January 28, 2025 • 28 mins
In this heartfelt conversation, industrial chemist, music enthusiast, and current board member of Blind Citizens WA, Loc Tang, opens up about his journey of healing and resilience. He shares how community helped him find strength after trauma and what true belonging means to him. This episode is a moving reminder of the power of connection.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:08):
Hi, I'm Simon.
S2 (00:09):
And I'm Abby, and you're listening to In Plain Sight,
a program where we talk to people making a positive
impact in the community and disability sector, shining a light
on those who might otherwise be hidden in plain sight.
S1 (00:23):
And it's our pleasure to bring these really fabulous stories
to you on a weekly basis here on Vision Australia Radio. Abby,
how are you going?
S2 (00:33):
I'm good. Simon, I'm. I'm hot. That's what I am.
I'm hot. It's, uh. It's currently been 38 to 44
degrees this week here in Perth. And we're definitely struggling
through the heat wave. I would say.
S1 (00:47):
Yes. And I like those ads on the radio and
TV telling us how to save energy by putting the
aircon on to 24 degrees, which is fine and dandy
if you have an air conditioner. Um, yes. Here in
Perth we're going through one of our traditional heat waves
Heatwaves in January, as we often do, and it's quite difficult. Yeah,
(01:08):
it is difficult to do. I know there's hot weather
in other parts of Australia and freezing cold weather in
other parts of the world, but here.
S2 (01:16):
We are just muggy. It's grey and muggy and.
S1 (01:19):
Yes, it's.
S2 (01:20):
A weird time of year.
S1 (01:22):
As I said to someone on the phone yesterday, it's
like being in the tropics without the beaches and palm trees.
S2 (01:26):
Oh.
S1 (01:28):
But at least we can go swimming in our ocean
without stingers and crocodiles.
S2 (01:32):
I don't know, they're closing beaches up because of sharks.
They closed our Cottesloe up the other week because of
a shark, so I don't know about that.
S1 (01:40):
I'm more worried about the sharks on land.
S2 (01:45):
Moving along, moving along. This week we are speaking to
Lock Tang, industrial chemist, music enthusiast and current board member
for Blind Citizens West Australia.
S1 (01:56):
It was really great to talk with lock and I
really appreciated his Enthusiasm, his passion and his sincerity. Now
what I also enjoyed when listening to this interview was
Locke is not a professional advocate. He is not a
professional person in any of the realms of what we've discussed.
(02:17):
But what makes this special, this discussion special, is that
it's sincere, it's heartfelt, and it's warm. And he does
share some of that emotion that a lot of people
go through when having faced difficulties in their life. And
we will learn all about what kind of difficulties Locke
went through in his life.
S2 (02:36):
I definitely found this interview very personal, and it just
it draws you in straight away with how sincere it
is and as, as you put it, Simon. Heartfelt.
S1 (02:46):
Yes. And one of the topics Locke does discuss without
giving too much away is belonging to something important and
belonging to something that gives you purpose and sense of
fun as well, and a sense of belonging. So we'll
learn about what that is for Locke. But Locke didn't
mention at the time that he is a board member
(03:08):
of Blind Citizens Western Australia, as they've been mentioned, and
that is an important organisation that I would like to
make mention of, because it changed a lot of things
for the better, for people who are blind and have
low vision. And it's also a great way of connecting
with other people who are blind and have low vision
because they have social events and other peer group support
(03:32):
networks as well. So whatever you whatever is happening for you,
be it you have a disability and illness or an
impairment of some description, find a support group, find another
network out there that suits your situation and also suits
your interests. To help you feel more connected to a
(03:53):
sense of community. And community is so important for all
of us, but especially if you have a disability or
are going through a chronic illness of some kind or
something like that.
S2 (04:04):
So blind citizens WA has been representing people for over
60 years, and their mission statement is to ensure that
West Australians who are blind or vision impaired have full
participation in the community. And of course, there'll be other
organisations over East that are aiming to do the same
sort of thing. But the main point is it's about
(04:25):
community and it's about feeling a part of something and
not feeling alone or isolated. Now, Simon, what do you
do to feel a part of a community?
S1 (04:35):
Well, I sort of, due to my interests and other,
other things, I feel like I'm part of several communities.
One is my local community to where I live, and
I do several things around that, where I catch up
with my friends and go out to places I also
belong to a social. I'm a social member of a
(04:59):
bowls club where I go in, um, mainly go there
for the music, and that's a little community of its own.
And it's a really great to be part of that
community of the bowls club. And I'm also, of course,
part of the blindness community here in Perth. Now, people
listening who know me know that I don't participate as
much as I should in some of those events, but
(05:21):
I sometimes go to organise dinners that happen within the
blind community here in Perth, that they organise a dinner
outing every fortnight, and when one suits my budget and
close to my location, I like to attend that. And
one of those advantages of going to those dinners is
(05:42):
that we might all come from different backgrounds and all
have different interests, but we have one small thing in common,
and that is having a vision impairment. And that's really,
really beneficial and rewarding. And what about you? What do
you get up to.
S2 (05:56):
At the moment? As of the last probably month, I
found a bit of a community in line dancing. So
in the city, in Northbridge, they do what they call
boot scooting, which is country line dancing. So I've been
doing that a couple the last couple of Friday nights,
(06:16):
and I'll say, that's a lot of fun. Um, and
there's a whole community there. Everyone there's some people that
are really, really good at it and you should see
their feet move. And then there's some of us, like me,
who are beginners and get completely lost about three moves
into the routine.
S1 (06:31):
But yeah, and I find that fascinating because I'm very
much older than you, and there's people a little bit
younger and a little bit older than me that think
line dancing is really odd and boring and a bit square.
And there's people we.
