Category: Tips for living with low vision

In the Groove

Back again. Doing the getting back into the groove thing. The after vacation “who the hell am I and what the hell was I doing two weeks ago?” routine. There is laundry in the machines and I just called for my rides to work for the week. Sent a text to my ride for hip hop tonight. Remind people I am here and need some help again.

Not the same as it was last year after vacation. Last year I just got into the car and showed up on my own. That was a lot easier.

Today I have the morning off to regroup. A little after noon I get picked up to go and testify in that silly suit against my yoga instructor. That has dragged out for more than a year. The ‘swift’ pace of the American justice system at its finest.

I do not expect the ‘vision thing’ to have any bearing on my testimony. However, I have to be my own best advocate so if there is a problem, I will speak up. The judge is a good guy. Maybe we should research a little on the accommodations afforded the visually impaired involved with the legal system.  Life always manages to provide page topics but I would still appreciate any ideas you folks have.

I got an email from the local ski club. I signed up years ago but never got involved with them. Now I need them. My diabolical, little mind is working on how to use that contact to get to the slopes this winter. That makes me feel a bit guilty. I am not sure it is quite fair to ‘cozy up’ to people only when they have something you need.

I keep going back to being told people like to help. I also keep going back to I really want to ski!

I also have to do my Machiavelli routine with the people involved with the clinical trials. When I emailed ‘my’ researcher I got an automatic response back. She no longer works there! Crap! I called for another contact and got what my parents would have called the bum’s rush. Don’t call us. We will call you. The woman obviously did not understand whom she was speaking to!? This is your prima lab rat candidate here!

I have appointments with my local doctors in October. I plan on asking for a third referral to Regillo so I can once again be referred to the study. That will be referral number 3 to the study. Third time is the charm?

Like I said, sometimes I feel a bit guilty being so manipulative. Other times I just wonder why I need to jump through so many hoops when the results are just going to be the same. I sort of identity with the Borg: resistance is futile! Work with me here. It will be a lot easier on all of us?. Continue reading “In the Groove”

Travelogue: Iceland!

Greetings! We are back from our vacation to Iceland. Glad we did it. Glad to be home. My husband wanted to drive the ring road around the island and we did approximately 1200 miles in our ten days there. More than enough traveling for me.

I have an acquaintance who went to Iceland over the summer. She stayed in Reykjavik and did day trips to things in the Golden Circle. My acquaintance described Iceland as an Utopia. Hmmmmm, no and yes.

On the no side, I did not get the memo telling me winter starts in September in Iceland. It poured, I repeat, POURED, down rain sometime of every day we were there. That time was usually the same time I was getting out of the car to view an attraction. Since it was between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time we were there, I spent most of my time wet and cold.

The second memo I missed had to do with the cost of things. I bought a piece of cake that turned out to cost $7. Gas was something like 191 krona a liter. There are 115 krona to a dollar and 3.8 liters to a gallon. Therefore gas was something like $6.30 a gallon. Ouch. A meal for two at a family style restaurant cost us $50 or $60. We ended up buying things at the market or grabbing something at a convenience store. Not cheap, but cheaper.

On the positive side, Iceland is ruggedly beautiful. If you like your landscapes served up raw, Iceland is for you. Lava field after lava field. Powerful waterfalls. Treacherous glaciers. Iceland has them all.

Iceland also has fiercely independent citizens, nearly all of whom speak fluent English. They are also friendly and helpful nearly to a man. Good people the Icelandic.

The things we did on our vacation were not for everyone. Although I never felt the least bit threatened, our activities were on the adventurous side. We went into a tunnel carved into the glacier and into a lava tube. We went whale watching and took a boat ride among a collection of small icebergs. In short, we did what I intended for us to do. No concessions to my vision.

The things my vision interfered with were much more mundane. Stairs made of horizontally laid boards blended one into the next. I held on to the railing to keep from falling ass-over-teacups into the falls. I was useless in navigation because I could not read road signs. I also had to depend on my husband to read overhead menu boards and flight information in the airports.

I took lots of photos but some of them are badly out of focus. Note to self: always check to see if the autofocus is really on.

So that is pretty much it. We saw a lot and did a lot. AMD did not interfere with my ability to go adventuring….as long as I had someone to read the signs and get me there in the first place! All told, our time in Iceland appears to have been a success. Continue reading “Travelogue: Iceland!”

Leaving on a Jet Plane

In less than 48 hours I will be boarding an international flight to Reykjavik. Getting through security is a pain when you are whole and healthy. This will be my first experience as someone with a (mild) visual impairment and a LOT of STUFF.

Planning and preparation, as usual, appear to be necessary. I have been thinking about the monocular, glare glasses and prescription glasses hanging around my neck, not to mention the reader, telescopic TV glasses and iPad mini I will have stuck in my pockets and I am thinking I should probably shove them all in a plastic bag before I get there. Grabbing one bag will be easier than recovering half a dozen things from the tub.

AFB AccessWorld published a 2012 article on air travel. While some things are probably now different, much of the information is still relevant. For example, there are TSA regulations about the screening of the visually impaired. However, no matter what it may say in the regulations, reality can be very different.  NFB suggests not getting in an argument with the TSA agents. At the time they have the power and can make you miss your flight. File a complaint later from home, safe and sound.

If you are significantly handicapped and cannot find your way to and/or through the metal detector, you have the right to request assistance. If you are fearful the x-ray machine will harm your electronic, access equipment, you may request a hand search. It is also your right to ask the agent to collect all of your stuff and/ or to double-check for you.

If you use a cane, your cane will set off the metal detector. Be prepared to have it inspected separately.

If you use a dog, your dog will also have to be inspected. Be sure to have documentation attesting to the facts that he is a service animal. AFB stresses you should not be separated from your animal. AFB also stressed your dog’s harness will not be removed in the process of further ‘wanding’  and a pat down. The officer should ask your permission before he touches your dog.

If your dog requires a potty stop before boarding the plane, you may have to be screened again. However, I have been in many airports with doors opening onto the tarmac.  Finding a kind airport employee with a pooper scooper may save you from all of that. It is worth a try. Most people are kind and many are dog lovers.

AFB put two resources at the end of the article. TSA Cares is 855-787-2227. My TSA App is also available. Continue reading “Leaving on a Jet Plane”

Talking Labels

Ott flip lightHello again. I just sent Lin a snapshot of my new, flip light from Ott Lite. It is tiny, palm of my hand tiny. It takes three AA batteries and has a clip on the back so you can hang it up for hands-free use. It can also lie flat on the table.

 

I just got batteries into it this morning so I cannot tell you much more about it. It is cute. Actual functionality? No real clue at this point. I will take it along with me when we travel and see if it has a good use.

