Linda Miller’s vision loss meant there was a stretch where she hardly left the house, but now the 72-year-old says you’ll have to be lucky to find her at home.
Linda, from Canowindra in New South Wales’ Central West, has no vision in her left eye as a result of a stroke and lives with severely reduced vision in her right eye due to age-related macular degeneration.
Those conditions reduced Linda’s independence and confidence until December 2017, when she came across a television ad for the OrCam MyEye, a wearable piece of assistive technology.
“I saw an ad for it on TV and straight away I decided I wanted one. I honestly never thought something like this would come along,” Linda says.
The MyEye consists of a small camera and ear piece that mounts on an ordinary pair of glasses. Visual information is decoded by the camera and relayed to the user in an audio output by the device.
For Linda, the MyEye quickly made an impact in her life.
“As soon as I put it on it was really easy to use and it let me read things straight away,” she said.
“There isn’t a day where I’m without it now. I volunteer at Vinnies and MyEye lets me do the books there. It recognises colours for me, helps me answer the phone and tell what money I have on me. It can even recognise faces, though that’s one feature I don’t use as often as the others.”
An avid reader before her vision sharply deteriorated in 2009, being able to delve into a book again was a major reason Linda decided to purchase her OrCam, but the device has helped her in more ways than she could’ve ever imagined.
“It’s just made me so much more independent and confident. I don’t have to rely on anyone else so much anymore. If I’m out shopping, I don’t have to ask for help, I can just point it at the shelf and it will tell me what products are which.
“I used to always be at home. I just wasn’t comfortable leaving the house, but now you’ll have to be lucky to find me at home. Last week I was out every day. I go on trips and things these days that I never would have before.”
Linda’s happy to chat to those who notice the device on her glasses, wanting everyone to know the impact the technology has had on her life.
“People do notice it and ask you questions and I don’t mind that at all. It’s made such a difference in my life that I’d love to be able to pass that on to others if it might be able to do the same for them,” Linda said.
“I think there’s been at least one or two sold around town because of me.”
Vision Australia will be holding an Open Day at our Orange office on September 25 where you can learn about OrCam MyEye and much more. Find out all the details here.
You can find also find out more about the OrCam MyEye here and more about all the assistive technology support offered by Vision Australia here.