Member-only story
Living with Stargardt Macular Dystrophy
Dagmar Jamieson’s Story
“Being a teenager, I preferred to be identified by others to be different rather than blind. A mature person may think that is a silly compromise. However, I just wanted to be like everyone else. Being different meant being unique, which I reframed into a good thing.” — Dagmar Jamieson
“You can overcome any obstacle; you just have to find a way.” This quote is all cute and inspiring till a real disability hits. I’ve often wondered about disabilities, the different types, and the people that live with them. It’s the kind of “how-do-I-even-explore” curiosity, and luckily episode, I met and spoke with Dagmar Jamieson, who’s been progressively losing her eyesight at age 13!
To be blind and successful doesn’t come by so easily, and countries like former Czechoslovakia, where Dagmar was born, were not ideal places to become blind way back then. Or is there even an ideal place to become blind? Again, this is where the place of family, schools and other external influences are important. Dagmar’s parents, thankfully, relocated her to Austria when she was eight years old and to Canada when she was nine, where she currently…