Keep it in my purse with some of the 10,000 other things I have acquired since I became visually impaired….Do airlines give the visually impaired a greater weight allowance because of all our STUFF? They should.

At least a lot of the assistive stuff I have is assistive technology and does not add any weight. My vision rehabilitation therapist (VRT) had been messing around trying to get my last ‘present’ downloaded. It was a chore and she was not exactly successful.

I gave up on it and just purchased it myself. It was $10. When I cannot afford $10 you folks will know. The website will suddenly be asking for donations?! Just kiddin’.

So what was this she was trying so hard to get for me? It is an app called Digit-Eyes. If you want to look at it for yourself do a general search and the App Store will pop up with it. Do a search in the App Store and it will tell you they don’t have it. Go figure. Technology is weird.

According to the ad, Digit-Eyes allows those who are visually impaired to identify objects by reading their UPC (Universal Product Code) and EAN (European Article Number) codes. You can ‘often’ also hear product ingredients and preparation instructions. Digit-Eyes also must be European because it speaks 10 languages! (Americans are not stupid, no matter what has been suggested to me. The reason I don’t speak fluent French is because the closest community of native speakers is five hours away! Zero practice opportunities. Really.)

Digit-Eyes is supposed to allow you to print audio labels. You’ve packed away grandma’s china? Record “grandma’s china” on Digit-Eyes, print an audio label and stick it on the box. Next time you are rummaging in the attic, use your Digit-Eyes app to read the label to you.

Now, according to my VRT, those boxy, scanny things that are appearing in magazines and such are actually audio labels and this app can read them to you. I don’t have a lot of interest in hearing product information from a magazine, but what my VRT told me was attractions are now posting audio labels! Use Digit-Eyes to read audio labels at the zoo and learn all about the animals. You don’t have to struggle with the signs any more! Too cool.

Back to the CYA stuff: I am not recommending this stuff. Purchase at your own risk but if you do purchase anything we would love to hear a product review.

Which reminds me: I have been ‘graduated’ from BVS services. I no longer have experts feeding me ideas. Please, please, PLEEEEZE start feeding us and everyone else your ideas. We are in this together. Help one another. Continue reading “Talking Labels”

We Won’t Discuss It

On to my chosen topic for today: politics!

there-are-three-things-i-have-learned-never-to-discuss-with-people-religion-politics-and-the-great-quote-1
“There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people…religion, politics, and The Great Pumpkin.” Charles Schultz.

Moan, groan, half of the Yanks (and Rebs?) reading this just shut down. I know. I am tired of the nonsense, too. Problem is, this is the system we have and I have yet to hear of anything that is better (almost said that trumps! Oh, Lawd….) than democracy. Or actually we have a republic, but this is not civics class, so I digress again.

My point – return to your point, Sue! – is this: losing your vision does not mean you lose your rights! You have the right to cast your vote privately and independently regardless of your disability.

Your right to a private and independent way to vote was affirmed in a 2013 case with Alameda County, California as the defendant. Apparently their handicapped accessible voting machine broke down. People were denied their rights and they complained.

Now, I have to admit to being behind in knowing the latest in voting machine technology. Apparently there are voting machines that read the on-screen ballot information to you via headphones. You vote by means of tactile controls. Contact your local elections office to see if your area has the appropriate technology. You might also want to let them know you are coming so they can find the headphones that came with the machine! Since you have the right to have the accessible voting features explained to you, calling ahead will also give them time to find the manual and learn how to use it themselves. Remember a good many of these folks are volunteers and be kind.

Remember as well you have a right to a helper of your choice in the voting booth with you. If neither of these options work, you have a right to apply for an absentee ballot. That way you can put the ballot on your CCTV or magnify it with your tablet and put it on the TV screen. Lots of ways to exercise your rights as a citizen.

The Jennigan Institute of the National Federation of the Blind appears to be an advocacy group for the promotion of research and understanding of blindness and visual impairment. They are proponents for full inclusion of the visually handicapped in all aspects of life. This includes voting. For example, in 2010 the Jennigan Institute hosted a seminar for election officials to introduce them to the accessible technology we have already discussed. You might want to check out some of their other offerings.

So there you have it. You can still exercise your right to vote. Now you get to try to decide whom to vote for. Oh, Lawd. Continue reading “We Won’t Discuss It”

Graduation

I am officially ‘graduating’ from all sorts of services. The tech guy cut me loose long ago. I would absolutely love to have more toys but I cannot get too greedy. Leave some money for other people to have neat things.

The O&M guy graduated me after the third meeting. I have to say I did not see the need to meet again either. Most of his stuff is ‘white cane stuff’.  I do not yet need a cane but I got the lessons when the proverbial getting was good. Never know when I will work my way to the top of the list again. Might be a long wait.

I don’t think the O&M guy actually MINDED working with me but I think I was a bit if a challenge. Saturday we went ‘off-roading’ on a tractor path in the pouring down rain and Sunday we walked around town nearly two solid hours. I am not thinking your ‘average’ visually impaired person does those things in mobility lessons ?.

Walking in town I learned some things like always use the signal button and wait for the traffic to pass even when they are yelling for you to cross. If you need to find the walk/don’t walk sign with a monocular you can follow the zebra striping of the cross walk to find the pole and then look up the pole until you can see the signal. I also found out that the walking directions on my phone’s GPS won’t let me go more than 15 yards or so out of my way before it corrects me. That was reassuring.

The habilitation person (we should have been calling her a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist or VRT; sorry!) brought the last of my presents from her today. Not seeing any needs there right now so I have been cut loose from her services, too. I asked if she has any ideas I could pass along to you folks to please email me.

The habilitation person/VRT did share a couple of gems today.  One was the
Light Angel motion detecting lights. The habilitation person/VRT said some people mount these close to the floor and use them to light the way back and forth to the bathroom at night. The lights are battery-powered and cost about $13 each. You know where you can get them.

Ott flip lightThe Ott Flip Lite opens like an old flip phone. This one is $14.00 you-know-where. I just ordered one for in my purse so I will let you know.

Purse! That is what else I wanted to say. Get a fashionable backpack and wear it on your back if you are planning cane travel. Purse in one hand and cane in the other was a bit much.

OK. Gotta roll. See ya! (Maybe?)

written 8/27/2016 Continue reading “Graduation”

Bucket List

Hi! Lin sent me a couple of posts from VisionAware. It appears they have people writing their bucket lists and then writing about how they are accomplishing their goals.

I am probably wrong but I think bucket list is a bit of  exclusively American slang. It comes from another American (?) slang phrase. “Kick the bucket” means to die so a bucket list is a list of things to do before you die. You know, special things you have always wanted to do.

I generally don’t make a bucket list. I am pretty proactive so things I put on my ‘list’ get checked off in short order. I am very fortunate I have been able to do many things.

