About Me

Hello Everyone, my name is William Elliott.

I now live in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California. I was however born in North-West England about halfway between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. I spent the first forty five years of my life living in and around the town of Runcorn.In October 2001 I had a central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in my right eye this led to my losing the sight in my right eye. A drastic change in itself but also a catalyst in changing my whole life.

At the time of the CRVO, I was cautioned it could happen again and decided to take a long train trip around the United States of America. That trip took place over six weeks from the end of September until the beginning of November 2002. During my travels I met many great people including the woman who was to become my wife in 2004.

After our marriage my wife moved back to England with me for two years. In late 2005, my wife was becoming homesick for California and her family so she applied for a visa for me to come to the US as her spouse.  We moved to the US in April 2006 and I became a US Citizen on December 13, 2010.

In May of 2007 I had a second CRVO, this occured in my left eye. After emergency treatment I was able to maintain good sight with regular injections of macugen, lucentis and avastin. Unfortunately my eyesight conttinued to fail and in late 2009 I surrendered my driving license and became "Legally blind" in 2010.

I have worked part-time throughout my time in the US. I also gained a BA degree in History and a minor in Political Science from Columbia College, Missouri.

I also began blogging in 2009 as a means to try and help others find information about life as someone going blind.

For fun I like to read, I also love to travel, mostly by car, my wife now drives me almost everywhere. I also still love the train and like to ride Amtrak up to Reno NV now and again for a few days rest at the casino. Casino's of course love me. Why shouldn't they? I rent rooms and play a table or two, and never know if I win! LOL Just a joke there.

I am now partnered by a beautiful Black Labrador named Leif.

He was born at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael CA, on March 30, 2012. He has been my guide dog since October 21, 2013. You can follow Leif's adventures on Facebook at Guide Dog Leif's Page.

Leif, harnessed and ready to work.

In October 2015, I joined Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) in Fresno. A volunteer television station which allows its members to create local public access television programs using state of the art equipmwent. After taking courses in production, editing andscriptwriting I conceived of the prograam 'Blindside Fresno.' A series about the lives of people with low vision and blindness in and around the Central Valley of California. See it at 'Blindside Fresno' Playlist