Mother's Day: being a caregiver for a parent with low vision.

One family in three in France has a mother or mother-in-law over 75 whose sight is no longer sufficient for her to live alone. Behind almost every one of these mothers is a daughter, sometimes a son, who takes on, day after day, what is modestly called “support.”

On Sunday, May 31, 2026, France celebrates mothers. But who celebrates the daughters? According to DREES, nearly 11 million people in France provide daily support to a loved one losing independence, and women account for 60% of these family caregivers. For aging mothers with AMD, glaucoma, or advanced cataracts, their own daughters become their “everyday eyes.” This report gives the floor to Brigitte, 58, who has cared for her mother with AMD for seven years, and offers a practical guide to better understanding, easing, and funding that burden.

The mental load of caregiving: what the numbers say

DREES publishes an annual caregiver survey. Its 2024–2025 edition reveals several striking realities. Female caregivers spend an average of 22 hours a week helping a parent with vision loss, the equivalent of an unpaid half-time job. 43% report chronic physical fatigue, and 37% report moderate to severe emotional exhaustion. One in two has already given up a vacation, and one in three a professional promotion.

France Alzheimer, which also supports caregivers of very old people with low vision, describes a “family caregiver syndrome” comparable to occupational burnout: sleep disorders, social isolation, guilt, and anticipatory anxiety. For daughters caring for a mother with AMD, the progressive and unpredictable nature of the condition amplifies this syndrome. Every quarter brings a new “impossibility”: no longer reading printed letters, identifying medication, or recognizing faces.

The 6 daily challenges of caring for a parent with low vision

1. Reading printed letters

This is often the first warning sign. A mother opens her mail, piles up the envelopes “to look at later,” then calls her daughter in a panic three weeks later because she missed a tax reminder or medical appointment. 32% of caregivers surveyed by DREES read printed letters every week. Administrative letters, from tax authorities, CAF, health insurers, ARS, and pension funds, are especially stressful: small print, technical language, and strict deadlines.

2. Managing medication

At 80 with bilateral AMD, reading “one tablet morning, noon, and evening for seven days” on a tiny box becomes impossible. ANSM attributes 8% of hospital admissions among people over 75 to medication errors, with visual impairment among the leading causes. Caregivers often fill weekly pill organizers, label bottles with a thick marker, or install reminder apps. It is a major source of stress.

3. Going out

The doctor's appointment, pharmacy trip, bank visit, or November 1 cemetery visit: when a mother can no longer see well enough to travel alone, the caregiver becomes driver and companion. In Paris, where parking has all but disappeared, these trips can take two hours for twenty minutes of useful time. Outside major cities, it means using a personal car and sometimes driving 50 miles round-trip for an ophthalmology appointment.

4. Safety at home

Falls are the leading cause of accidental death among people over 65 in France, with 12,000 deaths a year according to Santé publique France, and low vision triples the risk. Caregivers reorganize the home: rugs secured to the floor, illuminated outlets, contrasting stair edges, and large controls on the stove. Many also install a personal emergency response service costing €25 to €40 a month, sometimes cofunded by APA.

5. Financial management

When someone can no longer read statements, she can no longer monitor her account. Many caregivers obtain power of attorney or a family authorization to manage direct debits, spot telephone scams, fake emergencies and fake advisers, and preserve their mother's administrative independence. The bank becomes a source of tension: branch managers change, ATMs are inaccessible, and checkbooks have almost disappeared.

6. Social connection

This may be the most painful challenge. A mother who can no longer see cannot read text messages, recognize faces at the market, or feel confident going to a seniors' club. AVH estimates that 47% of people with low vision over age 75 experience objective social isolation. The caregiver becomes the only daily connection: a phone call every evening, family photos described over the phone, and Sundays spent providing full-service support.

Testimonial: Brigitte, 58, daughter of Geneviève, 84, who has AMD

“My mother learned she had AMD in 2019. At first, she managed with a large magnifier. Then her right eye gave out in 2022. Since then, it has been me. Every day. I am an accountant in La Défense, and my mother lives in Maisons-Laffitte. I stop by three evenings a week, read printed letters, fill her pill organizer, and we watch a television series even though she mainly listens. On weekends, it is shopping, the dry cleaner, and every other Sunday a family meal where I describe everything aloud: who is there, what we did, the photos. I do not say it is hard, I say it is invisible.”

Brigitte has shared her experience with Lumyeye since November 2025, when her mother began using the app. “What changed is that she no longer calls to say, ‘I received a letter but I cannot read it.’ She takes a photo, the app reads the content aloud, and she sends me only what is genuinely a problem. I got back an hour or two every week. More importantly, she regained some independence, she likes not having everyone decide everything for her.”

How Lumyeye Pro changed their daily life

Lumyeye is a voice-based artificial intelligence app installed on the iPhone or Android phone of a parent with low vision. It addresses five daily tasks identified as the most time-consuming for caregivers:

• Reading photographed mail. The parent takes a photo of an envelope or letter, and AI reads it aloud in natural language within two or three seconds.
• Helping read medication boxes. Lumyeye reads printed text aloud from the box, blister pack, or leaflet. For any actual medication decision, dosage, indication, or contraindication, the physician or pharmacist remains the authority.
• Describing scenes. To answer “Who is in the family photo?” or “What is on the table?”, the app describes an image in a few sentences.
• Talking with a voice assistant. The parent can ask questions aloud as if speaking to a person, no typing and no drop-down menus.
• VoiceOver compatibility and large buttons. Designed from the start for tired eyes and less agile fingers.

Lumyeye Pro includes 40 free requests with no credit card to try the app, then costs €16.99 per month. Lumyeye Classic offers about 30 free requests and then costs €14.90 per month. For many caregivers, the investment is immediately offset by hours no longer spent reading printed letters or explaining instructions on the phone.

MDPH assistance and respite options for caregivers

France has a system of public support that many caregivers do not know about or fully understand. These are the principal programs in 2026:

APA (Personalized Independence Allowance)

Paid by the local department from age 60 for parents who have lost independence, classified GIR 1 to 4. It funds home-care hours, home adaptations, and some equipment. The average 2026 amount is €380 to €1,800 per month depending on the GIR level. Low vision weighs heavily in the AGGIR assessment.

PCH (Disability Compensation Benefit)

Respite assistance under the 2015 law

Since 2015, APA has included a “right to respite” component of up to €540 per year, giving the caregiver time to recover through day care, temporary accommodation, or a respite stay in a family boarding home. It remains underused: only 12% of eligible caregivers request it.

Family caregiver leave

Three renewable months, compensated at €65 per day through AJPA, allow someone to pause employment without losing it. The leave can be combined with part-time remote work.

Mother's Day when you are a caregiver

Mother's Day is not an ordinary Sunday for a caregiver. It often brings a double workload: preparing the meal, managing the table and transportation, explaining aloud who is in the family photo, and containing the emotion of a mother who no longer recognizes every grandchild at first glance. For many, the best gift is not flowers but a tool that gives their mother a little more independence.

In May 2026, Lumyeye therefore offers a simple idea: giving a mother with low vision one month of service also gives her caregiver a little respite. It does not replace love, presence, or visits. It frees time for what matters: walking together, looking through a photo album while having it described, or eating without having to read the menu aloud.