Just over five years ago Rosemarie Broadley dropped her mum off at her home in Glenrothes, gave her a kiss and a cuddle and told her she would see her the next day.
But little did she know this would be the last time she would ever see her again.
The then 55-year-old went home to Kirkcaldy, got into her bed and fell asleep.
And when she woke up in hospital six weeks later, Rosemarie was blind.
In that instant, her life had changed completely and would never be the same again.
“When they brought me out of the coma, I remember the doctor telling me I was now blind,” she said.
“I thought he was joking.
“My daughter was there and when I heard her voice I thought I could see her face.
“It was like my brain was telling me I could see her.”
Rosemarie, who has Type 1 diabetes, continued: “But when I fell into a diabetic coma I didn’t realise I was taking seizures.
“This resulted in my brain not sending signals to my eyes, leaving me blind.”
Stress could have contributed to diabetic coma
The former foster carer, who is originally from Dunfermline, believes stress played a big part in what happened to her.
Rosemarie, 61, said: “My marriage had broken up, I had to sell my house in England – where I had lived for ten years – move back up to Scotland and start afresh.
“It was all incredibly stressful.
“I wasn’t taking care of myself and I was just exhausted.”
Her young foster daughter had been living with her at the time but hadn’t realised it was anything serious when she discovered Rosemarie had been sick while asleep at home.
She had sought help when Rosemarie didn’t wake up, resulting in her being taken to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy on May 30, 2018.
First few weeks in hospital
Rosemarie, who has two daughters, Danniel and Samantha, hadn’t realised how weak she was after being in the diabetic coma for all those weeks.
“I remember being in hospital and I couldn’t walk because I had been lying in bed for such a long time.
“My body was very weak and I had lost a lot of weight.”
After spending a few weeks in the Victoria, Rosemarie was transferred to Cameron Hospital in July 2018 so she could focus on her rehabilitation by having physiotherapy.
She remained there for the next few months until October.
Learning to accept she is now blind
Rosemarie recalls the moment when she started to acknowledge her condition.
“It took me a long time to try and accept I was blind.
“I remember when I was in hospital and my daughter had brought some clothes for me and had put them in the wardrobe.
“I was looking for something particular and I just couldn’t find it.
“It was just the thought of going into a wardrobe and not knowing what anything looked like.
“I had to just feel the clothes with my fingertips, using them as my eyes. And I got so upset.
“I broke down because I thought I can’t even pick out my own clothes.”
Rosemarie, who has six grandchildren and one great grand-daughter, added: “My grandchildren have also only ever known me as a blind person.
“I have held them, kissed and cuddled them, but I have never been able to see them.”
How Rosemarie rebuilt her life
Rosemarie was able to go home the first week in October.
“I didn’t care that I was in darkness, it was just great to be home.”
She had representatives from social care attending, to give her personal care and practical help with meals.
Representatives from Seescape, which helps those in Fife with a visual impairment, also offered her support.
The charity’s technology team helped to set up her phone with voice commands so she could reply to texts and make calls.
But the one thing she wanted to do more than anything else was to walk unassisted.
“I just wanted to be able to go for a walk on my own – to have my freedom.
“I needed to know I could go out on my own eventually and do the things I wanted to do. Being as independent as I possibly could be.”
Regaining independence
Seescape vision rehabilitation specialist Elaina Hutchison supported Rosemarie to learn the three mile route to her daughter’s house and walking to local shops with the help of a cane.
It took her a few months to a year to build up her confidence to master the routes – taking in pavements, main roads and pedestrian crossings.
“I just did little sections at a time and repeated them over and over – this is how I learned the route.”
Elaina also helped Rosemarie to re-learn daily tasks most of us take for granted.
This included simple things like making a cup of tea and preparing vegetables for meals.
Rosemarie said: “It was learning how to hold knives safely when chopping vegetables.
“The knowledge of how to do it was still in my head but it was trying to bring that information forward.
“I’m not saying it was easy, it wasn’t. It was terrifying.
“But I managed it and I can now make cups of tea as well as stovies and homemade soup.
“Elaina and Seescape have been brilliant with any help I have needed or just giving me that extra time to take things in.”
Elaina said: “Looking at what she has come from to what she has achieved now is unbelievable.
“She has built up her confidence and looking at the possibilities of what she can do, to what she is now doing, is amazing.
“And she just keeps going. I am very proud of her.”
The sky’s the limit for Rosemarie
Rosemarie has gone on to prove there doesn’t have to be any limitations on what she can do just because she is blind.
Two years ago she bought her daughter a skydiving experience (Skydive St Andrews) at Glenrothes and as her daughter didn’t want to do it alone, Rosemarie decided to do it with her.
“I tippled out the plane, started plummeting to earth but I felt was if I was floating,” Rosemarie explained.
“Then the chute came out and I was getting pulled back up the way.
“I asked the instructor guy who was with me if we were over the sea and he said no.
“I told him all I could taste was salt.
“I was also trying very hard not to be sick as I knew it would go back on him as he was above me.
“So that was my experience as a blind person!”
Hopes and plans for the future
Rosemarie’s plans for the future include being able to find a job.
And she hopes to make progress in securing work over the next year.
“When I was lying in the hospital bed, after I came out the coma and they told me I was blind, I thought of all the things I had seen and how lucky I have been in life.
“And that got me through a lot. Worse things can happen but I am still here.”
- We’d love to hear about your health journey – have you overcome the challenges of living with a long-term condition? Or have you marked a special achievement despite having health difficulties? Please contact us with your story by emailing: debbie.clarke@dcthomson.co.uk
