A Personal Connection: Helping Patients with Vision Loss

Virginia Scott always knew she wanted to work in a profession that allowed her to help others. As part of the interdisciplinary team at the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center - housed at The Eye Institute’s (TEI) Oak Lane location – she’s able to do just that. As a social worker, Scott is the initial point of contact for those in need of specialized vision and rehabilitative services due to blindness or low vision.

Legally blind, Scott knows first-hand what it’s like for her patients – many of whom are learning how to newly navigate in a world without sight.

“I am very empathetic because of my blindness. When I talk to the students here, I remind them ‘A patient is not just a pair of eyes. You’re meeting a life that has changed because of vision loss,’” she said.  

Scott was born with normal vision. As a teenager, she was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa – a rare, inherited disease that causes the retina (the light sensitive part of the eye) to slowly deteriorate. By the time she reached the age of 26, her vision was progressively worse.

“I was at work and as I was typing, everything went lopsided and blurry,” she said. “When I called my ophthalmologist, he told me that I needed to go the hospital right away. My retinas were beginning to detach and I went into immediate surgery."

Despite multiple surgeries over the course of two years, Scott lost more and more of her vision – to the point where she eventually became blind.

“At the time I just thought it was the end of my world,” she said. “I was an avid reader and I thought that it was the cruelest thing to take away my vision, but I survived.”

Survive she did, as Scott admits she is not one to let an obstacle stand in her way. Little did she know that her personal experience would eventually lead to her future career.

“I originally came to The Eye Institute in graduate school as part of my internship program but I never dreamed that I would be working in a capacity where I could help people navigate through this system of blindness, visual services and low vision,” she said.

Scott has been a part of TEI’s staff now for more than 22 years. As a social worker, she and her colleagues serve as advocates, referring patients for additional services and resources that may be helpful. Using specialized tools including a screen reader and braille have helped her to be equally as independent as she is successful at her job.

“I use a screen reader and every key that I touch is verbalized which is really helpful for using the computer and checking my email – and I always use braille, which is how I’m able to write out each patient’s information and input it into our system,” she said.

Decades after losing her sight, Scott says it’s her personal mission to raise awareness and ensure anyone experiencing vision loss receive the services, resources, and care they need to succeed.

“It’s personal for me. Many times I tell my husband that it's not a job - this is a part of my life,” she said. “The things we experience allow us to better help others and I want to be able to change peoples’ lives.”