S2 (06:49):
Do dance about square.
S1 (06:51):
That's right, that's right. Well, in the old days it
was called square dancing. That's a whole nother thing. But.
And there's people my parents age who go line dancing
for exercise. And yet younger people your age maybe are
picking up line dancing for fun. And there's a venue
in Fremantle, Western Australia, that does line dancing every Wednesday night,
(07:12):
and apparently it's packed and it's very, very people join
in very enthusiastically. And yeah, a lot of people I
know are into swing dancing. Oh, I.
S2 (07:24):
Love swing dancing.
S1 (07:25):
And, um, they like their country ish country music, country
rock and roll and old time 50s style rock n
roll so they can do their fancy dancing and swing
around the place. And I'm not part of that community,
but linked to it.
S2 (07:42):
You might have to come bootscooting some Friday. Simon. No.
S1 (07:47):
Anyways, really looking forward to listening to Locke's great contribution
to our show right now and I hope you enjoy too.
Thanks for joining us. I like how are you?
S3 (08:01):
I'm good. Thanks, Simon. How are you?
S1 (08:03):
I'm great. Now, look, I believe you speak at least
two languages. Is that right?
S3 (08:08):
Two and a half. I say two and a half.
S1 (08:10):
What were those two and a half be?
S3 (08:12):
Uh, that'd be English, Vietnamese and Chinese. Okay. And Mandarin.
S1 (08:18):
Okay. Can you say hello and welcome in Vietnamese for us?
S3 (08:22):
Uh.
S1 (08:25):
Okay. Yeah. Thank you very much. Now, you were born
in Vietnam. Is that right?
S3 (08:30):
I was born in Vietnam. Uh, came to Australia when
I was about 13, turning 14, I think.
S1 (08:39):
So you are legally blind now?
S3 (08:42):
Uh, I'm legally blind since 2014.
S1 (08:45):
2014. And what was the. What is the nature of
your vision?
S3 (08:51):
Um, I have a condition called La Coma, and I
was born with it. You were born with that? Yeah.
And it's in the family. My brother has it as well, but, uh,
it's a I think with the condition. There are two types.
My one is very slowly, you know, um, it's a
(09:13):
slow process. Thank God for that.
S1 (09:16):
And what would be the level of your eyesight now?
S3 (09:19):
You know, blindness is a spectrum, so it's hard to describe.
There are days that I cannot literally see. If you
stand in front of me, I lost all my peripheral vision.
And I have the central vision. Uh, I would say,
you know, if easy to understand, I'd say I probably
have a 6 or 7% of sight.
S1 (09:40):
And with glaucoma, it. You said it started to you're
born with it, but it started to develop. At what time?
S3 (09:50):
It's from the age that you you're born. Really? Because
the glaucoma is to do with the pressure in the eye.
And basically that pressure is increasing gradually. In my case, anyway.
And the pressure is putting the, you know, the pressure
is on the optic nerve and that's kill the optic nerves.
And that's why it's kind of like a they call
(10:13):
it a silent killer because you don't know, you know,
when you're born, your vision, you think, oh, it's normal,
but it might not be normal, but because you're able
to see everything, so you just, you know, just carry
on as usual. But in the meantime, people who are
suffering from this condition, the peripheral side vision is gradually
(10:34):
closing up over the years. And, you know, for me,
I don't know how when it started, um, but when
I was about when I finished high school, I went
to uni and that's when I started to notice that, oh,
it's getting a bit worse. You know how I see things.
(10:55):
But I actually thought it was just shortsightedness because I.
I'm short sighted. So I didn't do anything until until 1989.
That's when I just finished uni and about to apply
for a job. And then I was driving back then
as well. And, you know, I started to see all
(11:16):
these things like halo around light, that's a classic symptom.
And then suddenly, you know, you just, um, I was
approaching like a T-junction. I was driving, and then, you know,
I thought it's just like, because you see, with your brain,
you're not seeing with your eyes, you know, it's just
like a camera lens. So the brain kind of like
(11:37):
can when it cannot see things, it just, you know,
whatever memory that you have in that section of the road,
you think that, okay, it's going straight ahead but actually
approaching a T junction. Right. And I almost, you know,
ran over it. And that's when I thought, oh, this
is this is not good. How come. You know, sometimes
I can see things, sometimes I can't. So I went
(11:59):
to the hospital and then my eye pressure back then
it was like one is 90 and the other one
is 70. Now normally your your your pressure, your pressure shouldn't,
you know, should be around 20 or below. So, uh,
that's when I was diagnosed, uh, of having glaucoma. And
(12:20):
then they, they, you know, shortly after that I had
surgery and all that. And then after, after a while,
they managed to, uh, to settle the pressure, the high pressure.
And and I was about, you know, I went back
to normal business, really doing, you know, the thing I
want to do, uh, went for a job. I became
(12:41):
a chemist.
S1 (12:43):
So like you, you formed a career in your chosen
career of chemistry. And throughout most of that time, your
eyesight was stable enough and able. You were able to
continue with not too many problems. Is that right?
S3 (13:00):
That's correct. Yeah. I was able to, you know, function
as a normal person, really, just that I have to
be a bit, I guess, careful being aware of my condition, but, um, yeah,
I was able to work as, you know, as, as
a normal person. And, uh, I went on until 2014. Uh,
(13:24):
that's when the deterioration rate got worse and worse in the,
in that in that time I actually had treatments and then, um, uh, the,
the eye doctor basically told me that. Yeah, it's every,
every time it's getting worse, every year.
S1 (13:42):
It must have been a very difficult and somewhat traumatic time,
and I've talked to many people who have gone through
similar experiences. My experience wasn't wasn't like that, but it
was slightly different. And we've all had different ways of
coping with stress and trauma and difficult times. What are
some of the techniques, some of the learnings, some of
(14:06):
the activities that you do that help you with everyday
life that you find beneficial, that you might like to
tell people about?