This does not mean I do not have goals. My ultimate goal is to die in my own bed after a full and productive day. This should happen sometime when I am older than 90. In order to do this I have to have a lot of little sub-goals. I work on being financially responsible and physically fit. I also work to maintain ties to the community. (After all, somebody needs to find the body).

After I retire – I was thinking 70 would be a good age – I have wanted to take free or reduced cost college classes. I would like to learn to play an instrument. Maybe take classes in science or literature or history.

All of these plans were made before I started to lose my vision. When men make plans, God laughs. Supposedly an old Yiddish proverb that. The old Yiddish folks were very wise.

So now what? The people on the VisionAware site all already had fairly significant vision loss and really were working on things they wanted to do before they died – whenever that might be. But how about a bucket list of things you want to do before you become too visually impaired to do them?

By the time you read this I will be back from a 10 day tour of Iceland. It is supposed to be a phenomenal beautiful island. Going to Iceland will temporarily satisfy my wanderlust. It will give me an opportunity to experience more of this magnificent world.

Travel is one of the things I love and hope to do some more of. Do I have a list of places in mind? Sort of. Istanbul and Budapest are in the running but neither is a passionate desire. I could be just as happy with Amsterdam or Madrid.

Of course there is the small issue of money. Travel is expensive and I am not going to be able to afford every trip I have thought of taking before I lose my sight. Sometimes we have to settle for what we get and be happy with it.

Two more points:

First one: you will remember I said the people on VisionAware were all very visually impaired. They still had goals.

Being visually impaired does not keep you from doing everything you may want to do. For example, nephew 2 agrees I should learn the keyboard. He thinks I should try to become the old, white, female Stevie Wonder.

Second point: You who read regularly know my primary “going blind bucket list” goal. To wit, not to go blind! Hoping my new career as a lab rat starts soon!

So, whatcha wanna do? Do YOU have a bucket list? Tell us about it.
Continue reading “Bucket List”

Odds & Ends

Just a few more odds and ends from the meeting with the O&M guy.

Have a spare set of keys for the vehicle you usually ride in. If you cannot find the car when you come out of the store, hit the panic button and then quickly turn it off. That will give you an idea of where the car is parked and will also notify the person waiting in the vehicle to be on the outlook for you.

If you have something dark you often trip over, put a strip of contrasting duct tape on it. Amazon, of course, has all sorts of crazy duct tape. You should also be able to buy it at your favorite craft store.

This was one I should have thought of for myself. For those of us who need transportation and must pay exact change, the bank will ‘sell’ you a sleeve of 100, one dollar bills. You can also get rolls of coins. No more scrounging for singles.

The O&M guy’s answer to my dilemma with the women at Cracker Barrel was simply to ask if she was having vision problems. If she said yes, he would give her the BVS information. Short and sweet.

These next two paragraphs are me talking: Problem is many of these people are not working or trying to go back to work. That means there is not a lot of government money to pay for services. Services are limited as compared to services offered us who are working or want to work.

I guess the moral to that story is to work with the vocational rehabilitation people. Hang in on working as long as you can. Just because you cannot do your old job there are other things you can do. They will help you retrain. That way you can keep paying taxes!?

Anyway, in Pennsylvania it appears there are two programs for those not working. The specialized services program is for younger people and the independent living program is for people over 55. Both of them have the goals of increasing independence and self-sufficiency.

That is just about it. The day is going and I have other things to do. Cheerio. Continue reading “Odds & Ends”

Bells and Whistles and Geegaws

Hi! Happy wet Sunday! I was just out in the rain doing cane practice with the O&M guy. I had a lesson in climbing stairs, too. Remember to find the edges of the steps and check for the depths of the stairs. If you Google cane travel on stairs you will find several different videos.

One more time: I have not viewed these. I would not know the good ones even if I had. It is up to you to be the savvy consumer of the information. If you decide to use the skills from one or more of the videos please get someone to also watch it and to go with you a few times. We only have 82 subscribers and we don’t want you breaking your necks!

OK. Enough for the public service/CYA (Cover Your Ass) announcement.

Small monicularMonoculars: we compared my little $20 one from Amazon to the O&M guy’s $600 one and there was not a lot of difference in quality of what you are seeing, whatever that is called, view? Mine is fixed magnification, 7x.

That may be a problem for some people but the more options, bells and whistles and geegaws the more confusing it is; yes? We are trying to eliminate confusing.

Monoculars are not only good for bird watching like I want to do but they are also good for orientation. The O&M guy said I could use it to locate the street signs so I can walk towards them. Once a little closer I could use my monocular to actually read the signs. Maybe even figure out where I am. Yippee!

Oh, the one I have is from RoXant. $19.95 on Amazon. It is teeny tiny and you can wear it on a cord (provided) with everything else that seems to be hanging around your neck since you started to lose your vision.

Man! It is really raining!

Oh, OK. Mindful of what I am doing here, I also want to mention a couple of other O&M things. First if all is the Trekker Breeze +. It is from Humanware and is $800 but if it is as cool as the O&M guy says, it may be on my Christmas list. One of his other clients has the Trekker Breeze+. He really likes it.  The Trekker Breeze + webpage says it has a GPS and verbally announces names of streets, intersections and landmarks as you walk. It also can tell you what is in the local area. The Trekker Breeze + would appear to be good for finding your way around in unfamiliar territory.

A couple more things and this page will be long enough. First thing: in orientation use landmarks; don’t count steps. If you are on your way to the neighbor’s house, know you have to cross the broad driveway, go to the bank of mailboxes and turn right, for example. Landmarks are generally always there. Cues are useful but not always there. A cue would be a yappy dog.

Second thing is coastlining. Coastlining is hugging the side of the road when you walk. That way your cane can let you know where all those landmarks you are supposed to be paying attention to are.

OK. Back to you later….it is really raining.

Written 8/21/2016

Continue reading “Bells and Whistles and Geegaws”

“Hey! Sue is Going Blind!”

Back from Walmart. Everyone and his brother is at Walmart on a Saturday afternoon. One guy came up and started a conversation with me. I did not know him from Adam. I almost played the visually impaired card. “I’m sorry. I am losing my vision and cannot see you clearly. Who are you?” The problem was, I was close enough to actually see him and I still did not know him! Apparently I am more memorable than he is…or he has a decent memory and I don’t!

I guess being able to “play that card” may actually be a perk of becoming visually impaired. Is it dishonest to act like it is a vision problem keeping you from knowing someone?

Then I saw some people from my school. They spoke to me and I recognized the body types and gaits. I told them I was losing my vision and if I did not acknowledge them, they would need to speak to me first. Also identify themselves. I know a lot of people and I don’t necessarily remember a lot of voices. Standing there trying to hold a conversation with someone you should know and don’t is rather aggregating.

