Focus on helping partially sighted

Dec 19 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

Margaret Guppy was determined to prove that partially-sighted people could lead active lives. She is living proof of her conviction, as David Higgerson found out

HAVING run a seaside hotel for than a decade, Margaret Guppy is used to looking after people.

So she has plenty of experience to draw on when it comes to looking after her husband Michael, who is paralysed.

Yet what complicates matters somewhat is the fact Margaret has been partially sighted in one eye for almost 35 years, a condition which got much worse when an operation to try and improve her sight went wrong.

Another complicating factor in Margaret’s life is her determina-tion to do as much as she can to help others – which resulted in her setting up the first support group for partially sighted people in Liverpool.

Oh, and she’s a published author too – with another book on the way. And in between all of that, she’s also found time recently to graduate from the University of Liverpool with an honours degree in history.

All of which proves that, if you put your mind to it, not having full vision should never be a reason not to give something a go.

Margaret, 62, who lives in Aigburth, said: “People some-times don’t take being partially sighted seriously, but I tell them ‘it’s almost as hard to walk in a fog as it is in the dark’ and that’s how it is.

“If you’re used to having full sight, it can come as quite a shock when suddenly you are partially sighted. One of the first things which goes is your confidence.”

Which is why Margaret decided to set up a support group for people in a similar position to herself in 1992, when she returned to her home city from running a hotel in the Somerset seaside resort of Minehead.

And so The Partially Sighted Society was born, a monthly meeting which has been attended by hundreds of people over the last 15 years which is now based at Henshaws’ Merseyside Resource centre when she found out about the services there.

Margaret added: “Many people find themselves in a position where they don’t want to leave the house because their confidence has gone. They feel alone and the problems they face are unique to them.

“Simple things can shatter your confidence, like a bad-tempered bus driver moaning because you take too long to sort out change, or who is rude to you because you have to ask which bus he is driving and where it is going.

“The aim, when we set up the group, was to provide somewhere where we could get advice, ex-change stories and give each other confidence. It is a case of overcoming the unknown.”

Registered partially sighted, Margaret has uveitis and glaucoma and no vision at all in her right eye. Her condition was made worse after she was twice given the wrong treatment and then she also developed cataracts.

She said: “I did become very worried about more surgery. It was very hard at first to under-stand why what happened did, but I can’t dwell on that. Life should always be about looking forward.”

After leaving school at 15, she worked as a milliner and trained and worked as an auxiliary nurse.

She got married for the first time when she was 25 and re-married at the age of 36, but sadly, Margaret’s husband is paralysed.

Staff at Henshaw’s describe her as an inspiration for the work she does with them. She graduated from Liverpool University two years ago with a BA (Hons) degree in History and is about to publish a second book.

She said: “I absolutely loved being back in education, especial-ly with all the young students. Despite the age difference, we all got on well.” After graduating, Margaret wrote a book called “The Wain-wright Legacy”, a 150-year history of the Liverpool Voluntary Society for the Blind.

Her second book is a children’s short story called “Please can you give me a home”, which is helping to raise money for a dogs charity, as Margaret has a guide dog.

“Being partially sighted is a big challenge, but one which can be overcome if the right help is there. Hopefully, other people feel that way too,” she said.

TOMORROW: Donna Phelan, who is inspiring speech therapists after overcoming a stroke in her 40s.

davidhiggerson