Escape
Ash Sangoram August 1, 2025
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Post-Stroke Challenge
- By Jef Gamblée
- visuals
- 4 Comments
About the Artwork
“In August of 2022, I experienced a stroke after a cardiac catheterization. The damage was to my occipital area, resulting in vision deficits. After going to the ‘dark side,’ I continued to take pictures. Having no interest in forfeiting a trip reservation, I traveled to England three weeks after the stroke, with only tepid approval from my physician. While struggling with a deficit in my left peripheral vision, I challenged myself to continue taking pictures during and after the trip. This picture of a London bridge was an ‘in the right place at the right time’ sort of shot.”
Jef Gamblee is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister whose first career was in television as a director of photography.
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4 thoughts on “Post-Stroke Challenge”
I’m glad you survived the event so well. I also experienced a stroke that affected the occipital area during a cardiac catherization. For me, ‘the dark side’ happened immediately after the catheter was removed and literally everything went black. It took about 12 hours for partial sight to return and another 12 for my brain to be able to process the distorted images I saw. I couldn’t put a face together. I remember thinking that I was seeing the world through a Pablo Picasso filter, disjointed and disconnected. My peripheral vision has improved and I am reminded by my ophthalmologist just how lucky I am as he has seen many patients who had more extensive and permanent damage when strokes have affected this part of the brain. I often think whether I would ever consider repeating this procedure now that I have had this experience. Do you wonder about ever facing this procedure again?
It’s not going to happen in this lifetime.
So glad you did not give up. Continuing to take photographs has allowed you to return to enjoying the fullness of the view. By moving the picture left and right you can appreciate now what you could not in person. A super accommodation for a compromised visual field! And an outstanding photo!
Beautiful photo. A potent reminder that our vision and understanding of what we see is always Evel big. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa