“It was most definitely my grandmother’s unsuccessful cataract surgery that led me to volunteer at Lighthouse Guild,” said Jailine Carrion. Jailine was visiting her grandmother in Ecuador in the summer of 2019, six months after she had a cataract removed. The surgery left her grandmother severely visually impaired. She has a cataract in her other eye, but she is too scared to get it removed. Jailine saw the fear her grandmother now lives with day to day. This experience has changed her perspective completely since she has personally witnessed her grandmother trying to cope with life with very low vision.
Jailine’s grandmother’s experience led her to want to help those living with severely compromised vision. She started volunteering at Guildcare in November 2019 until the program closed due to the pandemic. Once she was allowed to volunteer at Lighthouse Guild again, Jailine started in the eye clinic in October 2020, assisting four optometrists twice a week. Among her many tasks, her favorite is showing and teaching patients all the available low vision technological devices. Jailine finds it very important to help people with low vision understand all available resources and help them learn all new technology.
She has seen firsthand how some people can feel so lost in the world when their vision is severely affected or lost completely. These experiences have led Jailine to study optometry, and she is currently applying to optometry programs.
It was most definitely my grandmother’s unsuccessful cataract surgery that led me to volunteer at Lighthouse Guild
Jailine Carrion, Volunteer
You Too Can Help People With Vision Loss
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Lighthouse Guild is dedicated to providing exceptional services that inspire people who are visually impaired to attain their goals.
