Newsletter

Spring 07

Iris Network Clients: From Vision Loss to Leadership

 

Victoria Oakes, top left, with students

People who master vision loss often become leaders. The Iris Network is proud to support individuals so they may attain their desired role in their community.

Victoria Oakes, of Bangor, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at 15, diabetic retinopathy at 27, and today, at 49, is embracing new challenges. As an artist and teacher, over the last 18 years, she has taught herself hundreds of techniques adapted for vision loss for weaving Native American inspired baskets. Committed to carrying her traditional art forward and to teaching children, she has enrolled at the University of Maine to pursue a B.A. in Native American studies, arts education, and
disability studies.

“My goal is to teach Native American children with blindness and visual impairment the art of weaving baskets,” Victoria says. She has already taught in schools and exhibited at museums, galleries and Native American cultural events across the country.

Victoria credits the Iris Network with showing her “many open doors” after vision loss. In 1998, she took part in a comprehensive Vision Rehabilitation program. She participated in personal adjustment counseling, daily living, communication, orientation and mobility, and
computer access, as well as vocational evaluation. “I remember how lost I felt at the onset of visual changes,” she says. “You at the Iris Network were the guiding lights who led me to see where I could not see and to begin a new future for myself.”

Creating Resources for All

Mollie Moore, of Southport Island, is also accustomed to moving forward decisively in life. Having lost her vision overnight in 2000, she sought out training, education, and support from the Iris Network and the Maine Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired for two years. Today, she is working with others in a support group, V.I.P. , or Visually Impaired People, in Boothbay.

“The Iris Network is family to me,” she says. “They have made a huge difference for me and my husband. I couldn’t have done what I am doing now without their support. From them, I learned specific skills, such as Braille, touch-typing, and computer skills that enable me to email. Above all, from all the professionals I worked with, I received a level of care that has made a lasting impression on my life.”

With regained independence and the partnership of her husband, Wells, Mollie has remained a creative force in her community. In 2000, after returning from England, where she had lost her sight, she and her husband began the plans for a sensory garden at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. The Garden of the Five Senses is intended to be for the enjoyment of everyone and to challenge everyone — disabled or not — to enjoy gardening. At ¾ of an acre, the sanctuary will be one of the largest at the Botanical Gardens.

Mollie Moore

Mollie also continues to work in her garden at home, developing and using a slew of adaptive techniques. Like most other recreational activities, gardening can be relearned after vision loss, helping individuals regain a strong sense of self and enjoyment of life. The Iris Network’s Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapists will teach adaptive gardening to any client with a passion for growing things outdoors.

Victoria and Mollie, we thank you for your leadership and
wish you the best as you pursue your plans and dreams.
 

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