How many innocuous comments can you make while your mind is going 100 miles an hour trying to place someone?

This may sound conceited and arrogant, but hey, it’s me, right? I was slightly peeved the people from school did not know I am losing my sight! I mean, this is a big deal (to me)! I cannot be going around telling every single soul I meet that I am losing my vision. It becomes tedious and monotonous. What happened to that very efficient grapevine small towns are supposed to have? Important information like this should get around! Do I have to do everything myself? Jeez.

Then I ran into an ex-client. She has a developmental delay and no filters. When I told her I was losing my sight and in future she would have to speak to me first and identify herself…?? This person screamed across Walmart to her friend “Hey! Sue is going blind!” Maybe I can hire her as my publicist! [Lin/Linda here: I wish we could find a cartoonist for the website because this is one of many things Sue’s said that would make a GREAT cartoon, don’t you think? HaHaHa!]

So that was today’s trip to Walmart. Interesting place. You never know what you will see…or not see. Have a good evening! Continue reading ““Hey! Sue is Going Blind!””

Help!

“Help!” I get two reactions to that. Some people close to me simply don’t believe me. They know I am a competent human being. They know I have handled myself quite well over the years, thank you. They see me getting the job done but they don’t see the effort that goes into it. How could I possibly need help? I am obviously being lazy. Right?

Wrong! Help me; damn it! I am competent and I am not lazy. Just because I have always been able to do  – and I am still doing – many things very well does not mean I don’t need help.

I am not one to play the poor little girl. If I ask for help, I have a reason. I am not trusting many of my skills these days. If I ask you to read an important paper and make sure I got it right, read the stupid thing!

Thank you. I feel better now.

The other side of the coin is dealing with people who don’t know me and don’t know vision loss. Most of these people are kind and well-meaning. It is just that I don’t need people to grab my arm or – and I admit this has not happened YET – try to cut my meat.

I suspect many of you are having similar problems. People see things so black and white! Either we are blind and helpless or we can function at 100% efficiency. How should other people react to us who are somewhere in the middle?

Vision Australia has a page on how to interact with the visually impaired. Vision Australia suggests people identify themselves and actually ask if the visually impaired person needs help. Now there is a novel concept! They also suggest people talk TO US and not to our companions.

After all, the other people aren’t blind and being visually impaired does not make us invisible! It is just plain rude to ignore us. I don’t think any of us are four years old any more. We don’t need people taking over our heads.

Another site I found has the very long title of: Assisting the Blind and Visually Impaired: Guideline for Healthcare Worked and Other Helpers. The guide was put together for workers in non-industrialized nations but the rules are the same anywhere. The guide suggested the sighted individuals use a lot of communication. They should explain what is happening and talk about the surroundings. How does it feel when everyone else is laughing and you could not see the joke? Guide, don’t pull or push! Don’t leave an interaction without taking your leave. It can be embarrassing to be talking to thin air.  Basically, be respectful!

Many of you are parents. I suspect some of you are teachers. Once again it falls on us to educate. If the help you receive is too little or too much, it is up to you to correct the problem. Tell people the way it should be done. Don’t expect them to stumble upon it on their own.  You know as well as I do, if there are 99 wrong ways to do something and one right way, most people will try the 99 first! Do you really want to endure that? Speak up.

Continue reading “Help!”

Is This the Hill?

Good morning. Another Monday ‘off’.  I had saved the day for my third place of employment but they did not have an assessment client for me.

That is OK. I can survive. Over the weekend I wrote several reports. The time that took was probably a work day.

I can be flexible. Flexible is good. The Oak and the Reed was one of Aesop’s fables. I never knew that until a few minutes ago. Sometimes it really is better to bend than break.

Depending upon the issue, of course. In one of the DBT lessons I taught recently we talked about the phrase “is this a hill you want to die on?” One of our clients had grown up with her father, a military man, using that phrase and she never knew what it meant. What does it mean? It means there are some battles we should decide not to fight. The victory is not worth the cost. When you don’t want to die on that particular hill, you skirt it. Go around.

So I am being flexible. Doing that a LOT these days.

I did not tell you about the transportation debacle I had just getting to my yogini to get to the yoga festival. I found out transportation will not only take me to work and medical appointments, it will take me just because I want to go. I decided to try it to get to my yogini’s house. Needed to be there at 9:25, so I told them I needed to be there at 9:15. They picked me up at 7:50! I sat nearly 90 minutes in the park because I did not want to impose on my yogini.

There was an older woman on the same run. She wanted to go to the drug store that opened at 9. They dropped her off at 8:10!

I was flexible. I was able to find a place to sit and do some research for a possible trip. I decided not to complain. Just made a note to myself to avoid taking transportation any place I cannot get out of the elements, any place I cannot use my time productively while waiting. I have the resources that will allow me not to have to take transportation to activities all that often. I don’t have to use my energy to fight that battle.

If I had been the woman going to the drug store? I believe I would have raised a serious stink as the phrase goes. She was a woman in her late 70s being left to stand in the heat. Oh, yeah. I would have fought that battle.

So I try to be flexible. I pick my battles and decide which ‘hills’ I will ‘die’ on. I try not to cut off my nose to spite my face – another great, old saying. I adapt to this new reality. When necessary, I am the reed.

Written 8/15/2016

Continue reading “Is This the Hill?”

Living a Clean Life

And now for the weather report: it is still crazy hot! 8:45 on a Sunday and I am already thinking of spending my day submerged in the pool.  Not the original plan. I have reports to write. I want to ride my bike again. I even planned on doing some cleaning.

I admit it. When faced with the urge to clean I generally breath deeply, distract myself and urge surf until it passes.

However, I also recognize there are some of you who like to clean, for whom clutter is not a natural state, who get a sense of satisfaction from clean counter tops. I will never understand you, but God bless you.

A colleague has a client who is losing her vision. She is worried about not getting every speck of dust and not being able to be the Uber housekeeper she once was. My colleague came to me for suggestions! He don’t know me real well; do he? 😉

In an effort to serve as many populations and as many needs as possible, I decided to do a search (does doing research on cleaning count as cleaning? If it does, I am right there!). I found a post put out by the American Federation of the Blind on their VisionAware page. The very apropos title was Housecleaning Tips. I will refer you to the article itself for the specifics, but it appears to me they make use of organization and planning skills once again. Can’t get enough of those organization and planning skills when you are visually impaired.

