TikTok brothers explore blindness after lockdown sight loss

A man who lost his sight during the pandemic has launched a TikTok account with his brother dedicated to supporting those with blindness.

Yahya Pandor, 27, from Gloucester lost his eyesight over 19 months after being diagnosed with macular degeneration.

He and his brother Isa, 22, started posting videos during lockdown and have amassed more than 10,000 followers.

Yahya said they wanted to show others that people with visual impairments are not "a burden on society".

Their videos include a series of "how my blind brother does" things such as pouring drinks, getting changed, playing pool and how he reads.

They also share videos with little-known facts about the blind community and the positives and negatives that Yahya has encountered since losing his eyesight.

Macular degeneration is a condition affecting the central part of the retina, resulting in distortion or loss of central vision. It is more common in older adults and there is no cure.

Yahya said he had always had bad eyesight but was first referred to the NHS three years ago after noticing it was getting worse.

However, during the pandemic he decided to seek private healthcare to speed the process up.

Now having his eyesight limited to just light and dark, Yahya said he would be able to tell if he moved from a dark room to a very light one, but "that's about it".

He said apart from the practicalities, nothing much else has changed, except the weekly TikToks.

Isa said they decided to post educational and emotional pieces as well as some comedy skits to help raise awareness of what it is like being visually impaired.

"We were both avid users of TikTok. Our first video got 600 views and it just went from there," Isa said.

He added that their account is all fun and games but at the same time, people do need to learn more about visual impairments.

"We have people following us who are visually impaired so I think my brother going through the process and seeing how he deals with it, will help the way people deal with it themselves," he said.

Yahya said the account has enabled him to connect to a wider community, especially people his own age, and through lockdown "where online was the only way".

"I didn't know anyone who was blind beforehand," he said.

Yahya, who is studying to become a therapist, said there was a reluctance to fully accept his blindness at first but the experience has taught him a lot about himself.

"I was really embarrassed to use a cane because it's a very overt sign of disability but now that I've shifted my thinking, it's actually a sign of freedom," he said.

"It shows that I can do things on my own without the need of assistance or help."

The brothers hope their content tackles some of the misconceptions of being blind, such as people with visual impairments using a mobile phone.

"I feel very self conscious about using my phone in public because there have been instances of people taking videos of blind people on phones, saying they're faking it," Yahya said.

"People don't realise there's talk back and voiceover. Talk back means I can use a phone the same way as everyone else.

"We can do pretty much most things. I work a full-time job, so we are in work, we are in education, we can have successful careers and we want people to realise that.

"We're not a burden on society."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]