Blind girl and sight-loss gran memories inspire Chesterfield woman who is launching new business to rebuild lives

For 25 years Louise has been teaching people how to rebuild their lives after sight loss.

Louise’s choice of career was inspired by her gran who lost her sight overnight when Louise was a child and by a little blind girl whom she met through work in her first job after leaving school.

She said: "Sight loss does not discriminate, it affects any age. The youngest person that I have supported is nine years old and the oldest 103. ”

After working as a practitioner in adult social services for a quarter of a century, Louise is leaving her job to start her own business. She said: “I have come to the time in my profession that I want to go solo and offer a bespoke, quality reliable business in the field of sight impairment. The purpose of the business is to fill the gap between social services and the NHS, providing individual/group sessions and to support carers too as sight loss doesn’t just impact on the individual.”

Louise’s new business will offer assessment and consultation, mobility and orientation training, independence training in personal care, meal/drink preparation and low-vision training. She will open Sight Loss Solutions at 477a Chatsworth Road, Brampton on Saturday, April 27.

A weath of knowledge, experience and qualifications stand Louise in good stead to support people who are blind or partially sighted.

Her grandmother Florence Payne lost her sight overnight due to glaucoma when Louise was just five years old. Louise, who lives at Rhodesia Road, Brampton said: “I used to communicate on her palms, spelling words out and this was our form of communication. For example, she would spell ‘shop’ then ‘bread’ and I would go to the local shop for this.

“I had low self-esteem as a child and young adult. I was told at school that I wouldn’t make anything and I couldn’t wait to leave as I really struggled.”

At 18, Louise started working at the city’s Tapton Mount School for blind children. On her first day she was approached by a girl who was about seven years old. Louise said: “She had beautiful long straight shiny hair was wearing a pair of Mickey Mouse sunglasses. She stopped and said ‘Who is that’ and I said ‘I’m Louise, the new helper’, she said, ‘Oh, I’m Michelle and carried on walking’.”

Louise was assigned to a class where the lesson was art and design and Michelle was among the pupils. The teacher asked Louise if she could help Michelle to the toilet to get her cleaned up for lunchtime. Louise said: “I was chatting to Michelle as she washed her hands and she asked me to help her take her painting tabard off; as I pulled the tabard over her head the Mickey Mouse glasses came off. I got the shock of my life – Michelle had no eyes, just sockets.

"Michelle got cancer at the age of three, her eyes had to be removed. This little girl was feisty, full of life, happy go lucky and we spent a year together. “Unfortunately the cancer returned and she had to undergo a course of chemotherapy, losing all her beautiful hair. This did not dampen her spirit, she would strut around with a colourful bandana and her Mickey Mouse glasses.

"The cancer was terminal this time. Make A Wish charity were called in and Michelle could have her wishes granted which were: to see Shakin’ Sevens at Sheffield City Hall and to have a Silver Persian cat. She got both her wishes in one night, the cat was presented to her by Shakin’ Sevens.

"Devastatingly, not long after this Michelle passed away.”

Inspired by her grandmother Florence and little Michelle, Louise had a burning desire to train as a rehabilitation officer. But to do so she needed a degree which was no mean feat for someone who left school with few qualifications and a loathing for studying. She gained a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Sheffield Hallam University and landed a job working for Sheffield City Council in the Sensory Impairment Team.

Louise said: “Not being able to practice as my desired profession, I was advised I would have to complete another university course that specialised in rehabilitation studies. I had to return to studying, in Birmingham this time and self-fund too.” During the course, a tutor expressed concern about an assessment mark which was below her expectation for Louise. “She asked if I was dyslexic and I said no just naughty and not clever at school,” said Louise. “She encouraged me to have the test at university free of charge which I did and it was diagnosed.”

Nine years ago Louise was diagnosed with autism. She said: “Having the diagnosis helps puts things into perspective now and I see why I have struggled.

"The drive, determination, ambition, compassion and empathy for the underdog drives me as I was that underdog once.”

To find out more about Sight Loss Solutions, email Louise at: [email protected] or call 07713843194