Guide dogs are just the beginning of transforming lives

Jennie was referred to Guide Dogs by her local authority’s sensory team, and she met Kealy, a Senior Vision Rehabilitation Specialist, who step-by-step helped her rebuild her confidence Jennie’s life changed overnight when a series of strokes left her with sight loss and chronic pain. Once an active, independent woman with four children, eleven grandchildren, and a love for tennis and travel, she found herself virtually housebound – shattering her confidence.   Feeling like her life had been ‘tipped upside down’, Jennie contacted her local authority’s sensory team, who referred her to Guide Dogs to help her re-learn how to navigate with sight loss. While the charity might be best known as the UK’s biggest breeder and trainer of guide dogs, it offers a range of other services like vision rehabilitation and support for children to help people with sight loss regain or develop independent living skills. Jennie was put in touch with Kealy, a Senior Vision Rehabilitation Specialist, who guided her through a course of mobility training. The results proved transformative – not only physically, but mentally too.  ‘I didn’t know how I was going to get through it’  Kealy taught Jennie to identify landmarks to pinpoint where she was, and she now walks to her village green every morning and has even started playing tennis again Jennie, from Buckinghamshire, spent six weeks critically ill in hospital after suffering a series of strokes on holiday. She realised she had a problem with her sight when everything around her suddenly looked different.  ‘It was all grey and white and unidentifiable,’ she says. ‘When I realised what was going on, and I would have to live with a vision impairment, I was devastated.’ One person loses their sight every six minutes in the UK. For Jennie, the reality hit when she tried to go for a walk but got ‘completely lost’ before a neighbour helped her home. This had a huge impact on Jennie’s confidence in getting around, leaving her scared to go out. She began her mobility training with Kealy from Guide Dogs shortly afterwards – with the pair starting with short walks around the house before moving outside and slowly increasing the distance. Kealy taught Jennie to identify landmarks to pinpoint where she was, like school gates where she could hear the children as she passed. After months of painstaking work, she was able to catch the bus to her daughter Blossom’s house unaccompanied – her main goal from the start. Jennie now feels like she’s found herself again, and loves spending time with her eleven grandchildren! Today, the 65-year-old walks to her village green every morning and has even started playing tennis again.  ‘I didn’t ever imagine going out the front door and now I can take the bus on my own to visit my daughter,’ she says. ‘I have my freedom and confidence back, which is the best gift anyone could give me.’ Thanking Kealy, Jennie adds: ‘Apart from my kids, Kealy was the only person who brought anything like normality back into my life after I lost my sight.  ‘I can’t thank Guide Dogs and the people who support them enough for the difference she’s made to my life.’ ‘The doctor turned around and said “Mabel is blind”’ Jennie experienced sight loss later in life. But for Mabel, a five-year-old from Lancashire, it started from birth. At just a few months old, Mabel’s parents were told ‘she’s blind and will never be able to see’. Feeling alone they reached out to Guide Dogs hoping for some help Mabel’s parents, Eboni and Max, noticed she wasn’t reaching out to grasp objects in front of her and took her for a check-up. At nine weeks old she was referred to an eye specialist, who delivered some devastating news. ‘The doctor basically said to me “Mabel is blind”,’ recalls Eboni. ‘At the time I was so in shock I didn’t really take in anything else she said.’  Mabel’s sight loss was caused by a problem with her optic nerve. Eboni and Max spent weeks searching online for answers about what kind of life she could lead but were left feeling helpless and alone. Seeking expert support, they contacted Guide Dogs, and Sunita, a habilitation specialist, soon met Mabel at her nursery.  Sunita’s job is to provide one-to-one training for blind and partially sighted children to develop the skills they’ll need to live independently. As someone who’s also had a vision impairment from birth, she’s perfectly suited to this role.  ‘I have a vision impairment myself, and this is why I am so passionate about the work I do,’ she says. ‘I tell the children I work with to dream big – a vision impairment isn’t a barrier.’ Guide Dogs Habilitation Specialist Sunita has been working with Mabel since she was only 10 months old, teaching her a variety of skills including how to use a cane Sunita began working with Mabel when she was ten months old, focusing on her body awareness before moving on to more complex skills, like using a white cane.  By the time she turned four, Sunita began preparing Mabel for a major moment – her first day at primary school.  As the big day approached, Sunita spoke to Mabel’s teachers and arranged a vision support specialist to teach her braille. Even so, Max admits to being ‘scared’ when her first day arrived, fearing she would struggle. Fortunately, the youngster settled in well, making new friends and gradually growing in confidence.  ‘It’s been a bumpy road but the constant throughout for us and Mabel has been Guide Dogs – I feel good about Mabel’s future now,’ says Max.  Eboni adds: ‘Guide Dogs has had such a massive impact, not just physically for Mabel, but also emotionally for all of us as a family.’ Help transform more lives by leaving a gift in your Will Guide Dogs is almost 95 years old but can only continue its life-changing work with people like Jennie and Mabel thanks to donations and gifts in Wills . Nearly two out of three guide dogs are here today thanks to the kindness of people leaving a gift in their Will, and with your support we can help provide the guide dogs of the future. Legacies also fund other services – from life skills training for children like Mabel to the mobility programme that helped Jennie regain her independence . There are two million people living with sight loss in the UK and this number is set to double by 2050. Currently, nearly half of people with a vision impairment can feel isolated, but together we could change that for generations to come. A gift in your Will to Guide Dogs is the gift of freedom. So where could your gift lead? Find out more about leaving a gift in your Will at guidedogs.org.uk