Having 5% vision can leave you vulnerable in some situations.
Like getting the wrong audiobook and only being able to figure it out when you’re halfway through, just ask 39-year-old Paul Manfrin.
“My order was confused with the erotic tales of an old lady,” Mr. Manfrin said.
“I was quite confused when I first got it, and she was quite angry that it was historical fiction.”
Mr Manfrin says he was devastated to be diagnosed with rod-conical dystrophy. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
At 18, Mr. Manfrin’s friends were just starting to drive, but he wasn’t.
A university student in Adelaide, he found it increasingly difficult to read the overhead projector in classrooms.
Expecting to need glasses like everyone else, she discovered she had cone-rod dystrophy, a rare disorder where those affected experience vision loss over time.
“It was pretty devastating,” he said.
“You lose your independence as soon as you lose the ability to drive. It’s hard to get used to your dependence on other people and it took me a long time.”
In the 20 years since then, his eyesight has deteriorated to 5 percent.
“But I realized that for me to live a normal life, I just need to bite my pride and accept it. And that’s where I am now,” he said.
Manfrin says the blog is about the trials and tribulations, but also the joys of her life. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
Instead of overcoming her vision loss on her own, she now shares it with Labrador Bree, her four-year-old guide dog.
They live with Mr Manfrin’s wife Yunita and two teenage sons in Mount Gambier on South Australia’s limestone coast.
It is their constant time together that has inspired her to create a blog, Jo and Bree, documenting the adventures they have been able to share.
“[I wanted to] Educating people about the life I have and the struggles, but also the great things I get to enjoy,” Manfrin said.
“I [may] You have about 5% vision, but life goes on 100%.”
Co-star Bree
“My name is Paul, but the real star of the show is Bree, a seven-year-old black Labrador,” —Jo and Bree blog.
After 20 years of living with a visual impairment, Mr Manfrin was wary of the suggestion of getting a guide dog in 2018.
“Because you don’t just get a dog, and that’s it. There’s a lot of training involved,” he said.
It took 12 months for Mr. Manfrin and Bree to really understand each other.
“Bree is an independent kind of dog,” she said.
“Sometimes she likes to do things her way, and that independence really clashed at first.
Mr. Manfrin says that Bree is easily distracted. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
“But we have developed a hybrid system [now] where she’s on top sometimes, and so am I.”
Probably a good thing because they spend all their time together. Although he is a great dog, he has his flaws.
Easily distracted by food and people, Bree will often lead Mr. Manfrin into obstacles such as chairs or electric poles.
“He can’t help it. He’s a Labrador,” she said.
Misadventures
As someone with limited vision, Mr. Manfrin relies heavily on light and shadow.
“If there’s too much light, it’s too dazzling. If there’s not enough light, I can’t see what I’m doing,” he said.
Mr. Manfrin’s dilemma is highlighted in one particular blog post.
“One day after work, I was feeling pretty excited. I went out to the shed and pulled out my trusty lawnmower, filled it with fuel and went to mow.” – Me and Bree’s blog.
Manfrin says that Bree has acted as a bridge between him and the others. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
As the light began to fall, Mr. Manfrin’s wife and two children arrived home to report that he had started mowing his next-door neighbor’s lawn.
Other ideas Mr Manfrin offers include jumping queues, meeting birds and the trials and tribulations of picking up dog poo.
Mr. Manfrin also loves going to the movies, an experience he also shares with readers.
“It’s amazing when you lose one sense, the others get stronger. I have a keen sense of smell and my hearing is pretty good, except my wife thinks I’m post deaf,” – Me and the Blog from Bree.
On her first visit to the cinema, Bree ate all the popcorn on the floor within a two meter radius. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
“I like hearing my kids laugh at a funny scene. I love hearing other people’s reactions. There are parts of the movie that I might not follow, but usually someone fills me in, or I just put the points and make my own sense of the story.”
When Mr. Manfrin took Bree to the movies for the first time, he was worried about how she would behave.
It turned out, pretty well.
Later he found out from his wife that Bree had managed to eat all the popcorn on the floor in the radius of two meters around him.
An exciting life
Bree has acted as a bridge between Manfrin and new people in many cases.
“They’re more interested in engaging with me. Whereas with the cane, there wasn’t as much interaction,” Manfrin said.
“I like the novelty and the anonymity.”
Manfrin says Bree motivates him to try new things. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
Although Mr. Manfrin’s condition has made his life challenging, he finds it very exciting.
“Especially with Bree in my life too,” she said.
“She’s also a great motivator for me. She’s given me the confidence to do a lot of things.”
The company is also appreciated.
“We have one-on-one talks, even though it’s one direction,” he said.
“But sometimes it feels like she’s there listening to me. I’ve enjoyed spending a lot of time with her.”
Mr. Manfrin says he sometimes talks to Bree. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
It is these adventures that you can read about on Paul’s blog, Bree and Me.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to explain [my visual impairment] but to write it in an article and make it comical and humorous, often people will relate to it.”
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