Matthew Layton presents Studio 1 – Vision Australia’s weekly look at life in Australia from a low vision and blind point of view.

On this week’s show: the second in a series of programmes where Matthew drops in on some people living with blindness and low vision to see how they - as people who can often feel quite isolated anyway - are coping with self isolation.

Matthew and Tammey Candeloro - Studio 1’s Mental Health and Safety Manager - drop in on former chef and  now children’s author Jen Gierens.

You may remember Jen’s story  from our show on Glaucoma last month.

https://varstudio1.podbean.com/e/world-glaucoma-week-with-kirk-pengilly-of-inxs/

After her glaucoma diagnosis fifteen years ago Jen would admit that she didn’t really look after herself as well as she should have done and was perhaps a little too focused on her career and her family.

The result was that four years ago she woke up one morning to find that she’d lost the sight in her left eye overnight.

With increasingly limited vision in her right eye, this meant that she could no longer work as a chef.

So, as well as losing her sight, she lost her job.

Which meant she lost her income

Which meant she lost her home

And at the same time she lost her independence and her world became much smaller

Being an incredibly positive human being, Jen tells Matthew and Tammey that she feels she’s had a bit of training for the loss we’re all feeling at the moment.

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On next week’s show...

Jen and Matthew will be talking to physician, journalist and the star of the ABC’s fabulous Coronacast podcast, Dr Norman Swan.

If you have any questions for the good doctor or want to talk to us about how these troubled times are effecing you, please do get in touch

CALL or TEXT: 04 500 78834

EMAIL: studio1@visionaustralia.org 

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/varadionetwork and 

http://twitter.com/whingeingpom

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GUESTS AND RESOURCES

Jen Gierens – Author, Toby’s Tackle Box - https://amzn.to/3axVzoN

Tammy Candeloro - Counselling 4 You WA https://www.counselling4youwa.com.au/ - 0423 93 15 74

[PHOTO CAPTION: Studio 1 presenter Matthew Layton at home with his new friend Kenny the Crochet Corona Virus]

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Vision Australia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio 1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.