S3 (14:14):
I have always been interested in art, and that's one
thing that I, um, I've been doing. And even before
my vision got worse, I thought to myself, right, that's
kind of like a therapy to me. So that's something
that I like. And it's also beneficial to do.
S1 (14:34):
What type of art?
S3 (14:35):
There lock. Uh, I like all kind of arts, but
mainly drawing and painting. You know, with oil painting, acrylic
and stuff like that.
S1 (14:47):
Very good. And are you still able to do that
with the vision that you have?
S3 (14:51):
Uh, with a bit of help, I actually have an
art therapist. She she is a, you know, qualified artist.
So she helped me. So I find that with the help.
With her help. Yeah, I can I can do a
lot of things. And, you know, in the classroom, I'm
working with other people who have barely have any sight. Really? Uh,
(15:13):
the way I see it, you know, if you if
you find that helpful in this in this way, then
just just do it. You know, you see, you can
use your imagination to see. You don't need your eyes
to see. Yeah.
S1 (15:27):
That's right. And a lot of people often ask blind
people what tools or things that they do to get
by to you. For instance, read Braille.
S3 (15:36):
Yeah. Uh, in my case, I use some assistive technology
to help me with my work. In my case, it's
it's kind of like a, uh, it's a software. It's
a program that's designed to help vision impaired people, like, okay,
if you if you want a magnification of certain. Because
(15:57):
my vision changes all the time someday. I don't have
a problem with seeing small things. Right. But at the
time than I do. So the software for example, I'm
using fusion at the moment. Um, and yeah, it's allowing
you to magnify things. And sometimes if you use your
(16:17):
eyes too much because I have to scan, you know,
every word that I read, then you can switch on the,
you know, the, the voice or you can get it
to read it to you.
S1 (16:27):
I know it's a common thing with many people, especially
who are vision impaired rather than blind. We tried to
use as much of the limited sight that we have. However,
that sometimes can be quite physically tiring. Do you find
this Locke?
S3 (16:43):
Oh, every day Simon. It's every single day. And it's
kind of like, um. It is frustrating, but then you
you find a way, uh, to change your mindset. Yep. Uh, and,
you know, for me, what I'm trying to do at
the moment is I'm trying to, uh, you know, getting
(17:05):
frustrating and, uh, all these things just negative energy. So
I want to channel that negative energy to, to into
a positive one, for example.
S2 (17:18):
You're currently listening to In Plain Sight on Virgin Australia Radio.
This week we are speaking to Locke Tang, an industrial chemist,
music enthusiast, and current board member of Blind Citizens West Australia.
S1 (17:33):
I happen to know that you've done some charity work
over time, and not that long ago you did something
quite interesting and courageous to help raise money for a
particular charity that you were interested in. Something that most
people would find quite daunting, and I would probably do it.
(17:55):
And with a lot of these things, most people would
think that's even more daunting if you can't see. Now
you did the tower descent. What is it?
S3 (18:05):
Yeah. Selling down the building. The tallest building in Perth.
S1 (18:08):
What was that event called?
S3 (18:09):
Lock plunge or taking a plunge? Something like that. Yep. Yeah. So, yeah.
That's where you up? Selling down over the building to
raise money for charity. Um.
S1 (18:23):
And how was that experience like?
S3 (18:24):
You see, this is what I'm. I'm on about. You know,
normally it's a I'm frightened of heights, right? But as
I was saying earlier about, you know, channeling all these
negative things about you and turn it into positive. So
I'm trying to change my mindset to think, okay, yeah,
I'm afraid of heights. And if I can, I have
(18:45):
2020 vision that would scare me to death, to seeing
all these things. So, you know, because I'm vision impaired
so I can't see much. So my fear has been reduced. So,
you know, you just, um, you just make the difficulty
that you have with a vision impairment and turn it
into positive, you know, look at the positive thing that
(19:07):
it does. And that way, you know, you can apply,
you can get on with life and you can learn
a way to enjoy it. Because if I had full vision,
there is no way I'm going to go over the
edge of the building.
S1 (19:18):
So. And did you manage to raise a lot of
money for your chosen charity?
S3 (19:22):
Yeah, I think I raised probably about $1,400. That's very good. Yeah,
that's that's, uh. Yeah, that wasn't a bad effort.
S1 (19:30):
And did you manage to have fun while you were
doing it?
S3 (19:34):
Oh, yes. Yes, I you know, funny enough, uh, now,
after I did the abseiling down, I wanted to do
it again. So maybe next year, maybe next, next year,
I'll try to raise money and to get to do
it again.
S1 (19:50):
What other great adventures have you got lined up for yourself, Loc?
S3 (19:53):
I'm. I'm thinking of signing up. Uh, I have a
friend who's going to jump out of the plane, so. Skydiving? Yeah.
In April. And, um. Yeah, I'm thinking of seriously wanting
to do that. Yeah. Tandem skydiving. So.
S1 (20:09):
Tandem?
S3 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't jump off the plane by myself. No,
this has to be tandem. Yes. So someone would do
the work for me.
S1 (20:19):
Tell me what other, um, activities and recreational leisure type
things do you like to do? I know that you're
a big music fan.
S3 (20:29):
Uh, yes. Yes, I belong to a band as well.
A band? Yeah. We call. We call ourselves Grand delusions.
S1 (20:37):
Grand delusions?
S3 (20:38):
Yeah. That's a.
S1 (20:39):
Fabulous name.
