Imagine giving birth then nine days later being told you may never see your son again.
For Sarah Hocking that was the reality she had to confront after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour from her optic nerve just days after her son Archer was born.
The 28-year-old has written an inspiring post on her blog blind intuition describing how she has tried to remember every detail of her son from the first few days of his life.
‘I remember every conversation, every visitor, the pure euphoria I felt holding my baby for the first time. The sleep deprivation, but wanting to stay awake just to stare at Archer, and take in the shape of his little lips, his wrinkly grandpa forehead, his deep blue eyes … the colour of his skin,’ she writes.
Recalling the operation, Sarah says: ‘A mask was put over my face … my lights went out and that was my last coloured memory.’
Sarah, from Bendigo, Victoria, lost most of her vision and is now legally blind though she can still make out blurred objects.
Despite her loss of sight, her attitude is inspiring and she loves life with husband Cameron and her son, now one.
‘Even though I wish for my vision to come back, it went out with a bang and on a high so I will hold onto that.
‘I may not be able to see the colour of Archer’s eyes, or the finer details in life but I can see enough to see his face light up when I am up close, I can hear his infectious laugh and giggles, I saw the first time he rolled over, the first time he crawled, sat up and took his first steps.’
As she says: ‘I refuse to accept my story as a sob story.’
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