Mark's story (part 1)

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 It's Mark's first day back at work at Focus on the Child. He has been dreading and looking forward to this day for so long, he can't believe it is here. After the short drive from home, his wife drops him at the door where his manager Pete is waiting for him.

Pete grabs his arm, takes him upstairs and takes great trouble to show him to his desk. The whole office has been cleaned, the old broken photocopier in the corner has gone, the wires across the floor taped up and Mark's desk has been moved.

Pete goes off to make Mark a cup of tea. Other colleagues start to arrive in the office and gather around Mark, warmly greeting him and patting him on the back. "Phew, so far so good," thinks Mark.

Big changes

It has been six months since the car accident that caused Mark to lose his sight. The trauma of losing one eye and a lot of the sight in the other has been difficult to recover from but he is on the mend. He has been away from home for a long time at a rehabilitation centre, receiving mobility and IT training, and now home with his new skills is feeling much stronger and more confident.

The last six months have been hard for everyone back at the office too. They were all very worried and upset about the accident but have pulled together to get the work done and support each other. Because he was so far away, none of them have seen him since the day it happened so have been nervous about him coming back.

Last week in the pub a group of them were talking about it. "How will he cope? What will he look like?" "Do you think we'll have to put his emails in braille?" "Maybe he'll get a guide dog and bring it to the office so we can play with it!"
 
Pete has been spending a lot of time getting the office ready. He's moved everyone around so that Mark's desk can be next to the disabled toilet. He has also made some changes to the systems the admin team use so Mark can carry on with his work. 

One month later

After all that worry, Mark has actually found it easy to get to grips with his job. Over the years, Focus on the Child has worked with children with multiple disabilities including sight problems, so it has been fairly easy to find surplus equipment to magnify his screen and papers. New equipment is on order after his Access to Work assessment.

However, Mark is noticing that people are treating him differently. They are not being unkind - rather the opposite - but something isn't right: he's just not being included.

He knows that a group of them go to the pub after work some Fridays but he's not been asked. He didn't get to sign a card when a colleague retired. When he contributes in meetings there are long silences, which make him think people are raising their eyes and pulling faces. He often hears low voices by the photocopier - are they talking about him?

He just wants to be one of the gang like before. He is still himself after all, is pulling his weight in the team and hasn't done anything wrong. What’s up with them? Is this the discrimination he was warned about or is he being paranoid?

Overheard

On his way to get a sandwich from the café he overhears Tom talking. "I'm sick of looking at him. It's just not right."

Mark feels very upset. He used to like being at work but all this is very difficult to deal with. He desperately thinks about what to do, it's not going to go away by itself. "Pete is so busy, I can't talk to him. The only way is to say something at the team meeting on Monday. I just need to put my point across and it'll all go away. Things can't carry on like this."

Have your say

• How should Mark tackle the situation?
• Did Pete manage Mark's return well?
• Is the behaviour of Mark's colleagues typical?

Have your say on the Millcaster Tales forum.

Useful links

• Access to Work scheme (DirectGov)
• Adapting to sight loss (RNIB)

Other episodes

Find out what happens next in Mark's story (part 2). 

Catch up with past episodes.