Counselling service helps Jean tell her story

Jean Bowskill has experienced first hand how the Macular Society’s telephone counselling service can have a positive impact following a diagnosis of macular disease.

Jean worked as a nurse for the Foreign Office for 30 years, moving all over the world. She retired three years ago and moved back to the UK with her husband. Sadly, shortly after their return home, Jean’s husband died suddenly. Just a few years later Jean was diagnosed with agerelated macular degeneration.

She became very isolated. Her two sons live away from home and having recently returned to the country she didn’t know many people in the area.

Jean said: “I got really down, it was very difficult. I have worked abroad for most of my life, so I don’t know many people around the area.”

Jean was put in touch with her local Macular Society support group and soon heard about the counselling service. She said: “Without it I don’t know how I would have got through it. I had terrible thoughts and I’m quite honest about that. It was absolutely awful.”

She added: “Wendy from the counselling service encouraged me to tell my story, and I did."

Read Jean's full story in our spring Sideview magazine