Sharon

I lived with the fear of going blind all my life as both my mother and my aunts on my father’s side were all blind. But the fact that my father was sighted gave me hope. Then we discovered that he was a carrier of a gene that causes blindness and all hope disappeared.

I was a young married woman with our first child when my sight started to deteriorate. Then I became pregnant with our second child, and at the age of 30 lost my sight for good.

Initially I learned to walk with a cane, but I hated the stigma and the pity that this generated. Then some friends suggested that I get a guide dog, and everything changed. Yasha is my soulmate!

I feel I can move forward in my life now. Yasha gives me support to go wherever I want. I am so proud of her and what I’ve been able to do, and where I’ve been able to go because of her. I didn’t think that I would connect with Yasha so strongly or fall in love. It’s a different kind of connection between our souls. She loves me. She is more than just my eyes, she is my life.