“I just felt so responsible for what he was about to go through.”
Carolyn Johnson remembers the guilt she felt at passing on her vision condition to her youngest son.
Born with bilateral congenital cataracts, Carolyn’s life had been defined by her low vision. Multiple surgeries, going to a school for the blind, not being able to drive.
In a special episode with Studio 1, Carolyn speaks with host Matthew Layton, who also has bilateral congenital cataracts and whose children also live with the eye disease.
It’s rare to find someone with vision loss, let alone have almost identical life experiences with their children.
For Matthew, his twin daughters both have low vision.
“It hurts. Yeah, it's guilt,” he admitted.
Wondering if their children will be able to drive is a commonality.
“I think he was pretty angry with his mother, probably not until he was about sixteen years old and we finally found out he was going to have enough vision to drive. That changed life for him a lot,” Carolyn said.
He works as a paramedic, driving for a living.
For Matthew, he fears one child will be able to drive, but the other probably not.
Carolyn admits she still has dreams of driving.
“It's a real sense of freedom,” she said.
But both agree, they are best placed to help their children with their condition.
“You all understand each other,” Carolyn said.
Listen to the full interview in the player below: