Studio 1
Wizzy
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Episode notes
Matthew Layton presents Studio 1 - Vision Australia Radio’s weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view.
On this week’s show…
The second in our two-parter on being a parent to children with a vision impairment.
“And this time it’s personal…”
As you may know if you listen to this show, Matthew and his wife Maretta and got two of the little blighters - Charlotte and Elizabeth - nine year old fraternal twins with slightly different eye health issues.
As Matthew’s guest last week Ailis Conrad demonstrated - https://varstudio1.podbean.com/e/parenting-part-1of-2-kitt-and-ailis/ = being a parent to a child with a sight impairment can mean you have to make some superhero-level decisions and that taking your child to hospital appointments that most people would consider quite gruesome, just becomes part of “what you do”
This week, you are going to meet Matthew’s daughter Elziabeth - but don’t call her that she prefers Wizzy - and then accompany her and her parents to just such an appointment
Something very unpleasant ensues.
Something that shouldn’t happen to anyone - let alone a nine year old.
And to help Matthew navigate what is, for me, quite a difficult show to produce, I have engaged the services of Studio 1’s very own Mental Health and Safety Manager, Australian registered, lifeline certified counsellor Tammey Candeloro to ask him over and over again “How does that make you feel Matthew?
She happens to be legally blind so she brings a useful perspective to this issue and others like it
Matthew says, “Wizzy is a really great kid. And you’re about to hear something happen to her that shouldn’t happen to any nine year old.
Maybe by sharing Wizzy’s story we get to help someone else who finds themselves in a similar position: firstly by letting them know they’re not alone and also by allowing our decisions to inform what they do - the good decisions and the bad ones.”
On that note, if you have a story to tell that you think might help somebody else, or an issue you want us to cover, this is your show, please do get in touch.
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CALL or TEXT: 04 500 78834
EMAIL: [email protected]
TWITTER: http://twitter.com/varadionetwork and
http://twitter.com/whingeingpom
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[PHOTO CAPTION: Nine year old Wizzy Layton cuddling her brand new shoodle puppy Alfie - although that’s not what Matthew calls him.]
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RESOURCES
Glaucoma Australia - www.glaucoma.org.au
Tammey Candeloro - Counselling 4 You WA - 0423 93 15 74
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Vision Australia gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio 1.