Travis Zimmer - I Did It My Way

On the third episode of Noisy Balls, I had the great privilege of interviewing Travis Zimmer, someone who many of our listeners will not know a great deal about, but after you hear his story, you will realise, how important his narrative is and it really will resonate with many of you, especially if you have struggled with the difficulties of being blind or visually-impaired and how you can go about moving your life forward in a positive, productive and meaningful way.

Travis has only been involved in blind cricket for a very short time, but has already put his hand up to be fifth executive on the VBCA board. He has even achieved the great honour of playing for Victoria in this year's National Cricket Inclusion Championships and currently works as a Graphic Designer at Deakin University.

Being a keen red ball cricketer in his youth, Travis also enjoyed participating in tennis and athletics, even going on to play some footy and, for many years, umpire in a local league. Pretty amazing for someone who was gradually losing his sight.

Travis deals with a condition called usher syndrome.

Usher syndrome is a condition characterized by partial or total hearing loss and vision loss that worsens over time. The hearing loss is classified as sensorineural, which means that it is caused by abnormalities of the inner ear. The loss of vision is caused by an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which affects the layer of light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (the retina). Vision loss occurs as the light-sensing cells of the retina gradually deteriorate. Night vision loss begins first, followed by blind spots that develop in the side (peripheral) vision. Over time, these blind spots enlarge and merge to produce tunnel vision. In some cases, vision is further impaired by clouding of the lens of the eye (cataracts). However, many people with retinitis pigmentosa retain some central vision throughout their lives.

Researchers have identified three major types of Usher syndrome, designated as types I, II, and III. These types are distinguished by the severity of hearing loss, the presence or absence of balance problems, and the age at which signs and symptoms appear.

I would like to thank Travis for coming on to Noisy Balls and telling us his account, which I know was something that was difficult for him to do, but we both feel that it was imperative that his story be told

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Associationand we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.

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