快活影院

鈥淚鈥檝e always known that I wanted to work with animals. I loved animals growing up and studied animal behaviour at university. About three years ago my twin sister, who has the same condition as me, was working here at Bath Cats and Dogs Home. When a job came up she encouraged me to apply, saying how supportive everyone was. No one has ever made me feel like I鈥檓 asking too much, they have been very supportive. They join me in making light of it, which is important to me because it鈥檚 difficult for me to deal with day to day, but it鈥檚 going to be my life forever, and I don鈥檛 want to be sad about it every day.

鈥淢y condition is Stargardt macular degeneration. When I was 20 and learning to drive, I couldn鈥檛 quite read the number plates so I went to the optician and they noticed a change in the back of my eye and sent me to hospital. Within two weeks, I went from 鈥渘othing鈥檚 wrong鈥� to 鈥測ou鈥檒l be legally blind by the time you鈥檙e 40鈥�. It was a lot to process. It鈥檚 degenerative, so it gets worse with time. For me it鈥檚 a slow progression and I can function and move around fine. Most people with macular degeneration don鈥檛 need mobility aids like guide dogs, but it affects reading, and the ability to see faces and things in the distance.

鈥淚鈥檝e been diagnosed for eight years now 鈥� nearly a third of my life. It鈥檚 part of who I am. A lot of people with disabilities are anxious about revealing it to people. Generally, if I know that I鈥檓 going to meet someone more than once, I鈥檒l just tell them. However, handovers with new animal owners are more of a struggle. We only meet briefly, and I don鈥檛 want to waste time, so I won鈥檛 necessarily tell them. I鈥檒l mask by looking them in the eye. Even though I can鈥檛 see their face while I鈥檓 doing it, for them it makes things easier.