S3 (20:40):
Yeah. We just. Yeah, it's a fabulous name. And. Yeah. Um,
all of us, uh, vision. Ah, the vision impaired or
totally blind and. Yeah, we've been going for. We've been
performing at the Rotary Club.
S1 (20:56):
And how did you get involved with this music group?
S3 (20:59):
Uh, it it is for me, just as painting and
other things that I do when I become legally blind
is to, uh, you know, try and do as much,
get involved, as much activity as I can. And I
always wanted to play guitar. I could not, you know, uh,
play a tune before I lost my vision. And this
(21:22):
is one of the things that, um, I tried to
change my mindset as well is kind of like before,
I think, because I was still distracted with the normal vision.
So I didn't not really focus on learning. And now
with the vision impairment, I have more time on my
hands and I can. I'm able to focus and use
(21:42):
other senses. Like before, I couldn't tell, you know, the course,
the variation between the notes and all that. But now
I find that, um, yeah, I can. So yeah, and
music helped me to. It is also a therapy for me,
just like painting.
S1 (21:59):
Where did the group of blind and vision impaired musicians
come from? How did that get started?
S3 (22:05):
Uh, it started by, um, my music leader, the band leader,
his vision impaired as well. And then I think, I
don't know, uh, about probably about 6 or 7 years ago,
he started up this, this band and my friend, I
just through word of mouth, I heard about it, and
(22:26):
I went and joined that band. And, you know, we've
been playing ever since. Also because I love music and
it is a therapy for me. So I actually get
them to come around to my place and I start
collecting guitar and other musical instruments. And, you know, we
have a regular jamming session at my place.
S1 (22:47):
I've heard about this and it sounds wonderful and, um,
something that I wanted to touch on that people like yourself. Like,
that's why I wanted to talk to you. Help bring
people together. Now, can you, in your own way, tell
me a little bit about what you think is the
great thing of bringing people together and and sharing the
common unity in this case, of people who have blindness
(23:11):
or have vision impairment and also like to try music.
S3 (23:16):
I'll give you one recent example, and it's just an
example of everything. We all love to sing. You know,
even the ones that say, no, no, I can't sing
a tune. No, I don't want to. But really, deep
down inside, I think it's for me. I'm a chemist
and I tend to relate it to the scientific explanation.
(23:37):
It's a way of expressing yourself. You know, people go
to concerts, they like music and all that. And believe
it or not, everyone wants to sing. But because of
the embarrassment and all that, they restrain themselves from, from
from expressing themselves. Yeah. So so I try to get
people and I try to encourage them by. Okay. Invite
(23:57):
them to my house. You know, it's a safe space.
Just sing all you want, you know. Have your ego out,
you know. No one cares. So that's that's that's, um.
And I can relate to that.
S1 (24:08):
I think what I've seen you do, Locke, is that
you've been encouraged by others, as I was when I
became vision impaired and tried many different things over the years.
And I want to also try to share that encouragement
with other people, and so they may gain the benefit
and the joy and fun that I've experienced. Do you relate?
S3 (24:32):
Yes, I relate totally to that, Simon. Yes.
S1 (24:36):
So you like your music? I know that we are
Facebook friends and I see you share lots of music.
Could you name a big band or artist that you
are a big fan of?
S3 (24:46):
Oh, Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd?
S1 (24:48):
Fantastic. Yeah, and I really appreciate that, that you share
your enthusiasm and love of music prior to you, your
eyesight deteriorating, did you have any contact or any knowledge
of people who were blind?
S3 (25:03):
No. And that's the thing that I went through it alone.
And that's the hardest. You know, I went through a dark,
dark place by myself. And now, looking back, you know,
I've seen people who traveling down the same path with me. And. Yeah,
that's that's why I can I can imagine that the
(25:25):
so I try to kind of like help them not
to travel down that path that I did by myself.
S1 (25:32):
So with that, when, if someone who's listening to this
and is going through something similar, losing their eyesight or
have just recently lost their eyesight, what would it be?
A couple of things you would like them to know
about that journey, that process.
S3 (25:46):
You know, if someone's going through that and if I
happen to meet them or I would. First thing I
would tell them is that there are help out there.
There are places like, you know, Vision Australia and Visibility.
I'm aware of two places in WA. I don't know
whether there's other organizations will get involved. Contact them because,
(26:07):
you know, uh, you, you will you will find that
extremely helpful because, um, you know, feeling being alone to
go through. Just get out there and make yourself, you know,
will would just sell to go out there and get
in touch with them.
S1 (26:22):
Find a way. And on a similar note, as we
wind the conversation up, look, what would you like the
general public to know about someone who is vision impaired?
That if they've never met someone, or never had any
experience with someone who is blind or vision impaired?
S3 (26:38):
I would say they are just like you. They're just
as good as you, as bad as you. They just
like you. We are all the same. Yeah, that's what
I the first thing I would tell them. So, you know,
just don't treat them any differently. If they want help
like a normal person, you know, give them help and
(26:59):
you know, if they want to, if they don't want help,
they are they are good. You don't need to help them,
but treat them the same as you do with any
other other people.
S1 (27:08):
That's excellent. And that, I think, might be a great
place to wind up a little conversation today. And I
really appreciate you coming into the studio here in Vision
Australia radio here in Perth, and it's been a fantastic
and fun and very interesting conversation and I really appreciate
your honesty, openness and fun there. Thank you very much.
S3 (27:29):
Thank you so much Simon. It was fun doing this.
And yeah, thank you very much.
S2 (27:33):
And thanks so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed
that interview. And I just want to say a reminder
to everyone to send us an email. If you have
any contributions or thoughts about the show, we'd love to
hear from you. Our email address is in plain sight
at Vision Australia. Org.
S1 (27:50):
Remember you can listen to this program on the Vision
Australia Radio. Check your local guides for the Broadcast Times
VA radio on the DAB and on Demand and on
all the podcast platforms. Please check us out. Bye for now.
