Helping people regain their lives

VISABILITY IS GIVING MARIANNE THE TOOLS TO STITCH HER LIFE BACK TOGETHER AFTER A STROKE

Each day, one hundred Australians will suffer a stroke. It will affect people in different ways, but a third of stroke survivors will suffer vision loss, like Marianne Penberthy who lives in Geraldton, Western Australia. The stroke led Marianne, a keen fibre work artist, to also encounter memory and mobility issues.

Marianne, now 73, once secured a top prize for innovative material use at The Fiberart International Festival in America. She says therapy and support have meant she can return to her love of art again, which is helping her to heal.

“Art is therapeutic and restorative and connects the brain to my hands. I particularly like shibori, a Japanese technique of tying, gathering or twisting a piece of cloth before dyeing it. A nurse will use stitches to mend a wound. I am stitching to heal my wounds.” VisAbility, an NDIS provider offering services to people with low or no vision, is helping Marianne to live independently. Occupational Therapist Keearny Maher offers support to Marianne in Geraldton, travelling regularly to see her in her own home. Marianne had always been interested in art and the dramatic Australian landscape. After she married, she travelled around Australia, visiting Elcho Island and Croker Island and became close to the Yolngu and the Yammirr people, who are the local indigenous communities.

She immersed herself in ceramics, selling her work at a local gallery in Kalbarri before relocating to Geraldton. In her midforties, she went to Perth to study for a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts and Textiles.

“Looking back, it was an unusual thing to do. I left my boys, then aged 11 and 13, but I received my husband’s blessing,” she says.

On her return, Marianne accepted a role as joint coordinator of the indigenous art and design course at Geraldton Regional TAFE. Her textile artwork was featured in exhibitions internationally, interstate and in West Australia.

In 2017, her husband of 48 years, Ray, was diagnosed with lung cancer and died just months later.

“The stress and trauma led to my stroke. I had a bleed on the right side of my brain that impacted the left side of my body,” says Marianne.

She recalls the months after his death and describes them as “dark times”. Marianne couldn’t walk and had constant brain fog along with vision loss.

It was a referral to VisAbility that led to therapy and support services, which helped her regain her life.

“Most strokes, like Marianne’s, will affect one side of the brain but impact both eyes because nerves from each eye travel together in the brain. Marianne’s stroke affected the right side of her brain, so she suffered vision loss on the left side of both her eyes,” explains Keearny. “Optical aids such as magnifiers, improved lighting, eye and compensatory visual scanning training have all helped Marianne so she can enjoy textile artwork once again.” Marianne with the crocheted mat she stitched together from her late husband’s t-shirts. Photo credit: Jewell Photography.

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her fine motor skills and a greater understanding of how improved lighting could help her at home.

An orientation and mobility instructor taught Marianne how to use a white cane to ‘feel’ her way around, navigate steps, find doorways and be able to use public transport. Assistive technology has meant Marianne can continue to teach textile art. One of Marianne’s first art creations following her stroke was a crocheted mat stitched together from t-shirts worn by her late husband.

“It was significant because it was about making, mending and healing,” she explains.

“Since my stroke and vision loss, my sense of touch has become more important. I’ve adapted my artwork to suit my condition. I may not be able to stitch straight anymore, but if it’s wonky it doesn’t matter. I’ve retrained myself to work with what vision I have left.”

Services like VisAbility are much needed in the community, to help people navigate vision loss and maintain quality of life.

Sally Grandy is Marketing and Communications Officer, VisAbility. For more information visit www.visability.com.au/fusion

Marianne and Keearny enjoying a cup of tea together. Photo credit: Jewell Photography.

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