The article also mentioned a manual Clean to the Touch, published by teachers at Perkins. What is in the article the link will take you to is an interview with the authors. I felt for sure it would be available as an audiobook through BARD but I could not find it. Maybe someone else should look too. I also did not find it in Amazon books. The Perkins on-line store does sell the manual for $35 probably plus shipping and handling. It comes in a variety of formats including audio, large print and Braille. [Lin/Linda here: I found one reference to it through Colorado Talking Book Library if anyone is subscribed there.]

I found a general manual for coping put out by Cornell University. It has a section on keeping house. The site is Household Tips for Low Vision – Environmental Geriatrics. Environmental Geriatrics????? That’s a catchy phrase.

The ever popular ‘University of YouTube’ comes through again with an over two-hour video on “how do blind people clean the house?”. These guys should probably start giving continuing education hours considering how much good and useful stuff you can find there.

So there are some references for keeping a clean house even if you don’t see so well. Let us know if you have any other suggestions.

Remember, one of my (many) guidelines in life: free is good. Try the free resources first. If you have $35 (plus shipping and handling) you don’t know why to do with, try the manual from Perkins and report back, please. Since I have no burning desire to eradicate dust bunnies, I do not own it, have not read it and am not recommending it. Just something I found online.

And on that note, all of this talking about cleaning has just worn me out! I think I will go put on my bathing suit! Have a good day??

Written 8/15/2016

Continue reading “Living a Clean Life”

Namaste

Hi. It is HOT here. And I am generally one love-the-hot mama. This stuff is oppressive.
I bummed a ride to a yoga festival. Sweat like a fool while I was there but it was fun. I saw several people I have not seen in months. Most of them were aware I am losing my sight and that is the reason I dropped from their sight.

Is this just my experience or do people ask you how you are feeling? I don’t quite get if they think Age-Related Macular Degeneration is painful or if they are asking how I am feeling emotionally.

Either way I am OK. Sweltering (in real-time it is August) but OK. It was a busy week but even though I brought work home, I still had the opportunity for leisure. My yogini transported me there and back. She is a busy mother of two little ones but we made it work.

I had asked someone else for a ride (spread the ‘wealth’ of my presence??) at first. I discovered since that woman was not able to take me, she had been looking for a ride for me. A few months ago I would have been mortified but now I just see it as my community taking care of one of its own. That is a plus.

Also, this woman, another yoga instructor in the community, told my friend she would make herself available to give me private lessons should my vision get so bad I cannot get to group classes.

Remember what I said about the world being full of good people? It is true.

So, living in the moment and not borrowing trouble from the future, life is good. I am good. I came home to a pool that was a bit green but it was wet and cool and when you own your own pool you can jump in in your sweaty, disgusting yoga clothes and nobody yells at you. Score!

I would suspect many of you are also discovering there is life after diagnosis when it comes to AMD. It may not be the life you had or the life you planned but it can be a decent life.

I remain in awe of the number of people who stand ready to help. Friends, acquaintances, even strangers have been and continue to be there for me. All I had to do was express a desire to remain part of life, part of the community. I would predict the same would be true for you.
And one more thing, every once in a while it is a good idea to count your blessings. Some of mine sweat and stretch on their mats and end their practices with this phrase: “the light in me recognizes and honors the light in you. Namaste”. Let it shine.

Written 8/14/2016

Continue reading “Namaste”

Charity Starts at Home

Forgive me, guys, for I have sinned. I caught myself not practicing what I preach.

I was hunting my glare glasses…again. I was hot on the trail going in to check lost and found at Cracker Barrel. (Found my glasses at the bank. They now have a cord.) There was a middle-aged woman with an older woman trying to go into the restaurant.

The middle-aged woman looked frazzled. I could see why. The older woman was obviously visually impaired. I am not clairvoyant but I assumed she had macular degeneration. She was wearing a pair of inexpensive sunglasses and carrying a regular wooden cane. The woman was ‘stomping’ the cane up and down in front of her. With her feet she was high stepping like she was racing through a course of truck tires!

The middle-aged woman was trying to keep the door open and shove the older woman through all at the same time. I held the door for them and went about my mission. Find those glare glasses!

Later I thought “Dear God!” What a mass of ignorance about basic travel techniques I had just seen (Of course, I have had one O&M lesson so I am an expert!??). Then I thought I probably should have offered some advice. Then I thought, who am I to offer advice? How would they have taken it from a stranger?

Still not sure how I should have handled it. Maybe the entrance to Cracker Barrel was not the place. Maybe I should make up cards for the website. Hmmmm.

After feeling vaguely guilty about not offering any substantive assistance, I got upset with everyone else! (Projection is a wonderful defense mechanism!) What doctor sees these women bumble into his office and does not make a referral for some basic skill training? Why would the younger woman not realize there is a better way than manhandling the older woman through the door? And even… I am sure the older woman has seen the competent blind. Why did she not seek some training when she started to lose her sight?????

OK.  So I am blaming the victim maybe. Maybe trying not to feel so guilty. Yes, I should have said something. HOWEVER I also think I have a point. Charity, as it were, starts at home. Our professionals, our families and our own selves have a responsibility to take the proverbial bull by the horns and take care of things.

I applaud you reading these pages. You have taken up your own cause. You are proactive in tackling your own problems. I don’t know most of you, but I am proud of you.

Not necessarily proud of myself about that situation. Probably should have said something. I wonder how much cards would cost?

Next: Namaste

Home

Back in the Saddle

Today was a pretty productive day. I did a little housework (not too much!), wrote two psychological reports, and….rode my bike!

Riding my bike was my major goal for mobility and orientation training. When my O&M guy was here we went down to the main road I needed to cross and studied it. We decided I would cross to the island and then wait to cross the second lane. I would decide when to cross by watching for the cars to see if they were even with or past some landmarks we chose. If the car was passing the landmark or closer I was not to try to cross. My O&M guy said the important part was that I SAW the cars, not that I could make out a lot of details.

It was not important for me to know the make and model of the car that hit me. It was important I kept from getting hit!

I chose today, a Sunday, because traffic was a lot lighter. I got across the road and went down to a parking lot to ride in circles for awhile. This parking lot is actually home turf for the infamous “Training Wheels Gang” but they did not give me any trouble. ? I just needed to get back on my bike and practice my skills. No use going crazy first time out. The kiddie lot was good enough.

I discovered my peripheral vision kept me from running into things, hitting any big stones or hitting any potholes. If I looked ahead of me, my ‘fuzzy spot’ was on the horizon. The ground directly in front of me was seen clearly. Only going 8 or 9 miles an hour at best, I really did not have to see that far ahead. There was no traffic in the lot.

On the way home I took a slightly different route. This route allowed me to avoid a lot of the traffic. (Unfortunately not an option on the way out because the way I used coming home is an entrance ramp.) 7.5 miles later I was home unscathed. Cool. Another successful ‘adventure’.

