Every Thursday, Guy Trudel plays bowling. A mundane activity, except when considered legally blind. He would never have practiced this activity so assiduously before losing his sight, a year and a half ago, due to an extremely rare disease.
He is part of the bowling league created by the Association of Visually Handicapped People – Chicoutimi section. Every week, around ten people meet there.
From the boards on the fairway to the arrows and pins at the other end of the room, there is so much to see and consider that it is almost unthinkable to engage in this sport without seeing clearly.
To compensate for his visual deficiency, the 55-year-old man carefully executes each of his movements. He places himself at a precise distance from the abacus, looks for an arrow and aims it.
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Guy Trudel plays for pleasure and not for performance.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
It works sometimes, but very often it doesn’t. We’ll try to make it work
he convinces himself before rushing off.
Guy even got himself a neon green bowling ball, a fully considered color. The others are hard to see. Contrasts are important to me. I see the dark appear, I know the holes are there
he explains.
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Guy Trudel’s ball has an easily recognizable color.
Photo : - / V
He comes back from the end of the aisle rather dissatisfied with his performance.
There are a lot better people than me, I’m really rotten, he admits. I tell myself that I will end up being good. At least once a week I know I’m going to have this activity. I always look forward to introducing myself
.
Sudden and unpredictable blindness
Until a little less than two years ago, Guy saw like almost everyone else. First, the lights gradually went out, first in the left eye and then eight months later in the right.
Sitting in front of the television, he kept taking off his glasses to clean them, thinking they were dirty, but that was not the case.
His partner, an optometrist, carried out an eye exam in the fall of 2022 to reassure him.
He saw that both my optic nerves were swollen, I felt his panic as I wondered what was happening
summarizes Guy Trudel.
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Optometrist Steeve Otis himself detected his partner’s vision problem.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
The optometrist then faced what would prove to be one of the worst cases encountered in his 32-year career. It’s really not pretty, but there are no symptoms yet. There are just the clinical signs that are there. Panic takes over me
remembers her partner, Steeve Otis.
From day one, both eyes were also damaged. Will he lose them at the same time? Is he going to lose one? But it was unlikely he wouldn’t lose the other one. When would that happen? We didn’t know it.
A series of tests followed to establish a formal diagnosis. Both the couple and the specialist doctors they meet hope to find the source of Guy Trudel’s symptoms to resolve the problem and thus perhaps allow him to regain his vision.
Fingers crossed that this is a crisis
admits Mr. Otis.
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A yellow tag tells passersby that the wearer has low vision.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
At first they thought it was a brain tumor, after multiple sclerosis. Afterwards, they tell me no. It sounds stupid, but I’m pretty much disappointed. They’ll never find what I have. You don’t want to have these diagnoses, but at least you want to know what’s going on
points out Guy Trudel.
The ax finally fell after several months: Guy suffers from non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.
I am one case in 100,000, it was not predictable. It can’t be cured.
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An application partly shows Guy Trudel’s vision. He says that we still need to add the effect of a sieve to the image to make it more real.
Photo : - / Annie-Claude Brisson
It’s an optic nerve infarction. The fibers will die, which will lead to vision loss. It mainly affects men. No specific reasons were found
specifies his partner.
Today, Guy Trudel’s vision is like looking inside a straw with a filter. He can no longer see faces, joking that no one ages with him.
Involvement with the visually impaired, a lifeline
Guy Trudel was reluctant to participate in the activities of the Association of Visually Handicapped People. He finally met nice people, several of his age, but above all who understood him fully. He was caught in his game since today, he is vice-president of the Chicoutimi district of the association.
That really saved me. You feel isolated at first. We don’t know many people who lose their sight.
recognizes the fiftieth anniversary.
As long as we don’t do anything, instead of complaining, we’re going to get involved. I try to get involved as much as possible.
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Guy Trudel bowls with people who also have a disability. They became friends.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
The group organizes activities to break isolation and to support its members. Bowling leagues, dinners, museum visits and even fishing in the Saguenay Fjord, nothing is impossible.
