William, who had been a farmer all of his working life, was left with very little sight following a series of strokes at the age of 70.
"I went completely blind in one eye and had very little sight in the other, and I got very depressed. I wanted to do some gardening one day and, for the first time in my life, I couldn't. I got upset and cried my eyes out - that's not like me at all"
William eventually went to see his GP, who put him in touch with the RNIB Emotional Support Telephone Service. A counsellor from the service then contacted William and he went on to have weekly then fortnightly telephone support over a period of some months.
"I expected my GP to give me a pill to take the feelings away but he suggested this service, so I gave it a try.
William found that by talking through his thoughts and feelings he began to feel better about the future. "It was so helpful to talk to someone privately, outside my family and friends. The counsellor had time to listen and helped me talk things through. Although I have never met her and don't know what she looks like, I felt I could 'spill the beans' and talk about how I really felt. I had to have an operation on my eye - it meant a lot to have those calls while all that was going on".
Having support helped William to adapt to his sight loss and he no longer feels the way he did when he first went to his GP.
"Talking every week was really important and helped me more than anything else. This has made so much difference to my life, my sight isn't any better than it was but the time of being depressed has gone. Now I enjoy my days and my garden, and look forward to the future".
This summary is taken from an interview with William following end of counselling and then submitted to him for approval. Full consent was given to be used to illustrate the value of the Service.