Thinking there must be other, like-minded folks out there trying to ride their bikes, I went online to look for tips. Not much luck. Most of the articles were for tandem riding or the bike riding equivalent of using a sighted guide. Great if you have someone to ride with you.

The one thing I did discover looking at bicycling sites was this: the people asking about ways to continue riding all said they had macular degeneration! Does that mean we are intrepid, foolish or that AMD might leave enough vision to actually allow us to do something like bike? Maybe all three.  Some of the comments said the writers knew visually handicapped folks who bike all the time. No big deal.

If anyone knows anyone with visual impairment who does bike, ask them to drop me a line, please. I would like to pick up a few pointers. Who knows? With a few tricks, I might be able to go on to bigger and better things!

Written 8/8/2016

Continue reading “Back in the Saddle”

Merrily Down the Stream

My O & M guy asked if I had ever heard of something called the Victor Reader Stream. Nope. How about you?

I did a search and the first thing I learned is it is about $370. OK. What do you get for your $370?

According to the ad, the Victor Reader Stream is a “handheld media player for the Blind and visually impaired.” It plays DAISY books,” ….stop, DAISY books?

According to their website DAISY stands for Digital Accessible Information System. DAISY is supposed to be superior to the regular talking books because it has search and navigation features. In other words, you don’t have to listen to every word on every page to find what you are looking for.

I searched for ways of downloading the app or signing up for the service or whatever you have to do.  Unless you could consider me a small country, I did not learn much that would be useful. It appears your nation joins and then allows its citizens with print disabilities free use of the service. If anybody knows anything about it, let us know. I will try asking around.

Back to the ad “[It plays DAISY books,] MP3 and 4 as well as EPUB file formats.” …stop again. EPUB?

Not surprisingly, EPUB is short for ‘electronic publication’.  It is file format that allows all sorts of things. These include bookmarking, highlighting and re-sizeable font. It may already be on many of your devices.

The Victor Reader Stream allows for accessing Internet Radio. it is possible to listen to thousands of radio stations from all over the world on this device.

The Victor Reader Stream also has an audio recorder. It is possible to record class lectures and meeting. This feature and all of the rest are supposed to be on a device the size of an old style transistor radio.

And that is what I found out about the Victor Reader Stream. I vouch for nothing I wrote. I do not own one and I never used one. It was mentioned to me. It sounded interesting. I am mentioning it to you.

We are getting nothing for mentioning this product. Once again, we make no money on this site but we stand ready to promote things we have tried and believe in. This is especially true should there be a cash reward?.

If you buy a Victor Reader Stream and you don’t like it, don’t blame me. I heard about it and did a search. I did not tell you to buy one.

If you buy one and – like it or otherwise – want to make a comment about it, we would love to hear it. Remember our purpose here is to disperse knowledge. We also try to support one another on this crazy AMD journey. Feel free to share what you know.

“I shall pass this way but once; any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not deter nor neglect it for I shall not pass this way again.” – Stephen Grelletj

Continue reading “Merrily Down the Stream”

New Kind of Tap Dance

Back to the O&M stuff. I need to practice my cane travel but I feel rather foolish using the thing. I feel like a fraud using it since I don’t yet need it.

Imagine me with a white cane scrambling up and down the rocky bank and across the muddy shoals at the ‘beach’, the local swimming hole. That is where I walked with the Beastie Baby today. I am still pretty sure-footed (except when falling over dishwasher doors). I can see people becoming irritable with me for impersonating a blind person. I don’t want that to happen.

So no cane on this trip. Instead I used an ‘invisible cane’ and practiced my cadence.

I have said it before: I am a decent dancer. Therefore, you would think walking and tapping a cane would be child’s play. Nooooooo. I never realized how hard “tap left and step right, tap right and step left, repeat” could be. I am constantly getting out of step! [click here for one YouTube video showing White Cane Technique.]

Practicing with my ‘invisible cane’ I came up with an idea. Now this idea may not work at all. It may be laughed at by O&M specialists. No guarantees. Since I am a lefty, my cane is in my right hand. My thought was: what would happen if I pretended my right forearm were glued to my right thigh? When I step forward with my right, this would propel the cane in an arc to my left. When my right leg is the following leg, the cane stays back to the right.

It worked sort of. The movement is still not automatic, but what do you want from a newbie? I shall keep trying.

Next up: sighted guide. This was about a five-minute lesson. It required me to be someplace my husband never thought I would ever be: a deferential half-step behind him!

The idea is that the sighted guide gets to run into things and fall off cliffs before you do. The National Federation of the Blind has some good articles available as well as some YouTube instructional videos. How did we ever learn anything before YouTube?

Anyway, the idea is to grasp your guide’s triceps, not the biceps. In other words, come in from the back and stay there. Your fingers should be on the inside of his arm and your thumb should be on the outside.

If your sighted guide runs into a wall, you want to be able to push-off the back of his arm and keep yourself from tumbling into said wall. You don’t want to have a hold of his biceps and slip off…right into the wall.

If going through a narrow passage, I really get to play the deferential wife. My husband or other sighted guide puts his hand behind him. That is my cue to slide my grasp down his wrist and move all the way behind him.  When the arm comes out, I get to slide back to the triceps and take my position half a step behind.

Now, if I feel my sighted guide step down, I know I need to step down. If he drops precipitously, he has fallen off a cliff and I need to let go! Then I turn around, get my cane out and tap, tap back the way I came.

Simple. Sighted guide. They should keep you from running into walls and falling off cliffs. Just make sure your grasp is right!

written 8/6/2016

Continue reading “New Kind of Tap Dance”

Have Cane Will Travel

‘Chapter 13’ of something I found online suggested orientation and mobility tricks and techniques have been around for a very long time. After all, it is not like vision loss is a new thing and, if nothing else, we are an adaptable species. Images from as far back as the 13th century showed people using canes and guide dogs. They also probably used sighted guides, a strategy still taught today.

Perkins School for the Blind in England was said to have informally taught orientation and mobility in the 1880s. The Germans advanced the use of guide dogs after World War I and the Americans appear to have gotten into the game during World War II.

According to the PowerPoint, after the Battle of the Bulge in January, 1945 Valley Forge Army Hospital received 17 blinded servicemen in one day. 17 sightless GIs all delivered in one day apparently served as an impetus for somebody to do something! What they did was to establish the War Blind Program. This appears to have been the formal beginning of orientation and mobility training in America.

800px-ID_cane
folding white cane

So far I have had one O&M lesson. The O&M guy brought me a white cane! I want to get across the street on my bike and he brings me a white cane????

While we were not apparently on the same page for my current needs and capacities, there remained some basic truths. 1) AMD is a progressive disease. 2) Someday I may be that impaired. 3) He is here now and when I actually need to use a white cane, it may take six months to get him back! I took the cane.

