared going out and crashing into any newly installed sign posts or street furniture.
On one occasion, she walked straight into a glass door and heard someone laughing.
When friends phoned to make arrangements, she'd find an excuse not to leave the haven of home, where she felt safe.
The anxiety began to eat away at the once gregarious woman, who sank into depression.
Laura was only six weeks old when her mum, Margaret, began to suspect that she had a sight defect. And, by the time she was a toddler, her left eye had developed a turn.
"I still managed to lead a relatively normal life. I learned to ride a bike and I played hide and seek with my friends," said Laura, whose parents were told by specialists at Glasgow's eye infirmary that she had the relatively rare eye condition, macular dystrophy.
"At school, I would need to sit nearer the front so I could see the board. I'd depend on my friends by copying their notes.
"I went to the low vision clinic and they gave me magnifiers and glasses to help me see the board.
"But they were like binoculars, and I'd only ever wear them in the house."
At the age of 15, surgery to correct her squint left Laura with double vision, and sight in her left eye became blurry.
Having attended an appointment at the eye clinic at Hairmyres Hospital in 2006, Laura was, at the age of 25, registered blind.
"I was not that concerned," she said. "I didn't experience that much of a deterioration. I could still read and see colours, and could bring up the menu on the TV and choose channels."
Laura had worked in a factory for seven years. Now registered blind, the production line was no longer a safe working environment.
Having never before been on benefits, she negotiated the minefield of the social security system in a bid to determine what she was entitled to claim.
Her mum accompanied her to a Job Centre appointment, at which Laura explained that she'd had to resign from her employment due to her failing sight.
The dismissive adviser rolled her eyes, telling Laura's mum: "Well, she could see well enough yesterday."
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