S2 (28:05):
Bye for now.
Hi, I'm Simon.
S2 (00:09):
And I'm Abby, and you're listening to In Plain Sight,
a program where we talk to people making a positive
impact in the community and disability sector, shining a light
on those who might otherwise be hidden in plain sight.
S1 (00:23):
And it's our pleasure to bring these really fabulous stories
to you on a weekly basis here on Vision Australia Radio. Abby,
how are you going?
S2 (00:33):
I'm good. Simon, I'm. I'm hot. That's what I am.
I'm hot. It's, uh. It's currently been 38 to 44
degrees this week here in Perth. And we're definitely struggling
through the heat wave. I would say.
S1 (00:47):
Yes. And I like those ads on the radio and
TV telling us how to save energy by putting the
aircon on to 24 degrees, which is fine and dandy
if you have an air conditioner. Um, yes. Here in
Perth we're going through one of our traditional heat waves
Heatwaves in January, as we often do, and it's quite difficult. Yeah,
(01:08):
it is difficult to do. I know there's hot weather
in other parts of Australia and freezing cold weather in
other parts of the world, but here.
S2 (01:16):
We are just muggy. It's grey and muggy and.
S1 (01:19):
Yes, it's.
S2 (01:20):
A weird time of year.
S1 (01:22):
As I said to someone on the phone yesterday, it's
like being in the tropics without the beaches and palm trees.
S2 (01:26):
Oh.
S1 (01:28):
But at least we can go swimming in our ocean
without stingers and crocodiles.
S2 (01:32):
I don't know, they're closing beaches up because of sharks.
They closed our Cottesloe up the other week because of
a shark, so I don't know about that.
S1 (01:40):
I'm more worried about the sharks on land.
S2 (01:45):
Moving along, moving along. This week we are speaking to
Lock Tang, industrial chemist, music enthusiast and current board member
for Blind Citizens West Australia.
S1 (01:56):
It was really great to talk with lock and I
really appreciated his Enthusiasm, his passion and his sincerity. Now
what I also enjoyed when listening to this interview was
Locke is not a professional advocate. He is not a
professional person in any of the realms of what we've discussed.
(02:17):
But what makes this special, this discussion special, is that
it's sincere, it's heartfelt, and it's warm. And he does
share some of that emotion that a lot of people
go through when having faced difficulties in their life. And
we will learn all about what kind of difficulties Locke
went through in his life.
S2 (02:36):
I definitely found this interview very personal, and it just
it draws you in straight away with how sincere it
is and as, as you put it, Simon. Heartfelt.
S1 (02:46):
Yes. And one of the topics Locke does discuss without
giving too much away is belonging to something important and
belonging to something that gives you purpose and sense of
fun as well, and a sense of belonging. So we'll
learn about what that is for Locke. But Locke didn't
mention at the time that he is a board member
(03:08):
of Blind Citizens Western Australia, as they've been mentioned, and
that is an important organisation that I would like to
make mention of, because it changed a lot of things
for the better, for people who are blind and have
low vision. And it's also a great way of connecting
with other people who are blind and have low vision
because they have social events and other peer group support
(03:32):
networks as well. So whatever you whatever is happening for you,
be it you have a disability and illness or an
impairment of some description, find a support group, find another
network out there that suits your situation and also suits
your interests. To help you feel more connected to a
(03:53):
sense of community. And community is so important for all
of us, but especially if you have a disability or
are going through a chronic illness of some kind or
something like that.
S2 (04:04):
So blind citizens WA has been representing people for over
60 years, and their mission statement is to ensure that
West Australians who are blind or vision impaired have full
participation in the community. And of course, there'll be other
organisations over East that are aiming to do the same
sort of thing. But the main point is it's about
(04:25):
community and it's about feeling a part of something and
not feeling alone or isolated. Now, Simon, what do you
do to feel a part of a community?
S1 (04:35):
Well, I sort of, due to my interests and other,
other things, I feel like I'm part of several communities.
One is my local community to where I live, and
I do several things around that, where I catch up
with my friends and go out to places I also
belong to a social. I'm a social member of a
(04:59):
bowls club where I go in, um, mainly go there
for the music, and that's a little community of its own.
And it's a really great to be part of that
community of the bowls club. And I'm also, of course,
part of the blindness community here in Perth. Now, people
listening who know me know that I don't participate as
much as I should in some of those events, but
(05:21):
I sometimes go to organise dinners that happen within the
blind community here in Perth, that they organise a dinner
outing every fortnight, and when one suits my budget and
close to my location, I like to attend that. And
one of those advantages of going to those dinners is
(05:42):
that we might all come from different backgrounds and all
have different interests, but we have one small thing in common,
and that is having a vision impairment. And that's really,
really beneficial and rewarding. And what about you? What do
you get up to.
S2 (05:56):
At the moment? As of the last probably month, I
found a bit of a community in line dancing. So
in the city, in Northbridge, they do what they call
boot scooting, which is country line dancing. So I've been
doing that a couple the last couple of Friday nights,
(06:16):
and I'll say, that's a lot of fun. Um, and
there's a whole community there. Everyone there's some people that
are really, really good at it and you should see
their feet move. And then there's some of us, like me,
who are beginners and get completely lost about three moves
into the routine.
S1 (06:31):
But yeah, and I find that fascinating because I'm very
much older than you, and there's people a little bit
younger and a little bit older than me that think
line dancing is really odd and boring and a bit square.
And there's people we.
S2 (06:49):
Do dance about square.
S1 (06:51):
That's right, that's right. Well, in the old days it
was called square dancing. That's a whole nother thing. But.