Cane fitting is something like fitting for ski poles or canoe paddles. My O&M guy said it should reach to the middle of your chest. My cane comes up to about my breastbone.

He also gave me a choice of two tips for my cane. It appears the way you travel determines which tip you should use. People who move more slowly might do better with the constant contact technique. For the constant contact technique the red, roller ball tip I was given might work better. If you move a little faster, you might want to use the standard cane tip and use the two point touch technique.

What I was given is a folding cane. It has an elastic cord inside of it. You pull on the sections and the cord allows you to straighten the cane or fold it up. My cane already ‘bit’ me so I would suggest you keep your fingers out from between the sections when you are opening or folding one of these.

There are also collapsible or telescoping canes and rigid canes.  The National Federation for the Blind (NFB) has a program through which they supply what I was told are rigid white canes free of charge. Let me repeat that.  NFB supplies white canes free of charge.

Now, I would not suggest you get a cane and go charging out the door with no training. However, I am also realistic enough to understand there are not a lot of O&M people out there and someone has to pay the ones there are. You might not be able to find anyone or get him funded.

That said, the “University of YouTube” has instructional videos on basic cane travel techniques. Get someone to watch them with you and be your ‘coach’.  Just be VERY careful. While United States laws give the right of way to persons traveling with a white cane, you can still get run down. Remember: no roadkill allowed!

written 8/5/2016

Continue reading “Have Cane Will Travel”

The Attack of the Dishwasher

I left the dishwasher open last evening…..see it coming? Good. I always knew you guys were smart.  Went out to the kitchen in the dark and fell over it. I am glad all I did was boo boo my leg. Afterwards I had the thought I could have fallen on the dishwasher and torn the door off. It could have been $600 or $700 for a new dishwasher. Now THAT is an ouchy.

This is actually a very minor boo boo. I was lucky! Many falls and head-level injuries result in the need for medical attention. I also see I need to moisturize my legs and shave more thoroughly…but that is a different page! In the words of Hill Street Blues: “Let’s roll and, hey, let’s be careful out there. ”

The short version of this lesson is “Don’t do that!” The longer version is “don’t leave obstacles in your own way, don’t fumble around in the dark and work on your strength and balance so you can recover and not destroy expensive appliances.” I did not follow advice on the first two out of three.

American Federation for the Blind has a nice article called A Checklist for Environmental Safety. The article highlights things like having good light and keeping chairs – and dishwasher doors! – pushed in.

A study done in 2011 was the only study concerning mobility-related accidents experienced by people with visual impairment I found. It had the catchy title of Mobility-Related Accidents Experience by People with Visual Impairment. The authors were Manduchi and Kurniawan.

The article reported previous research had established the visually impaired are at a higher risk for injury from falls than the general population.  (Do I even have to say it????? Duh, really? And yes I know some research does debunk ‘common sense’ but my boo boo suggests we don’t belabor the obvious.)

These authors decided to study head-level accidents.  Turned out 13% of the blind experienced head-level accidents at least once a month! This was in comparison to 7% taking falls. Those with dogs fared better overall than cane users.

Another interesting finding?  Those who traveled more outdoors did not appear to be having significantly more head-level or falling accidents than those who left their houses less frequently.

Bottom line on this? Watch out for stray furniture – and dishwasher doors – that jump out of nowhere to trip you, but while you are doing that, watch your head!  It may be the dishwasher is in cahoots with the cupboard door. Watching what the dishwasher is doing, you may discover the cupboard door is launching an attack!

Also, outdoor hazards did not prove to be any worse than the ones indoors, so once in a while it might be nice to get outside.

I intend to go outside to play more very soon. The orientation and mobility guy just called. He is visiting in three days!?? Yippee!!!!!

written 7/31/2016

Continue reading “The Attack of the Dishwasher”

Time Flies When You’re [not] Having Fun

According to Lin, this is my 100th page. I guess I can ‘talk’ a lot. Not necessarily a bad thing in this case. We have taken AMD education on as a project, a quest as it were. I have said before, I am an educator at heart and we have found the lack of general information on AMD just plain scary.

This is something that will affect millions but unless we go out and seek the information ourselves, most of us will only know what we can read from an 8.5 x 11 inch trifold! Really?!?!?!

And that is just the information on the disease. What about emotional coping and daily living skills? Where are people getting that information? Quite honestly, I hope it is here. (But if it is not, don’t go away. We love you anyway and would love for you to share what you have learned.)

Let me get off my soapbox before someone goes looking for the hook. Give me a public forum and I can rant. Lectured the girl who cut my hair last week?.

Lin says there would be no website without me. Well, yeah. I am the unlucky soul who came up with AMD. I’m afraid there is not a lot of glory in that. If I take any glory, it will be for deciding to turn lemons into lemonade. I brought the lemons. Lin brought the squeezy thingee, the water, the sugar and the pitcher. She has also done 95% of the real work. I just vent.

I generally do my venting on a tablet I bought for the purpose. I got it cheap when I got my phone. If necessary I can get my emails and text on here and make the font HUGE. I usually write using about a 24 point font.

If I am not using a 24 point font, things can become amusing. Both autocorrect and speech-to-text hate me. They like to make a fool of me. Whom am I trying to kid? Even with 24 point font, things become amusing. I am made a fool of a lot. Fortunately, it is not a new experience. I can cope.

Lin outlined how we do what we do (About Our Project). Ideas usually come from what is happening most recently in my life.

Earlier in the process I had plenty to say. Thus, our being about 9 weeks behind ‘real time’ in our publishing. More recently – the pages you will be reading in a couple of months – I have settled into day-to-day life as one of the visually impaired. Not as ‘exciting’. Not as many new ideas. But there are challenges.

What DO you do when you realize this may be as good as it gets from here on out? When you have slayed as the dragons you can but a big one still remains? I guess we find out.

I thank you for staying with us for the last 100 pages and Lin’s many, many informative posts. I thank you for your kind words. I thank you for accompanying me on this journey. [Lin here: I thank you as well for your patience when I get behind schedule & when things don’t go quite right. And for your support for us both.]

“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” Izaak Walton Continue reading “Time Flies When You’re [not] Having Fun”

Your Macular Journal/ey

It dawned upon me I should probably say a little bit about journaling. After all, these pages are a journal, sort of. I blend a lot of psycho-education into the mix but at the core these pages are about me, my life, my feelings.

I started this journal because I needed something to do while I was home, newly visually impaired and unemployed. The unemployed part turned out to be temporary but I did not know that at the time.

I also needed to express my feelings in a constructive rather than a destructive manner.

I have kept journaling for those and a couple of other reasons. For one thing, it keeps me honest. If I tell you to keep a positive attitude or help medical research, I damn well better be doing the same. Talk the talk AND walk the walk.

