AVON LAKE — When Gary Clawson lost his sight, he didn’t lose his resolve.

Instead, he made it his mission to give others with limited vision the same opportunities he had.

Clawson, 69, a retired teacher from the Sheffield-Sheffield Lake school district, became legally blind in 2002 after having surgery to fix hemorrhaging in his eyes.
Without the surgery, he would have gone completely blind. Instead, he has patchy vision that he compares to holding a piece of Swiss cheese in front of his face.

After his surgery, Clawson did a lot of research into ways to maintain his independence, but he was not content to find answers only for himself.

“I asked myself, ‘Why can’t I help other people and let them know what I’ve found instead of keeping it for myself?’ ” he said.

Clawson’s vision concern support group has been meeting once a month, nine months a year, for nearly five years.

Anywhere from five to 40 members at a time meet at Avon Lake’s Old Firehouse Community Center to listen to speakers on topics related to eye health or living with vision impairment.

“I want to make people aware that there are a lot of things out there to help,” Clawson said.

The speaker for Oct. 23 will address eye diseases and how to take care of the eye.

Not all of the topics are so scientific. Clawson often likes to share some commonsense tips that aren’t always obvious.

“If a person is nearly blind, how the heck does he get the toothpaste on his toothbrush?” is Clawson’s frequent example.
The answer?

“Squirt a bit of toothpaste in your mouth, and then start brushing.”

Clawson reaches an even greater audience every year with a vision-awareness fair held in April. Last year, 80 people attended the event to learn about vision issues and purchase aids.

To Clawson, his strength is that he doesn’t let his limited vision keep him from doing what he can.

“Just because you’re blind doesn’t mean you’ve lost your independence,” Clawson said. “The only thing I’m dependent on is my wife for driving me around.”

Contact Alison Dietz at 329-7128 or adietz@chroniclet.com.

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