When Miranda returned to Oxford in 2024, newly married and ready to set down roots, she still felt deeply adrift. Having lived independently in the city for university, she was now struggling with the emotional and practical realities of her sight loss, Stargardt’s. Today, Miranda is now regaining confidence despite sight loss, is a keen Goalball player, sociable, and open to trying new things. She has not just found help. She has found support and is finding the confidence with her sight loss, that has transformed her life from one of anxious isolation to vibrant living.
Miranda with her guide dog Grover
The Loneliness Before MyVision
Having hidden her condition since childhood, even memorising eye charts to pass for being sighted, the emotional weight of Stargardt’s became overwhelming once she returned to Oxford as an adult. She was living thousands of miles from her family back in the US, lacked a social network, and felt isolated.
Miranda felt she was simply “existing rather than living.” While she was happily settled at home with her husband, dog, and cat, she desperately wanted to feel that same happiness and belonging outside the house. The emotional weight of her sight loss led her into a cycle of isolation and negativity. She felt deeply lonely and, despite being aware of MyVision, her anxiety was a huge hurdle. This stopped her from reaching out or joining the community feeling she wanted and needed.
The isolation was compounded by a complete lack of formal support. Miranda had no assistance with the crucial administrative tasks of being blind, such as registering her sight loss (CVI), applying for a Blue Badge, or even finding the right people to help her apply for things like Access to Work (ATW). Everything felt like a huge battle. She often felt like the only blind person in the world, fighting just to exist and receive reasonable adjustments.
“I had moved myself miles from my family and put in a new situation as an independent adult in Oxford. I didn’t have a community, and I didn’t know where I fit in.”
The Turning Point: A Random Meeting
Miranda had known about MyVision from a newsletter during the Covid years, but anxiety kept her away. The turning point came unexpectedly. A random encounter in a local Co-op led to a conversation, and the person pointed her toward someone else in the community who invited her to an event.
That event, an East Oxford Green Walk in July 2025, changed everything. Miranda committed to going because she knew she wouldn’t be going alone, significantly lessening the anxiety. This simple decision opened a floodgate of opportunities.
Instant Community and Shared Experience
The most immediate relief wasn’t the walking itself, but the company. Miranda found a pre-built community she could simply join, instantly side-stepping the difficulty she had in building a new social network from scratch. The Green Walk and other social groups meant she was surrounded by people with lived experience. Others who understood the day-to-day realities of sight loss without needing endless explanations. This was her first taste of truly belonging, welcomed and included in a ready-made support system.
Building Confidence and Practical Skills with MyVision
Once Miranda took that first step, she started saying “YES” to everything MyVision offered, including touch tours, skills workshops, Green Walks, and Social Groups. The transformation was huge; practical and emotional, allowing her to truly begin finding confidence with sight loss in Oxfordshire.
Building Essential Digital Skills
One of the biggest hurdles was accessing her computer on bad eye days, which are common with Stargardt’s. MyVision introduced her to Jamie, who provided tailored VoiceOver screen reader tutorials. Miranda tried to teach herself before, but Jamie’s support was key to unlocking the full potential of what she could do.
Now, she can simply close her eyes and access her computer with increasing confidence, despite her visual impairment, even when her eyes are in pain. This practical skill has been invaluable for both productivity and simply just accessing her digital life.
Discovering Adaptive Sports and Activities
Miranda now embraces a new philosophy of trying things she never would have before, all thanks to the supportive environment.
- She found a passion for Goalball, playing in tournaments and even scoring three goals in a recent competition.
- She’s tried Adaptive Judo and Kayaking with other visually impaired people.
- She regularly enjoys the Touch Tours at museums, interacting with objects that sighted people take for granted. Miranda also enjoys how on these Touch Tours you can actually get closer and a deeper understanding of the objects, than if you were just looking at them. This is something she couldn’t just do by herself.
For Miranda, these activities are about much more than just recreation; they provide a confidence-building support network for visually impaired people where she doesn’t have to compromise or fight for accessibility. The arrangements are already in place, allowing her to be present and simply enjoy herself.
I am kicking myself because I could have been accessing MyVision all this time but was too anxious.
What changed?
I decided I didn’t want to feel like the only blind person in the world anymore.
The Future: Contributing and Giving Back
Today, Miranda is happy, settled, and excited about the future. She no longer feels like she is the only person with sight loss. She has found friends, including fellow guide dog owners and young people in a similar stage of life to her. Even her guide dog Grover has also made new friends with the guide dogs and non guide dogs that join the groups.
The benefits of finding confidence with sight loss extend to essential peer support, having people who have already navigated the NHS, CVI, and administrative processes with their own lived experience with sight loss.
Miranda is now looking forward to giving back, seeking volunteering opportunities to contribute to the charity that has, in here words, given her so much. MyVision has been truly transformative, helping her build roots and a deep sense of belonging in the city she now calls home.
“MyVision has helped me find friends that I wouldn’t have made before. It has helped me build roots in the city and feel like I belong here, welcomed and included.”
Read more stories on MyVision MyStory.
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