The early years
Service user, Julia Curry, recently shared some stories from her fascinating journey so far, from her ‘Call The Midwife’ style career, to discovering Buddhism.
Julia’s story begins in wartime Oxford, where she was sent as a baby to live with her grandparents while her father worked on the railways.
Caring ran in the family as her mother was a nurse, and Julia always assumed she would follow the same path.
As a young woman, she won a coveted place at Middlesex Hospital in London, one of the most respected nursing schools of its day. Training there in the 1950s was a world filled with discipline and standards.
Hair had to be cut to a regulation length, uniforms were precisely pressed, starched caps and collars were “so stiff they left marks on your neck”, and heavy lace-up shoes were compulsory.
Life off the ward was just as controlled as trainee nurses lived in a home with a 10pm strict curfew. In return, the hospital made sure nurses ate properly, with set mealtimes and hot, substantial food to keep them going through long shifts.
In total, Julia spent five years training before qualifying as a midwife from a major London hospital, but it was community midwifery that really captured her heart.
Her recollections of that time often resemble scenes from the TV show, “Call The Midwife”.
As a pupil, she went everywhere on a bicycle, including middle-of-the-night call-outs, and once fully qualified, she graduated to a car (first a steady old Morris Minor, later a little Mini she remembers with real affection).
Most families didn’t have a telephone, so if help was needed urgently, a husband might have to run to the nearest phone box at the end of the road to ring the midwife or hospital. There was a special “flying squad” ambulance service with doctors and equipment ready for emergencies, but everything started with that dash to find a phone!
What stays with her most from that period is the closeness between midwives and families. She and her colleagues met women early in pregnancy, saw them regularly, ran evening classes for expectant parents and were then present in the home when babies were born.
Branching out and discovering Buddhism
In her early sixties, she did something that many wouldn’t – she went to university.
At Bath Spa, she studied religions and creative writing, gained a first-class degree and wrote the opening chapter of a memoir about her life. A stay at a Buddhist monastery in Northumberland proved particularly powerful, and she later lived nearby in a small cottage, attending regular teachings and absorbing a way of life that emphasised compassion and looking after yourself, so you can look after others.
Julia’s experience of sight loss
More recently, Julia has developed macular degeneration, which affects her central vision. She says many people misunderstand the condition.
“They imagine blindness as total darkness, like you’ve got your eyes shut”.
But her experience is different. She explains, “I can see the whole of a room, yet if I look straight at something, I can’t see it”.
Faces are particularly hard, so she relies on people’s voices, mannerisms and the general outline of their hair and build to recognise them.
Our Support for Julia
As her sight changed, she was introduced to Warwickshire Vision and now regularly attends the Social Clubs and Vision Support Centres.
There, she found guidance and support – down to things like setting up accessible technology such as an Alexa so she can listen to the charity’s audio magazine.
Julia loves the variety of the sessions, saying,
“You have no idea what you’re going to get each week, and I absolutely love that”.
For Julia, Warwickshire Vision feels both like a community and, as she puts it, “a family as well”.
After a lifetime of caring for others, she’s found a new kind of support network around her, one that helps her stay informed, independent and connected,
while still living by the values of compassion and service that have shaped her whole life
Our Services – here for you
Whether you’ve been living with sight loss for a while or it’s something that’s recently changed for you, our centres provide advice, support and information on available services, as well as an opportunity to meet other people living with sight loss in a friendly environment.
You don’t need to be registered with us to attend – we welcome anyone living with vision loss and if you’re feeling nervous, feel free to bring a friend or relative along for support.
If you’d like some advice or guidance, get in touch with a member of our team.
Telephone the office on: 01926 411 331 or email us at: enquiries@warwickshire.vision