Chris lives out in the countryside. There is no local train station and there is only one bus in and out of his village a day. Thanks to the Berkshire Vision transport service Chris has been able to get out and about more. When he joins activities, the Berkshire Vision minibus is able to come and collect him and provide a door to door service.
Meet our members – Chris Tidbury
Chris lives out in the countryside. There is no local train station and there is only one bus in and out of his village a day. Thanks to the Berkshire Vision transport service Chris has been able to get out and about more. When he joins activities, the Berkshire Vision minibus is able to come and collect him and provide a door to door service.
Chris is a Berkshire Vision member and volunteer. He joins in on many of our activities as well as using his vast technical knowledge to volunteer as a Tech Buddy. Chris is also heavily reliant on our minibus and transport service as he lives out in the middle of the countryside.
Chris lost his sight in 2017 and it was very sudden. Chris had been through a period of intense stress in his life and one day he went completely blind.
Chris was used to continual long-term stress through his occupation and various aspects of his life outside work. Unfortunately, due to a cascade of significant stressful events occurring in rapid succession on top of these managed stresses, this caused a cataclysmic overload. The result of this caused him to lose 100% of his sight in the space of two hours. The doctors tried to find a more conventional diagnosis, but kept coming full circle before finally accepting that stress was the cause.
Chris was totally blind for three months before some of his sight started to come back. He had a number of operations; and his left eye now only has some vision but is unlikely to recover any further. His right eye is rapidly improving with his sight coming back now.
Chris first got in contact with Berkshire Vision when he was referred via the hospital and our Sight Loss Support Officer, Christine visited. As a natural problem solver Chris was already adapting well to his sight loss so didn’t need any further help with adaptations in the home, but Christine suggested he try some activities.
Chris started off joining a ten-pin bowling activity, he couldn’t see much at all by then as he was in the early stages of recovery, he did however appreciate sitting down and talking to Berkshire Vision staff and volunteers who also came out to pick him up. Being so isolated with no public transport coupled with his new blindness and no longer being capable of driving, his extent of conversation usually consisted of two small furry faces and his mother who visits to help him with meals; so talking to people who understood really helped.
After the bowling Chris fell back into isolation, Christine kept in touch, but it wasn’t until she visited him for a review that she saw how isolated he had become. She recommended the Berkshire Vision online quiz and got Berkshire Vision activities manager, Hannah to call him to discuss it. He felt a connection with Hannah after only a few minutes into the call and they talked for almost two hours! It was the most he had spoken in months.
Due to Chris’ isolation he had no real concept of time, he ate, slept and did everything when he felt like it as he had no need for a fixed routine. He wanted to join the quiz after talking to Hannah, but the quiz happened on a schedule and he never knew what day or time it was. Let alone how long had passed since he last found out so kept missing out. Hannah called him before the next quiz and he then managed to attend his first one making use of some of his adaptations that he had been working on. It went well and he added a missing element to a varied team. He then felt more of a drive to set up a schedule system to keep him aligned with the timings of the quiz along with ample time to setup for it. He made some good friends on the team and still joins every week.
After doing this for a few months and realising there are people in the world again he decided to take part in one of the walking activities for some face to face time, he wanted to see real people again and not just a digital representation. He started to find a voice again, now having people to talk to. He quickly started to take part in more activities such as walks, river cruises and other activities. He also joined in on some of the other remote activities such as coffee mornings and the Murder Mystery.
Chris is now a regular on Berkshire Vision walks now as he enjoys the exercise and getting out in the fresh air coupled with the social element and getting out for food.
During a catch-up conversation with Berkshire Vision Sight Loss Support Officer, Jennie during one of the remote quizzes, Chris got talking about how he had been adapting his phone and computer to help him carrying on using technology. Prior to his sight loss Chris was a Senior Solutions Architect so he has a vast technical knowledge. Jennie explained this was something that Berkshire Vision were starting to offer and were looking for volunteers to roll out the service. Like so many of our members Chris couldn’t find anyone to help him adapt to use technology. He knew technology, but wasn’t able to use it or find anyone who could actually help him use it. So as a professional IT problem solver he decided to try and do what he does best and spent time learning how to use technology as a visually impaired person. Chris became the first volunteer Techbuddy helping others with what he has learned.
Chris lives out in the countryside. There is no local train station and there is only one bus in and out of his village a day. Being on benefits means that Chris is unable to afford taxis to travel and relies on the kindness of family and friends to drive him to places, this means he can’t get out as much as he would like, if at all. Thanks to the Berkshire Vision transport service Chris has been able to get out and about more. When he joins activities such as walks, pub quizzes, lunches and rock climbing; the Berkshire Vision minibus is able to come and collect him and provide a door to door service. Our team of staff, trustees and volunteers also collect Chris in their car and take him to activities and out to see other members for Tech Buddy appointments. Without this service Chris wouldn’t be able take part in activities or provide invaluable technical support to our members.