Inspiring sight-loss Ross-shire lass fronts visibility campaign as family adapts to new reality
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AN inspirational Ross-shire girl who lost her sight following surgery is playing a key role in a campaign to ensure young people with visual impairments are vibrantly visible.
Erica Steel (11), of Maryburgh, lost her vision two years ago because of a tumour on her optic nerve and also had to undergo chemotherapy for 18 months.
"So much happened all at once as the chemotherapy made me so ill as my eyesight was disappearing and we had just gone into lockdown," she said.
But despite having to adapt to new ways of doing things including school work, Erica remains remarkably positive in her outlook and determined to live life to the full.
She said: "You’ve only got one life. Don’t stew about what you can't change, focus on what you can change."
Erica, who has no vision in her left eye and just "a tiny bit of blurry vision" in her right, is a member of Inspire Highland, a group of young people with diverse disabilities.
As a member of its Eye Inspire mini group, she got involved in an event to raise awareness of safety hazards and challenges encountered by visually-impaired people in Inverness.
She called the event Eye Am Vibrantly Visible to stress people with sight loss should not be ignored or marginalised.
The group has enabled her to meet others who have sight loss, including 22-year-old Sarah Campbell.
"I can connect with Sarah," she said. "She’s older than me but she can give me advice on how she did things and we have lots of fun and tell lots of riddles!"
She has had to adapt dramatically since losing her sight using Braille, tactile diagrams and accessible technology.
Inspiringly, she sinsists sight loss has not dtopped her doing anything: "I can't ride a bike independently but I ride a tandem. I still love swimming, baking, writing and playing the piano. I’m learning Braille but I’m not that good at it yet so I listen to audio books."
At school, pupils wear highlighter hoodies at break so she can find them in the playground.
"Sometimes its confusing when people speak to me and I don’t realise they are speaking to me," she said. "People could also be more aware of what the white cane means."
Her parents are proud of how well their daughter has coped with everything thrown at her in the last couple of years.
Mum Laura said: "She has coped with more in that short time than most people have to in a lifetime. Life has changed for our whole family but we have found things that we can all enjoy doing together.
"We have learnt to just try things and she generally enjoys the different experiences even if it's in a slightly different way to us. We have had lots of challenges making sure that the right support is in place to access learning but we are hopeful that she will have many opportunities ahead of her."
*Members of Inspire Highland are planning a Goalball event at Dingwall Academy on March 26 from noon to 4pm. The fast-paced indoor game is designed for people who are blind and partially-sighted. It aims to promote the work of Inspire Highland and sight loss issues affecting young people.
