Sound and Vision: Kim’s Story

Kim Singleton is one of Aftersight’s newest listeners, but she’s been involved in the blind and low-vision community for a long time. In the 1970s, when Kim was 21, she experienced two simultaneous retinal detachments. She’s had retinal surgeries, scleral buckles, and one of the earliest vitrectomies performed in the western US. In 2024, Kim also lives with glaucoma and myopic degeneration of the retina.

She also worked for the Center for People with Disabilities as part of their Beyond Vision program. With CPWD, she facilitated support groups in every town and neighborhood in the Greater Denver/Boulder area. She claims she had no experience related to that program when she applied, but she says she did have one important credential, “I was their peer with significant vision loss.” That said, before CPWD she worked as a pharmaceutical tech, and as a neurosciences nurse. She saw patients with extreme traumas and profound recoveries. Her background suited her role at CPWD perfectly.

Kim is a model of self-care and awareness. She has a cat named Riley, and a living room full of instruments. Music and sound therapy is woven into the fabric of daily life. She begins her morning by meditating to Tibetan singing bowls. “I love having sound resonating through me,” she says. “I love the sounds of drums. It is meditation-inducing.” And, five years after leaving her CPWD job, she returned as a volunteer. She currently facilitates a Beyond Vision support group.

In memory of John Sepp 1946-2023