Meagan Oberle, 43

Social media handles:

Meagan and her son, after her eye has been removed.

Facebook: Meagan Oberle

Instagram: meaganoberle

Where are you from & currently live?

Colorado

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am a single mom to a 10-year-old boy. I lost my husband to COVID this past June. Beau and I were just starting to adjust to life without his dad when I got into my accident. I had been a High School English teacher before my son was born and was planning to return to the classroom in January. But my accident, which occurred on December 20th, put a pause on those plans.

What's your eye story?

I was testing out a dirt bike for my son - thinking it might be a good gift for Christmas for him. He seemed a little scared on the bike and I thought if he saw me doing it, he might be motivated to try again. I lost control of the bike and hit a tree. We think it caused whiplash and the handlebar of the bike went through my eye to my brain.

What has been the hardest thing mentally?

This process has been hard -- mentally the loss of actual eyesight at times has been devastating, a loss I feel every day. I hope my brain will one day adjust and not see the darkness.

What has been the hardest thing physically?

I guess the mental and physical go hand in hand. The physical loss of my eyesight and not seeing the world the way I used to. Also, the physical pain of the accident and then the pain of the eye removal were both excruciating. I started meditating to deal with the pain.

Meagan in the hospital after the accident

What piece of advice would you give to someone going through their eye impairment journey?

It does get better with time. I think I'm still very much in the middle of my journey. I'm about 5 months out from the accident, so I'm still adjusting daily. I'm working toward creating something positive out of this experience, such as a podcast or forming a non-profit. Overall things have greatly improved; however, I still have bad days. I do strongly believe in the power of gratitude and I've found that I appreciate the things I can still see, hear, taste, and touch so much more than I did before. I try to live in the mantra "I get to see in half the dark and half the light" -- there cannot be light without darkness.