The blind chefs “T
he main thing that’s inspiring me to follow down this path is that I’m just really loving it and want to learn more. I want to learn about all the different sorts of foods and get a lot more cooking experience. The reason I want to go down this path is so I can gain a whole lot more experience and become a better chef and hopefully find a career in it.”
Mark’s loss of vision following a brain tumour meant he wasn’t sure he’d ever work again. However, since contacting Ian Edwards at The Blind Chef bistro he is as inspired and inspiring - as ever!
But it hasn’t been an easy journey to this point. Mark has lived at home with his Dad ever since his brain tumour was diagnosed seven years ago. “If it wasn't for a car accident I wouldn’t have been here 12 to 18 months later because that’s how they discovered the tumour. I was a delivery person for a computer store and on my way to my second job for Steggles chicken when my life changed. They couldn't put a time limit on how long the tumour had been there because it was one of the slow growing ones. I had blurred NewsLink March 2021 I Page 17
spots in my vision and just got worse as time went on, and when I completely lost it, it changed my life. It wasn’t for the better.
It sent me down the path that nobody likes going down.
Since Christmas 2014 I’ve had seven lots of brain procedures to remove some of the tumours that they found, but some of it they can’t do anything about. It is a struggle some days, but the people I’ve got in my life make it so much easier. Actually starting work again really helps and gives me a clear train of thought.
So while I do have the loss of vision, today the chronic nerve pain and constant headaches are the main things that really get to me. What keeps me going is doing things with my support workers. It gives me something to look forward to, because I’ll be out and about not sitting around home doing nothing. Now I’m out gaining more independence in the community.
