After a very difficult few years, baking brought some much-needed light back into Karenza Mason’s life.
Her problems began in the early part of 2020. “Everything in my life had been turned upside down after largely losing my sight. I’d gone from being a married businesswoman with a thriving hairdressing career, hours filled with my children and grandchildren, to suddenly losing my sight, job, marriage and independence. During lockdown, I felt lonely and couldn’t find the nerve to leave the house.”
In 2013, Karenza, now 50, developed idiopathic intracranial hypertension – pressure in the brain – causing permanent damage to her optic nerve, resulting in peripheral vision loss and limited tunnel vision.
“I gave baking a try and enjoyed it. As a diabetic, I didn’t eat much of what I baked, but left goodies on the doorstep for neighbours or my children to pick up and enjoy. It was a way of staying connected with people during a lonely time.”
Even though Karenza video-called with her grandchildren, it was more for their benefit than hers. “It was important for them to see me, but it wasn’t the same for me as being together,” she says.
“Baking for them was my way of giving them a hug. I sent a box of homemade traditional Cornish pasties to my mum Dorothy and she absolutely loved it. She’d been waiting years for me to follow in her footsteps so when I used her recipe with beef skirt for the filling, she was really happy about that.”
Karenza sent her son Jake lamb and mint pasties, daughter Jemma-Rose a broccoli and cheese veggie version, and gluten-free coconut ice fudge for daughter Chloë. Karenza’s grandchildren loved iced buns, and little Reggie, now three, was dinosaur mad.
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“When we were able to see each other again, I bought dinosaur cookie cutters and we baked together. Reggie loved kneading the dough, using the rolling pin and pressing the cookie cutter down, though he needed a bit of help. It was a team effort,” says Karenza.
Reggie joined in with the washing-up, but over time, Karenza realised she needed accessible baking tools to keep going.
“I was loaned some talking scales and a talking jug because I couldn’t see the measurements anymore. I also burned my hands taking things in and out of the oven, so a local charity loaned me oven guards. I had no idea this equipment existed and it changed my quality of life.
“I had been at the point of giving up baking, but these items made it possible for me to continue.’
Karenza also reconnected with old friends after starting Instagram and Facebook pages for her latest bakes. “The mum of someone I went to school with contacted me and asked if I remembered her daughter. I did, and she asked me to make her birthday cake. She knew it would mean a lot to her daughter to have it baked by someone she knew, so that was nice.
“As word spread, I had so many messages of support, which meant a lot. Your world can become small when you lose your sight and each bit of human contact means so much more than before.”
Despite the pandemic delaying Karenza’s guide-dog training, labrador Keats’ arrival in summer 2020 opened up Karenza’s world again.
“He’s absolutely amazing. I’d been trained to use a cane but felt nervous going out alone or crossing the road, which made me stay home even more. Now, with Keats to guide me, I have a reason to go out daily.”
Keats is on hand for getting baking supplies, too.
“I have a weekly shop delivered but if I have an idea in my head for a cake and haven’t got the right ingredients, Keats can take me to the shops. Without him I wouldn’t be able to bake what I want, when I want, and I’m not the type to ask someone to shop for me.
“That has been the biggest thing for me since losing my sight – I don’t have that independence anymore to pop somewhere in the car, though Keats helps a lot with that.” Keats is paid in kind with lots of cuddles and homemade dog biscuits.
Now, Karenza bakes almost daily, taking orders from strangers, friends and locals alike. Most importantly, being able to bake with her grandchildren, an activity she feared she might not have been able to keep up with, has brought her immense joy.
“I can’t imagine life without baking now. The happiness it brings my grandchildren and me when we bake together is something I cherish.”
Make Karenza’s beef pasties recipe
