Couple shares fondness for Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired Allegan Support Group
Marcia and Victor Marques are a loving, compassionate couple. They bond over their interests and love for each other, their careers, and overcoming, with elegance and wisdom, various challenges in life – namely, their respective visual impairments.
Marcia was born and raised in Michigan. She was first diagnosed with blindness at the age of two, after a case of the chicken pox lead to the discovery of her having Retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer in children. After radiation treatment, Marcia eventually had to have both eyes removed to prevent further complications.
Victor, now living in Michigan with Marcia, is originally from Vancouver. Though Victor had always been diagnosed as “low vision,” he was still able to navigate independently without much assistance. He did not fully lose his eye sight until 2010, when a sudden and quickly progressing onset of symptoms from Leber Congenital Amaurosis worsened his eyesight to almost complete blindness.
Married since 2016, Victor and Marcia and each of their guide dogs live in Kalamazoo while working at Renewed Hope Health Clinic in Allegan. Though their commute to Allegan from home is a bit of a trek, Marcia and Victor make sure to always attend the Associaton for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI) support group in Allegan as well.
“We would really like to see people who are… maybe reluctant to attending or trying new things come and learn about the group and have a place to kind of share their low vision experiences,” said Marcia.
Marcia, having been a member of this support group since its beginning in 2004, now attends with Victor by her side, as they both share their stories, experiences, commentary, and wisdom with the other group members.
“I see it as a bit of an opportunity to share and I like to share what I know with other people,’ Victor said. “I’m fairly proficient with technology, and I’m actually going into a teaching field, so I find the experience valuable to just be around people and share and help them if they need some direction.”
Marcia and Victor both have amazing stories and insights, and ABVI’s support group is the perfect outlet for them to share them with others. They encourage anyone who is curious about the group or curious about sharing their own vision loss experience to come and learn more.
“We hope our story can influence somebody to get out there and try and use the support of the vision support group, and we’re happy to be there sharing with people and encouraging them,” said Victor.
“Or even, crying with them when they’re crying, or laughing with them when they’re laughing,” Marcia added.
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