And there's people my parents age who go line dancing
for exercise. And yet younger people your age maybe are
picking up line dancing for fun. And there's a venue
in Fremantle, Western Australia, that does line dancing every Wednesday night,
(07:12):
and apparently it's packed and it's very, very people join
in very enthusiastically. And yeah, a lot of people I
know are into swing dancing. Oh, I.
S2 (07:24):
Love swing dancing.
S1 (07:25):
And, um, they like their country ish country music, country
rock and roll and old time 50s style rock n
roll so they can do their fancy dancing and swing
around the place. And I'm not part of that community,
but linked to it.
S2 (07:42):
You might have to come bootscooting some Friday. Simon. No.
S1 (07:47):
Anyways, really looking forward to listening to Locke's great contribution
to our show right now and I hope you enjoy too.
Thanks for joining us. I like how are you?
S3 (08:01):
I'm good. Thanks, Simon. How are you?
S1 (08:03):
I'm great. Now, look, I believe you speak at least
two languages. Is that right?
S3 (08:08):
Two and a half. I say two and a half.
S1 (08:10):
What were those two and a half be?
S3 (08:12):
Uh, that'd be English, Vietnamese and Chinese. Okay. And Mandarin.
S1 (08:18):
Okay. Can you say hello and welcome in Vietnamese for us?
S3 (08:22):
Uh.
S1 (08:25):
Okay. Yeah. Thank you very much. Now, you were born
in Vietnam. Is that right?
S3 (08:30):
I was born in Vietnam. Uh, came to Australia when
I was about 13, turning 14, I think.
S1 (08:39):
So you are legally blind now?
S3 (08:42):
Uh, I'm legally blind since 2014.
S1 (08:45):
2014. And what was the. What is the nature of
your vision?
S3 (08:51):
Um, I have a condition called La Coma, and I
was born with it. You were born with that? Yeah.
And it's in the family. My brother has it as well, but, uh,
it's a I think with the condition. There are two types.
My one is very slowly, you know, um, it's a
(09:13):
slow process. Thank God for that.
S1 (09:16):
And what would be the level of your eyesight now?
S3 (09:19):
You know, blindness is a spectrum, so it's hard to describe.
There are days that I cannot literally see. If you
stand in front of me, I lost all my peripheral vision.
And I have the central vision. Uh, I would say,
you know, if easy to understand, I'd say I probably
have a 6 or 7% of sight.
S1 (09:40):
And with glaucoma, it. You said it started to you're
born with it, but it started to develop. At what time?
S3 (09:50):
It's from the age that you you're born. Really? Because
the glaucoma is to do with the pressure in the eye.
And basically that pressure is increasing gradually. In my case, anyway.
And the pressure is putting the, you know, the pressure
is on the optic nerve and that's kill the optic nerves.
And that's why it's kind of like a they call
(10:13):
it a silent killer because you don't know, you know,
when you're born, your vision, you think, oh, it's normal,
but it might not be normal, but because you're able
to see everything, so you just, you know, just carry
on as usual. But in the meantime, people who are
suffering from this condition, the peripheral side vision is gradually
(10:34):
closing up over the years. And, you know, for me,
I don't know how when it started, um, but when
I was about when I finished high school, I went
to uni and that's when I started to notice that, oh,
it's getting a bit worse. You know how I see things.
(10:55):
But I actually thought it was just shortsightedness because I.
I'm short sighted. So I didn't do anything until until 1989.
That's when I just finished uni and about to apply
for a job. And then I was driving back then
as well. And, you know, I started to see all
(11:16):
these things like halo around light, that's a classic symptom.
And then suddenly, you know, you just, um, I was
approaching like a T-junction. I was driving, and then, you know,
I thought it's just like, because you see, with your brain,
you're not seeing with your eyes, you know, it's just
like a camera lens. So the brain kind of like
(11:37):
can when it cannot see things, it just, you know,
whatever memory that you have in that section of the road,
you think that, okay, it's going straight ahead but actually
approaching a T junction. Right. And I almost, you know,
ran over it. And that's when I thought, oh, this
is this is not good. How come. You know, sometimes
I can see things, sometimes I can't. So I went
(11:59):
to the hospital and then my eye pressure back then
it was like one is 90 and the other one
is 70. Now normally your your your pressure, your pressure shouldn't,
you know, should be around 20 or below. So, uh,
that's when I was diagnosed, uh, of having glaucoma. And
(12:20):
then they, they, you know, shortly after that I had
surgery and all that. And then after, after a while,
they managed to, uh, to settle the pressure, the high pressure.
And and I was about, you know, I went back
to normal business, really doing, you know, the thing I
want to do, uh, went for a job. I became
(12:41):
a chemist.
S1 (12:43):
So like you, you formed a career in your chosen
career of chemistry. And throughout most of that time, your
eyesight was stable enough and able. You were able to
continue with not too many problems. Is that right?
S3 (13:00):
That's correct. Yeah. I was able to, you know, function
as a normal person, really, just that I have to
be a bit, I guess, careful being aware of my condition, but, um, yeah,
I was able to work as, you know, as, as
a normal person. And, uh, I went on until 2014. Uh,
(13:24):
that's when the deterioration rate got worse and worse in the,
in that in that time I actually had treatments and then, um, uh, the,
the eye doctor basically told me that. Yeah, it's every,
every time it's getting worse, every year.
S1 (13:42):
It must have been a very difficult and somewhat traumatic time,
and I've talked to many people who have gone through
similar experiences. My experience wasn't wasn't like that, but it
was slightly different. And we've all had different ways of
coping with stress and trauma and difficult times. What are
some of the techniques, some of the learnings, some of
(14:06):
the activities that you do that help you with everyday
life that you find beneficial, that you might like to
tell people about?
