Connecting Seniors
Narelle Gatti (R)
A computer programmer who lost her sight at 42 rebuilt her life by treating obstacles as problems to solve, not identities to accept.
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At 42, Narelle Gatti lost her eyesight in 15 minutes. She was a computer programmer working with mapping tools, a mum of three sons in Brisbane's outer suburbs, and the person who drove her family across Queensland to visit relatives on properties where there was no public transport. The eye test that diagnosed her as legally blind also ended her driving. Overnight, everything shifted: school runs, sports practice, grocery shopping, uniform fittings, medical appointments. All of it had to be solved again from scratch.
Narelle grew up on a cattle property without electricity until she was 12. Her childhood taught her to make do, to problem-solve when there was no shop, no power, no easy answer. That same skill saved her family. She taught her sons there was more than one way to skin a cat, and when she lost her sight, she lived that lesson. She relearned cooking, relearned cleaning, bought food in bulk so her husband could manage the shopping, and took the school bus to parent-teacher meetings. When panic attacks came, she cried in the shower, then rang her sister or her closest friend Jude to talk her through it. Her husband held her steady. Her sons stepped up and learned to cook and clean without complaint.
Today Narelle creates The Digital Access Show, a podcast that features people living with disabilities who work full-time and thrive. She teaches digital accessibility standards and tells people how to treat someone with a disability: say hello, use their name, don't stare, don't assume, don't ask intrusive questions. Treat them like everyone else. She also tells older Australians they have the right to ask for paper, to refuse email and smartphones, and to demand their preferred way of communicating if a business wants their money. Never be ashamed of who you are, she says. Frame it as a challenge, not a barrier. Asking for help is nothing to hide.
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