12 Co-rating COVID isolation - Ross and Josh

Four years ago, traveling independently in inner city Melbourne, Ross de Vent scored VROOM 14/50 for his functional vision (Fragments), and OMO 33/50 for his functional mobility (Capable). Ross now lives on the fringe of metropolitan Melbourne and has been in COVID isolation with his household and guide dog for the past 4 months. Today, we found that Ross’ vision and mobility scores have both dropped to VROOM 6/50 (Fifty shades of grey) and OMO 28/50 (Cautious), despite his clinical vision remaining stable. The drop in VROOM rating suggests that it not worth looking when there is nothing new to look at in the COVID cave, and the OMO score captured the gloom and limited life-space of COVID restrictions. During this time, Ross has valued frequent contact with his support worker, Josh Glover, in tackling technology challenges and making some big life decisions. Ross prompts us to rethink the relative importance of independent mobility when also wanting to stay COVID-safe, connect with people to dispel the gloom, and save some energy for professional commitments.