OVERCOMING HURDLES

Q You were diagnosed as legally blind in 2015 and it put you on the path to becoming a paratriathlete. Can you explain what Usher syndrome is and how it affects you?

A My eyesight is less than 10 per cent of central vision. I’m losing my peripheral sight. It’s like tunnel vision. It’s deteriorating.

Q How is it now compared with when you first started in paratriathlon?

A I can’t get around places like an airport by myself and I really need my cane. Any environment with a lot of people in all different directions and with low level baggage. That’s why I left Sydney and why I love the Gold Coast. I struggle to use my cane, it’s a confidence thing. I’m very accepting of my situation. Wearing hearing aids isn’t that stylish either.

My hearing is getting worse. I’m at the point now where I’m going to have to get a cochlear implant. It gets to a stage now where hearing through the aids is not enough so it becomes about hearing through nerves. No matter how much I amplify the hearing aids it’s not going to be loud enough. Probably after 2020 I’ll get the implant. I’m very grateful there will always be something that can help me hear but there won’t be for my eyesight so I have to make sure I transition to cochlear sooner rather than later so I can adjust. It takes about a year to make the adjustment while the eyesight is going. I’ll need my hearing to be as sharp as I can.