S3 (14:14):
I have always been interested in art, and that's one
thing that I, um, I've been doing. And even before
my vision got worse, I thought to myself, right, that's
kind of like a therapy to me. So that's something
that I like. And it's also beneficial to do.
S1 (14:34):
What type of art?
S3 (14:35):
There lock. Uh, I like all kind of arts, but
mainly drawing and painting. You know, with oil painting, acrylic
and stuff like that.
S1 (14:47):
Very good. And are you still able to do that
with the vision that you have?
S3 (14:51):
Uh, with a bit of help, I actually have an
art therapist. She she is a, you know, qualified artist.
So she helped me. So I find that with the help.
With her help. Yeah, I can I can do a
lot of things. And, you know, in the classroom, I'm
working with other people who have barely have any sight. Really? Uh,
(15:13):
the way I see it, you know, if you if
you find that helpful in this in this way, then
just just do it. You know, you see, you can
use your imagination to see. You don't need your eyes
to see. Yeah.
S1 (15:27):
That's right. And a lot of people often ask blind
people what tools or things that they do to get
by to you. For instance, read Braille.
S3 (15:36):
Yeah. Uh, in my case, I use some assistive technology
to help me with my work. In my case, it's
it's kind of like a, uh, it's a software. It's
a program that's designed to help vision impaired people, like, okay,
if you if you want a magnification of certain. Because
(15:57):
my vision changes all the time someday. I don't have
a problem with seeing small things. Right. But at the
time than I do. So the software for example, I'm
using fusion at the moment. Um, and yeah, it's allowing
you to magnify things. And sometimes if you use your
(16:17):
eyes too much because I have to scan, you know,
every word that I read, then you can switch on the,
you know, the, the voice or you can get it
to read it to you.
S1 (16:27):
I know it's a common thing with many people, especially
who are vision impaired rather than blind. We tried to
use as much of the limited sight that we have. However,
that sometimes can be quite physically tiring. Do you find
this Locke?
S3 (16:43):
Oh, every day Simon. It's every single day. And it's
kind of like, um. It is frustrating, but then you
you find a way, uh, to change your mindset. Yep. Uh, and,
you know, for me, what I'm trying to do at
the moment is I'm trying to, uh, you know, getting
(17:05):
frustrating and, uh, all these things just negative energy. So
I want to channel that negative energy to, to into
a positive one, for example.
S2 (17:18):
You're currently listening to In Plain Sight on Virgin Australia Radio.
This week we are speaking to Locke Tang, an industrial chemist,
music enthusiast, and current board member of Blind Citizens West Australia.
S1 (17:33):
I happen to know that you've done some charity work
over time, and not that long ago you did something
quite interesting and courageous to help raise money for a
particular charity that you were interested in. Something that most
people would find quite daunting, and I would probably do it.
(17:55):
And with a lot of these things, most people would
think that's even more daunting if you can't see. Now
you did the tower descent. What is it?
S3 (18:05):
Yeah. Selling down the building. The tallest building in Perth.
S1 (18:08):
What was that event called?
S3 (18:09):
Lock plunge or taking a plunge? Something like that. Yep. Yeah. So, yeah.
That's where you up? Selling down over the building to
raise money for charity. Um.
S1 (18:23):
And how was that experience like?
S3 (18:24):
You see, this is what I'm. I'm on about. You know,
normally it's a I'm frightened of heights, right? But as
I was saying earlier about, you know, channeling all these
negative things about you and turn it into positive. So
I'm trying to change my mindset to think, okay, yeah,
I'm afraid of heights. And if I can, I have
(18:45):
2020 vision that would scare me to death, to seeing
all these things. So, you know, because I'm vision impaired
so I can't see much. So my fear has been reduced. So,
you know, you just, um, you just make the difficulty
that you have with a vision impairment and turn it
into positive, you know, look at the positive thing that
(19:07):
it does. And that way, you know, you can apply,
you can get on with life and you can learn
a way to enjoy it. Because if I had full vision,
there is no way I'm going to go over the
edge of the building.
S1 (19:18):
So. And did you manage to raise a lot of
money for your chosen charity?
S3 (19:22):
Yeah, I think I raised probably about $1,400. That's very good. Yeah,
that's that's, uh. Yeah, that wasn't a bad effort.
S1 (19:30):
And did you manage to have fun while you were
doing it?
S3 (19:34):
Oh, yes. Yes, I you know, funny enough, uh, now,
after I did the abseiling down, I wanted to do
it again. So maybe next year, maybe next, next year,
I'll try to raise money and to get to do
it again.
S1 (19:50):
What other great adventures have you got lined up for yourself, Loc?
S3 (19:53):
I'm. I'm thinking of signing up. Uh, I have a
friend who's going to jump out of the plane, so. Skydiving? Yeah.
In April. And, um. Yeah, I'm thinking of seriously wanting
to do that. Yeah. Tandem skydiving. So.
S1 (20:09):
Tandem?
S3 (20:10):
Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't jump off the plane by myself. No,
this has to be tandem. Yes. So someone would do
the work for me.
S1 (20:19):
Tell me what other, um, activities and recreational leisure type
things do you like to do? I know that you're
a big music fan.
S3 (20:29):
Uh, yes. Yes, I belong to a band as well.
A band? Yeah. We call. We call ourselves Grand delusions.
S1 (20:37):
Grand delusions?
S3 (20:38):
Yeah. That's a.
S1 (20:39):
Fabulous name.
S3 (20:40):
Yeah. We just. Yeah, it's a fabulous name. And. Yeah. Um,
all of us, uh, vision. Ah, the vision impaired or
totally blind and. Yeah, we've been going for. We've been
performing at the Rotary Club.
