Light of life shines in Jim's world of dark

By ALISON BROWN in Rotorua

Imagine, for a moment, living in a world blanketed in darkness.
For many people the thought of a life without sight or sound is frightening, yet for Rotorua's Jim Newcombe, living with the loss of vision and hearing is an everyday reality.
The 75-year-old is one of about 1500 deaf and blind New Zealanders meeting the challenge of their unique disability head on.
With the ongoing support of his loving wife Joan, he is able to complete the sort of physical tasks most people think are beyond his reach.
He takes care of the couple's vegetable garden, builds fences, chops firewood and even does the odd bit of rock-climbing.
"He is amazing," said Joan. "I love him to bits."
Jim was born with Usher's Syndrome - a condition which meant he was born hard of hearing.
His speech suffered as a child but he quickly learned how to lipread.
"I think it helped having a mother who was also an elocution teacher," he said. "She corrected me all the time."
His vision started to deteriorate shortly after he left school.
He first experienced problems seeing at night, with rugby training often proving difficult.
"I remember training at night under floodlights and missing passes," he said. "It was only then that I twigged I couldn't see as well in the dark as others."
He trained and worked as a motor mechanic and married Joan nearly 45 years ago. Together they had three children.
Life was fairly normal for the family until Jim turned 44 and his failing eyesight meant he was no longer able to hold down a fulltime job.
His field of vision had become too narrow and he kept having accidents at work.
He visited an eye specialist who told him he was legally blind.
"I nearly fell over because I'd driven to see the specialist and had my car parked outside."
Finding it increasingly difficult to lipread and communicate with others, he learned how to read Braille by correspondence.
A member of the Foundation of the Blind, he was given a guide dog to help him live more independently.
Rocky, a dalmatian, lived with the Newcombes for 10 years before he died.
Jim is now in training with a new guide dog, a golden labrador called Magnus.
"We go down the road to the dairy every day to get the Daily Post " he said.
"Everyone wants to know what a blind man is doing getting a paper but I get Joan to read it for me so I can keep up with all the rugby and local news."
He keeps on top of all the household chores, such as chopping kindling for the fire.
"The neighbours keep a close eye on him and check to see he's managing," Joan said.
Further proof that Jim lives life to the full and enjoys a challenge is his love for the outdoors.
In March he attended a three-day course at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi, participating in all the activities, such as rock climbing and kayaking.
"My motto is if you don't use it, you lose it."
The lives of people like Jim are being celebrated today on Helen Keller's birthday. Born in the United States in 1880 Helen Keller championed the rights of deaf and blind people by becoming the first deaf and blind person to graduate from university.