It’s not okay, you’re hurt, you’re angry, you’re upset about your situation. We are here to support you. You are able to talk to me and I will understand your situation. And I’ll even give you some tips.
He doesn’t hide it: sometimes it would be much easier to stay at home.
Everyone is different, but we all have the same thing: a vision problem. We decided that we would continue to live, that we would do something with our lives.
The contribution of technology
Guy Trudel loved his job as director of education and sales for a hairdressing product manufacturer. He traveled the roads of Quebec to teach at hairdressing conferences, in addition to leading a team of technicians.
With an almost total absence of vision, he must occupy himself in other ways. He succeeds, even confirming that he is not bored. His smartphone, podcasts and audiobooks help him complete his daily life.
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Guy Trudel uses his electronic tablet, among other things, to listen to podcasts.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
Nothing suggests that Guy Trudel hardly sees anymore. It’s always counting, calculating and memorizing. At home, no one would guess that I can’t see. But when I leave the house it’s another matter
he concedes.
Applications like Google Maps and Waze help him find his way.
A sound device attached to a glass emits a sound to notify him that he has finished filling it.
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Guy Trudel and his partner installed lights in the pantry to better see what is there.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
I know my glass is full from this point on. For the visit, at least they know I didn’t put my finger in it
he shows us, laughing.
Siri has also become a great ally, just like the intelligent personal assistant Alexa that he uses in the kitchen. Guy still indulges in his passion, but in a different way, helped by these different technological tools. A reader allows you to identify the spice jars in the cupboard. But he recognizes that the expression We eat with our eyes
has truth. He sometimes feels like the meals he cooks aren’t as good as before.
The times in which we live greatly facilitate the daily lives of the visually impaired. The biggest events for the visually impaired were the arrival of phones and tablets. Despite the magnifying glasses and the tools, it is really the tools that have revolutionized low vision
corroborates his partner.
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A small electronic device lets you know if the glass filled by Guy Trudel is full or not, by emitting a sound signal.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
Lose your sight, but gain something else
Guy Trudel’s other senses have replaced his vision. It was annoying
he said, but he eventually got used to it. With feeling, he can detect that a person is upset without even having seen them.
Despite everything, he feels lucky to still have his whole head, his two arms and his legs and to be able to go about his business, but in a different way.
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Guy Trudel bowls once a week with friends who also have vision problems.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
His loss of vision also allowed him to meet unexpected people.
There are people who, possibly having had my vision again, I wouldn’t even be friends with them. Not seeing removes a barrier. Because they don’t dress like us, they don’t have the same pace of life as us. We may not necessarily go towards them. ¸It’s a bit cliché, it’s the interior that counts
he admits.
The perfect partner for this ordeal
Despite the severity of his visual disability, life is still beautiful in Guy Trudel’s eyes. He and his partner choose to live in the present moment, while still leaving room for projects.
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Guy Trudel and his partner share beautiful moments of happiness despite vision problems.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
I have a great partner, really really, I have great children, I have family, friends. Everyone is extraordinary around me. I don’t want anyone to run away from me either. Is there anything worse than someone who is heavy, “Oh misery, oh woe” and victimizing themselves?
We often say: “Lose my sight, I would lose my mind, I would no longer live.” In the end, you realize it doesn’t stop there.
I wanted to keep my lover. It’s not a caregiver I want. It’s a lover I want. Being a caregiver isn’t sexy for either of you. Put me in a CHSLD and that will make it job The same. That’s not what I wanted either. My goal was to be as little trouble as possible for him. You don’t want to become a burden to others.
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Guy Trudel has had to learn to redefine his life now that he no longer works.
Photo : - / Vicky Boutin
This is confirmed by her partner of the last eight years. His work has brought him into contact with several people living with severe blindness and, for him, Guy is undoubtedly endowed with great strength.
It’s still exceptional, it’s real resilience for me. […] True resilience is being able to see that life is still possible, that it will be different. We still have projects, we are still going to plan trips.
Through the challenges of his new blindness which he is still taming, Guy Trudel has chosen to celebrate all victories, even those in bowling.
