Writing a New Life Chapter: Meet Randy

Randy says becoming blind probably saved his life. When the Rancho Cordova resident began losing his vision at age 61, he had been working two jobs most of his life, was battling Type 2 diabetes and weighed more than 300 pounds. Now at 68, he is a published author and says he tries not to take life too seriously.

The morning Randy began losing his vision, he woke up and thought he had a spider in his eye. He jumped and quickly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it was still there and turned out to be a large collection of floaters due to high pressure in his eye. Over the next year, glaucoma caused his vision to continue declining despite numerous eye surgeries.

As his vision worsened, Randy spent more and more time at home watching sports and relying on help from his grown children. He would get out some but felt less and less safe.

“I remember the first time I waited in the passenger seat of the car by myself in a parking lot after losing my vision,” he said. “I kept thinking what if someone comes to the door. I especially didn’t want to use a white cane because I thought I would be a target out there as a Black man.”

After a year and a half at home and unable to work, Randy knew he needed a solution.

“I was basically a workaholic,” Randy said. “I’m not one to sit around. I love learning and I was ready for the task.”

Yet he had no idea where to turn for help until his nephew, who drives Regional Transit buses in Sacramento, pointed him in the right direction.

“My nephew kept seeing some of his passengers with white canes, and he would drop them at Society for the Blind,” Randy said. “One day he said to me, ‘That might be a place you should go, Uncle,’ so I went down there.”

Randy began the process of signing up for our services through the Department of Rehabilitation and has been attending classes at Society for the Blind for more than a year.

He said orientation and mobility training has helped him conquer his fear of walking in public with a white cane.

“I had such a fear of crossing the street with a cane, but we learned how to do that at Society for the Blind walking through downtown Sacramento, so I’ve overcome those fears,” Randy said.

Randy also has enjoyed learning how to cook without vision since he has always been good in the kitchen – except for that time they learned to make sandwiches and his grilled cheese ended up on the floor.

“One woman in my class could not stop laughing when that grilled cheese hit the ground,” he said. “That was a memorable moment, and I figured I better tell the story before she does.”

Randy is now learning braille and joined our Black Americans Senior Support group (BASS), which he says is filled with a lot of women he calls the “Go Gos” because they are always out and about doing an activity.

“Usually I say to them, go have fun, tell me about it later,” he said. “We can get a little loud sometimes because we’re excited and we like getting together. Our barriers are put down when we’re together, and we feel empowered.”

One day, Randy was out to eat with a few women from Society for the Blind when he was inspired to write a book sharing their individual journeys through vision loss. Everyone at the table agreed, and the book, “Sight to Dark to Light,” is now available on Amazon. Randy credits his mom as his inspiration for writing, as she wrote six books during her lifetime and they had planned to write a book together before she passed away.

“I didn’t know I was going to write a book, it just happened,” Randy said. “When I say I’m going to do something, I can’t back down. I told my story, and six courageous women told their stories. They trusted me, and we trusted each other, and we are bonded in this book forever. I know my mom is smiling down on me.”

Now Randy is starting to think about working again. After working for a funeral home for nine years, he now wants to start a business as a consultant for families in need of those services, so he is not limited to just working with one funeral home.

Randy also enjoys spending time with his grandkids, one of whom was born after he lost his vision.

“I would always hold the baby, so when he started walking, he would walk around with his eyes closed like I do,” Randy said. “It was the cutest thing.”

Randy said one of the most important things he has learned being at Society for the Blind is that he is not the alone on this journey.

“Society for the Blind is like a big family for me and builds all of our confidence,” he said. “I’m in a new chapter of my life. I just try to uplift people and make them happy because we have these moments in time, and we have to enjoy them. Being serious is overrated.”