Sad story - Can anyone offer advice?

This is the first thread I have posted on this website and to be honest I don't really post on these forums, but a recent event has prompted me to seek a little advice from a bigger audience.

A little over 2 years ago my father who was a non angler was cutting a hedge at his bungalow. He lives with my brother as my mum left about 10 years ago. He was going about his normal life, that is working and pottering around for most of his non working days. Work wise he's a brick layer and he's worked hard nearly every day of his life. Anyway, there he was cutting this hedge when all of a sudden a thorn flirted into his left eye. To cut a long story short this thorn was around an inch and half long and went straight through the centre of my Dads eye right through to the back of the eye socket. After 18 months and around 6 major operations it was finally acknowledged that he wouldn't see out of his eye again. Been a tough man and someone who has always been able to bounce back he soon began to get on with life.

My Dad used to do quite a lot of fishing as a young man and fishing has always been in his blood as it is in mine. After a lengthy break from fishing I started to get the bug again and this enthuisiasm managed to rub off on my Dad, who at 68 was still working full time but was looking to relax from working 5 day weeks with a view to making some fishing time. He bought some tackle, rod, reel etc. And it was great to see the old fella giddy with youthful exuberance again, that was until I went round last week to visit him. There he was sat on the lawn with a rod and reel by his side and he was sobbing into his hands. I can't remember ever seeing my Dad cry but there he was sobbing. I asked him what was the matter and he replied "I'm useless I can't even thread a line through the rod".

Which has prompted me to ask if there is any anglers out there who are partially sighted and if there is any tips or ideas that they can offer to help someone who really struggles with their sight. My Dad doesn't want to do any serious fishing but it would mean so much if he was able to go fishing on his own to the local ponds and canals. Any advice from anybody about how to make things easier for him would be massively appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read the thread.

It would help if we had some idea where you are geographically. Down this way in Surrey (outside the M25 that is) I can't sing the praises of the Wey Valley District Disabled Angling Association enough (Google WVDAA and you'll find them).

If you're within their range I am sure they have someone equivalently partially sighted (and even completely blind in one instance) able to offer help and share experience in a completely user friendly and non-patronising way. They understand the independence side of things - which seems to be your Dad's biggest upset, which happens when people have been self reliant all lifetime long - and work to help people to help themselves as much as providing help and support

If not within their range oop north or elsewhere then I suggest you might speak to them anyway, as they will know better than I do what is available nationally and in your local area. What they do for their members is brilliant, dignified and impressive. And I forgive them for outfishing me.....

You need to find the things he CAN do,Maybe a pole or whip with ready made rigs could be the way to go,...then there's carp,they are everywhere nowadays and you can keep your rod made up ,ready to fish,even leave the boillie on so you just have to stick the two rod sections together and chuck in,...there's usually someone around who will give gladly him a hand if he justs asks.

Get in touch with the British Disabled Anglers Assoc. they will do everything in their power to help, they deal with people who are far more disabled than your father Chris.

Chris, you say the incident happened about two years ago and that he has now lost the sight of one eye. I appreciate he does have difficulty seeing small items and in particular threading fine line through small rings.

This is the problem, he has lost perspective. The three dimensional view, to some extent. I am surprised a doctor hasn't told him, but he will get more and more used to using the one eye, albeit he is getting older and it is much harder to adapt. If you remember Sammy Davis Jnr. had only one eye, the other was glass, and he said how his peripheral vision improved over the years as did his perspective vision, to the extent where he felt it hardly impacted him at all in later life.

There is some hope (I hope). Contact - Hopkins & Holloway Limited
* Brickyard Lane Industrial Estate
* Studley
* Warwickshire
* B80 7EE
email: sales@hopkinsholloway.co.uk
phone: +44 (0)1527 853822

Ask them if they still sell, or can supply direct, their line threader. It's a blunt wire needle painted fluorescent orange with a springy wire on the end. You have to trap the line in the wire and then use the needle to thread the line through the rings. My friend Bob uses one and he is <u>completely blind</u>.

There will, I'm sure, be other tasks that he will find difficult, but it's only because he's been used to using both eyes in the past. Sometimes you will have to help him, that's unavoidable, but I hope he continues and starts to get a lot of pleasure out of angling. It's far from being the end of the world for him and my mate Bob really enjoys his fishing.

Good luck.



EDIT: Did you also know that Sammy Davis was the third fastest gun in the west? In competitions he could draw, cock, and shoot a revolver faster than most others. Well, to the extent that he was third fastest.

my mate Steve was working with a screw driver which somehow slipped and stuck in his eye ,he now has a glass eye
a couple of years on and he is back to normal ,he ties his own rigs and is a very accurate caster
he has had numerous english 40lb+ carp
and I can honestly say his eye does not hold him back at all

CHRIS, send me an address and i will send you a line threader ,got a new one sitting here doing nothing , no charge hope it helps your father, Welcome to FM this is one of the better sites also it can be a lot of fun loads freebies such as English lessons, oh and a bit of how to catch fish lol

Sorry to hear about your father Chris, that really is a terrible misfortune, it also sounds like he may be suffering from some form of depression, which is not surprising under the circumstances

Hope your Dad gets sorted out with some of the advice given .......

Woody

"Did you also know that Sammy Davis was the third fastest gun in the west? In competitions he could draw, cock, and shoot a revolver faster than most others. Well, to the extent that he was third fastest."



The only trouble was , he shot most of the other competitors !!

Hi Chris I take a friend of mine fishing who is nearly 100 % blind, he has asmall bitof vision out of his right eye and he can make out shapes and some movement. If you e mail me I will put you in touch with him. He is always happy to help others with their fishing. Hes even taught me a few things.