Georgia Alexander was diagnosed with glaucoma when she was about 10 years old; four years later, she’d lose the ability to see, however, she remained hopeful.
“I thought … I would regain my sight after a couple of years but it never happened,” she said to me when I went to her home on Sunday.
There was not a hint of sadness from Georgia. She spoke eagerly throughout our interview.
“I wasn’t born blind. I was normal … until I was about ten. After I became blind, I stayed home for years and then I was enrolled in the Special Education Center in Vieux Fort,” she said.
But she grappled with her diagnosis.
According to her, “I did not know exactly what it was. The doctor said it was pressure in the eye, but I did not understand being blind because nobody in my family was blind.”
When she lost the ability to see, her life changed dramatically.
“At first, it was hard, I lost all of my friends,” she stated.
After being in a funk for a while, Georgia said she had to choose “whether I was going to stay in [that] state – not going anywhere, [or] doing anything. I said… I may be blind, but I am able to do things.”
“It was just me and my family. They took me everywhere they were going,” she added.
When she enrolled at the Vieux Fort Special Education Centre, life took a different turn for the 49-year-old.
By then, her situation had improved tremendously.
“It was wonderful. When I started going there, I had to get
[to know] the place. Once that was done… I [was] mingling with everybody,” she said with glee.
She attended the school for five years.
Her husband, Yohan Alexander, said meeting her was a treat.
“It was really wonderful and [it] still is. I have dealt with a lot of blind people in the past but with her it was different. She wasn’t like these blind people [who] would have their head down and stay in a corner. She [was] always active [and] adventurous and that was one of the reasons why I fell in love with her. [She didn’t] let her blindness put her down,” Yohan said.
The pair (who met at the Blind Welfare Association) will celebrate 20 years of marriage next month.
It hasn’t been the easiest journey (her husband is visually impaired) but they make it work. Moreover, their fondness for each other remains.
“I was born with congenital cataracts and I had surgery at the age of two. Currently, I don’t have lens in my eyes, which makes me low-sighted. I also have, what is called, called nystagmus [rapid and repetitive movement of the eyes],” Yohan explained.
“I… try to educate [people] on not only blindness but low vision as a whole, because there are a lot of us who suffer with low vision and in my view, the stigma that is attached is not being addressed as it should be. People… tend to… ridicule you,” and that should not be the case, he added.
Yohan and Georgia have two children (a 19-year-old and a 15-year-old) but at one point it was extremely challenging for the couple.
“At first it was difficult… raising two children who are now teenagers. In terms of raising them and having to buy groceries, especially in the beginning, it was difficult [because] we weren’t employed; our daughter has low vision as well,” he said.
According to him, it was difficult to get a job “because… who would want to employ you? We literally had to be begging on the streets at one point and that’s something I am not ashamed to say.”
“We did that for a couple of years… trying whatever… we [could] to assist our family, even forming a band at one point. We used to sing by the road with our box in front of us and people would put money [in it] and that helped [a bit]. It gave us some hope and some means of taking care [of our family],” he said.
Yohan is currently unemployed; his wife, however, works as a masseuse at a local resort.
She’s been working at the BodyHoliday for the past nine years.
“I was working with a lady… and she was doing reflexology. When my husband went to her– he had sciatica, she did the treatment and it worked. I thought if I could just be able to do that treatment – the lady was already teaching me how to do massages…. then I will be able to help my family and other people,” she explained.
Georgia got the opportunity to work at the resort later on.
“A couple of years after, the Saint Lucia Blind Welfare Association told me there was training [and they asked me whether I was interested]. It was a lot of work… but my family [encouraged] me. Whilst I was training the owners offered me a job because they were pleased with the level of work I was doing,” she stated.
“I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but the guests keep asking for me all the time and it’s an honour to be able to treat them. A lot of them would say I saw your reviews on Trip Advisor, etc.,” Georgia added.
She’s hoping to improve her skills overseas.
“I would like to do some training in reflexology to treat cancer patients, children [and] women who want to get pregnant. That training is going to be done in England and I have a GoFundMe to help with that,” she said.
So far, a total of $10,820 Canadian Dollars (CAD) has been raised – more than half of her goal.
She’s hoping to raise $21k.
To assist Georgia, visit GoFundMe page here.