We have a very touching customer story to share with you courtesy of photographer Jim Mortram. Jim is a very close friend of David’s and since David was the victim of a bicycling accident and lost his sight, Jim has helped David get his life back on track and regain his independence in a variety of ways.
Here at Sight and Sound Technology our soul mission is to help people like David regain that independence that all of us, as human beings, hold so dear. We have found a careful mix of technology and training is the key to achieving this. When Jim brought David’s story to our attention we were keen to help out, providing David with a SARA scanning machine and technical support to make sure it all runs smoothly and David understand’s how to use his new machine.
This was 2 years ago, below you can read Jim’s touching words which were so successful in raising the money needed for a SARA:
“I’ve been documenting David since he was blinded as a result of a freak bicycling accident. Before the accident robbed him of his sight (David is 100% blind, zero light perception) he was an avid collector of books and an avid reader. His rooms are filled with books gathering dust, their pages filled with adventures, lives, stories and descriptions of visions and vistas that David is unable to now experience.
In David’s words, “There’s nothing the same, if I’d been able to see a little after the accident I might have been able to access things but I can’t. I’m so cut off from the world, it’s just like being a ghost floating through the world and the only time you know you’re not a ghost is if you bang into something and it hurts and then you know you’re real as the pain feels real.
Setting up at SARA
Together we can raise the money required to purchase a SARA – Scanning and reading appliance; a device designed solely for those affected with blindness and one able to be used right of of the box. The SARA will allow David to place his books or any other printed material upon it and then convert the printed text to audio that David will be able to hear. From being unable to read to able to read any printed material in 5 minutes.
David’s response to hearing the SARA for the very first time, “Having stories read out to me, I can visualise things in my mind and get new input. I can read books I have never read before, I feel like a person again.”
You can watch a video of David explaining his blindness and why the SARA is of such importance here:
Source: Postcards from the black : HopeMob : Fundraiser for David from J A Mortram on Vimeo.
Now 2 years on from David receiving his first ever piece of technology for the blind and visually impaired, the SARA couldn’t be a bigger part of David’s life. As David was a great lover of books and reading prior to his loss of vision, the SARA has enabled him to independently read what he wants, when he wants – without having to rely on another person.
The SARA comes with a standard 2 year warranty and when this ran out David became very worried, as the machine has become such a important part of his life. This is when Jim came back to us once again, this time not trying to raise money for a brand new machine, but an extended warranty. Jim contacted us through our Facebook page and as soon as we heard David’s story we wanted to help.
We have helped David out with an extended warranty and technical support to make sure he is well supported in case anything on the technology does go wrong. We would like to thank Jim Mortram for telling David’s story and bringing to us, also for providing us with permissions to use his words, photographs, and video. For us here at Sight and Sound, to hear how much a piece of our technology has helped someone; and to see such happiness in their face as a result – certainly makes it all worth it.
David hearing his SARA or the very first time
Source: Jim Mortram: http://smalltowninertia.co.uk/market-town-david-the-long-goodbye/