S1 (20:56):
And how did you get involved with this music group?
S3 (20:59):
Uh, it it is for me, just as painting and
other things that I do when I become legally blind
is to, uh, you know, try and do as much,
get involved, as much activity as I can. And I
always wanted to play guitar. I could not, you know, uh,
play a tune before I lost my vision. And this
(21:22):
is one of the things that, um, I tried to
change my mindset as well is kind of like before,
I think, because I was still distracted with the normal vision.
So I didn't not really focus on learning. And now
with the vision impairment, I have more time on my
hands and I can. I'm able to focus and use
(21:42):
other senses. Like before, I couldn't tell, you know, the course,
the variation between the notes and all that. But now
I find that, um, yeah, I can. So yeah, and
music helped me to. It is also a therapy for me,
just like painting.
S1 (21:59):
Where did the group of blind and vision impaired musicians
come from? How did that get started?
S3 (22:05):
Uh, it started by, um, my music leader, the band leader,
his vision impaired as well. And then I think, I
don't know, uh, about probably about 6 or 7 years ago,
he started up this, this band and my friend, I
just through word of mouth, I heard about it, and
(22:26):
I went and joined that band. And, you know, we've
been playing ever since. Also because I love music and
it is a therapy for me. So I actually get
them to come around to my place and I start
collecting guitar and other musical instruments. And, you know, we
have a regular jamming session at my place.
S1 (22:47):
I've heard about this and it sounds wonderful and, um,
something that I wanted to touch on that people like yourself. Like,
that's why I wanted to talk to you. Help bring
people together. Now, can you, in your own way, tell
me a little bit about what you think is the
great thing of bringing people together and and sharing the
common unity in this case, of people who have blindness
(23:11):
or have vision impairment and also like to try music.
S3 (23:16):
I'll give you one recent example, and it's just an
example of everything. We all love to sing. You know,
even the ones that say, no, no, I can't sing
a tune. No, I don't want to. But really, deep
down inside, I think it's for me. I'm a chemist
and I tend to relate it to the scientific explanation.
(23:37):
It's a way of expressing yourself. You know, people go
to concerts, they like music and all that. And believe
it or not, everyone wants to sing. But because of
the embarrassment and all that, they restrain themselves from, from
from expressing themselves. Yeah. So so I try to get
people and I try to encourage them by. Okay. Invite
(23:57):
them to my house. You know, it's a safe space.
Just sing all you want, you know. Have your ego out,
you know. No one cares. So that's that's that's, um.
And I can relate to that.
S1 (24:08):
I think what I've seen you do, Locke, is that
you've been encouraged by others, as I was when I
became vision impaired and tried many different things over the years.
And I want to also try to share that encouragement
with other people, and so they may gain the benefit
and the joy and fun that I've experienced. Do you relate?
S3 (24:32):
Yes, I relate totally to that, Simon. Yes.
S1 (24:36):
So you like your music? I know that we are
Facebook friends and I see you share lots of music.
Could you name a big band or artist that you
are a big fan of?
S3 (24:46):
Oh, Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd?
S1 (24:48):
Fantastic. Yeah, and I really appreciate that, that you share
your enthusiasm and love of music prior to you, your
eyesight deteriorating, did you have any contact or any knowledge
of people who were blind?
S3 (25:03):
No. And that's the thing that I went through it alone.
And that's the hardest. You know, I went through a dark,
dark place by myself. And now, looking back, you know,
I've seen people who traveling down the same path with me. And. Yeah,
that's that's why I can I can imagine that the
(25:25):
so I try to kind of like help them not
to travel down that path that I did by myself.
S1 (25:32):
So with that, when, if someone who's listening to this
and is going through something similar, losing their eyesight or
have just recently lost their eyesight, what would it be?
A couple of things you would like them to know
about that journey, that process.
S3 (25:46):
You know, if someone's going through that and if I
happen to meet them or I would. First thing I
would tell them is that there are help out there.
There are places like, you know, Vision Australia and Visibility.
I'm aware of two places in WA. I don't know
whether there's other organizations will get involved. Contact them because,
(26:07):
you know, uh, you, you will you will find that
extremely helpful because, um, you know, feeling being alone to
go through. Just get out there and make yourself, you know,
will would just sell to go out there and get
in touch with them.
S1 (26:22):
Find a way. And on a similar note, as we
wind the conversation up, look, what would you like the
general public to know about someone who is vision impaired?
That if they've never met someone, or never had any
experience with someone who is blind or vision impaired?
S3 (26:38):
I would say they are just like you. They're just
as good as you, as bad as you. They just
like you. We are all the same. Yeah, that's what
I the first thing I would tell them. So, you know,
just don't treat them any differently. If they want help
like a normal person, you know, give them help and
(26:59):
you know, if they want to, if they don't want help,
they are they are good. You don't need to help them,
but treat them the same as you do with any
other other people.
S1 (27:08):
That's excellent. And that, I think, might be a great
place to wind up a little conversation today. And I
really appreciate you coming into the studio here in Vision
Australia radio here in Perth, and it's been a fantastic
and fun and very interesting conversation and I really appreciate
your honesty, openness and fun there. Thank you very much.
S3 (27:29):
Thank you so much Simon. It was fun doing this.
And yeah, thank you very much.
S2 (27:33):
And thanks so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed
that interview. And I just want to say a reminder
to everyone to send us an email. If you have
any contributions or thoughts about the show, we'd love to
hear from you. Our email address is in plain sight
at Vision Australia. Org.
S1 (27:50):
Remember you can listen to this program on the Vision
Australia Radio. Check your local guides for the Broadcast Times
VA radio on the DAB and on Demand and on
all the podcast platforms. Please check us out. Bye for now.
S2 (28:05):
Bye for now.
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