Alex

Alex is 12 years old and he lives on a farm in the
country. He has tunnel vision (retinitis pigmentosa). The patch of vision he can see is getting a little bit smaller every year.

Alex can see everything right in front of his eyes. He can see colours and fine detail clearly, so reading and watching TV are easy, but he doesn't have good peripheral vision. Sometimes Alex trips over or bumps into obstacles if he turns too quickly. He needs to move his head to scan and see where to walk safely.

Alex can't see very well at night time. He always takes his torch when he goes out after dark. There are a lot of things to trip over on the farm.

When he was on camp, Alex got to try using a long cane at night. It was great. He said it was like having an extra-long arm to feel the ground ahead of him. Alex plans to spend some time with an O&M instructor soon, to learn how to use the cane properly. It takes quite a lot of practise to use the long cane really well.