A humbling reason is at least one of you has said I am her voice. I have put words to feelings she did not know how to express. I am beyond honored to have been able to do that.

However, should I accidentally step in front of a truck tomorrow – which remains a possibility – I would like each and every one of you to have his or her own voice. Thus, journaling.

It was suggested people started writing journals in 10th century Japan. Since then many, many people have kept journals. What is a journal? It is daily writing about your life, events, emotions and reactions.

Two ways my pages are NOT journal pages in the true sense are a) they are not private and b) they are not uncensored or unedited. True journal pages are private. For your eyes only (“Bond, James Bond”?). They also are unfettered by the rules of spelling and grammar.

And the benefits of journal writing?  Writing things down allows you to clarify your thoughts. It helps you to know yourself better. In that way it is like observing your thoughts and actions a la DBT. For example, why would I associate THOSE two things? And really in true dialectic fashion, journal writing allows us to resolve disputes by helping you understand other view points in a non threatening environment.

Some of these ideas were liberally ‘borrowed’ from PsychCentral. Check there and other sites such as Tiny Buddha for more ideas on journaling.

Lin and I remain open to the idea of publishing guest pages by our readers and anyone else out there. Please keep it R rated or lower and on topic. Topics being AMD, vision loss in general and self-help, all interpreted a bit broadly. We will NOT publish advertisements thinly veiled as pages or posts. We retain the right to censor or exclude without explanation. (Sometimes the explanation is as simple as I got a bad vibe. I tend to listen to my gut.)

Happy writing!

Lin/Linda here: please send me an email with your page in the body of the it or with it attached.  I can open documents in a variety of formats.

Continue reading “Your Macular Journal/ey”

Shots in the Dark

If all went well, and I assume it did, my first photo show got hung this weekend. I am doing a two-woman show with a lifelong friend who does watercolor and ink drawings.

I am not a photographer. Even the word ‘amateur’ elevates me to a status I don’t deserve. I like to travel and I like to take pictures. I probably have thousands of shots.

Several years ago I decided to enter a local competition. The judges did me the ultimate injustice: they gave me a blue ribbon! Since I have never, ever been one to turn my back on success (and recognition!),  I have been entering that competition pretty much ever since. I am hooked.

The problem became a dozen framed photos taking up house space. When I heard of this show, I decided to volunteer – both me and my friend! After all, what are friends for?  It would at least get my competition photos out of the house and I could clean that corner.

So here I am, the going blind photographer in her first, two-woman show.  Will it be my last show? Not sure, but I plan to keep taking photos.

Visual impairment does not mean giving up all of your hobbies, even the ones you traditionally think of as needing good vision.  Like photography. In fact, for some people with low vision, photography is a profession and they keep going!

Don’t believe me?  Ask Craig Royal. He has been visually impaired since birth and he is a fine art photographer. A little abstract? Yep, but several of the pieces I saw were hauntingly beautiful.

How about Peter Eckert? He is blind from retinitis pigmentosa. Tammy Ruggles has RP also. Both of them are not hobby photographers; they are professionals!

As you might have noticed, some of the work these people do is a little ‘different’. We are not talking about grandma and her brownie here. But different is the point.

I am now different (yeah, yeah, so what else is new?). The ways I do things have to be different too.

So far no vacation this year. If we actually get one depends upon my husband’s back. No vacation means no, new vacation photos. I have to find another venue for taking photos.

No driving means I pretty much have to take photos at home. Turning what I see everyday into a beautiful photo is going to take some creativity.

I have decided to explore still life photography. I have also decided to experiment with magnification. Seem to have a lot of magnifying tools in the house these days.? These things are different for me but they allow me to keep going and take photos. Might be interesting.

For ideas on how to take excellent photos in spite of visual impairment see iPhonephotography: photography for all by Luis Perez  and published by the National Federation for the Blind.

For more blind and low vision photographers’ work, see photo essays by blind photographer in Time.

Continue reading “Shots in the Dark”

Good Stuff Cheap

There is a discount store called Ollie’s.  Their motto is “good stuff cheap”. I am going to steal that motto to talk about my new toys!

standnew1The first thing I got yesterday was the Justand V2e.  It is made in China and distributed by Procomputing, Grapevine, Texas. My BVS rehabilitation therapist said they paid $120 for it.

What the Justand does is hold your iPad steady. That way you can use the free magnification app you downloaded from the App Store and turn your tablet into a magnifying reader just like a CCTV! If you are not really mobile, your Justand and iPad can also take the place of your regular reader. My reader was $600.

Justand= $120. iPad = $450. Magnification app = free. This set up is $570.00 as compared to the $3500 paid for my CCTV. Add the $600 for the reader onto that and we are talking about saving some serious money.

The second thing I got today was the KNFB Reader. The KNFB Reader is for sale in the App Store for $100. Watch out for this one when shopping. I saw something that looked the same on Amazon and the price was $1,000. Of course I may be wrong. We all know what it is like to not have the sight be what it used to be. Maybe what Amazon is selling is more than software???? Anyway, caveat emptor.  [Lin/Linda here: what Sue found on Amazon is indeed not just software, it is a phone which is only sold in Florida and costs $1,325.]

KNFB Reader is apparently made by Kurzweil, the people who were pioneering the technology in the 70s, in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind. K and NFB; get it?

You take a picture of a page, hit a button and the machine reads to you. For some reason my iPad voice is an Aussie. Doesn’t matter. I understand her.

There are a variety of other languages available besides dialects of English. My habilitation person had a page written in English read in Turkish. Since my Turkish is, shall we say weak – OK, nonexistent – I had no clue how good the translation was. At least it sounded Turkish-ish.

The last thing I got was another app, AudioNote. The idea is to record lectures, etc., at the same time you are writing or typing notes on a page of the iPad.  I haven’t had a chance to play with it since I only received it yesterday. I will let you know if I get an opportunity to use it. The INDATA Project of Easter Seals has a how-to video on YouTube if you want to see what it looks like. Audio Note is $5 in the App Store.

I still have one more app coming. My habilitation worker thinks I need it. I have no idea what it is. I guess I will be surprised.

So, there you go. Good stuff cheap. Hope some of this is more in your price range. Continue reading “Good Stuff Cheap”

There’s No Place Like Home

Did I happen to mention I do not do well with downtime? I had some things scheduled today. Plan A was the cruise. That went down the tubes. Then I was supposed to testify in a court case (not my own!). That has been continued until the end of summer. So much for plan B.

Nephew #1 is coming around later to “take me out” (as if I were a dog?????) and do a little shopping. Hip hop is this evening but I need to deal with now.

Since I am stuck at home, I figured I would listen to some of that audio book about safe living at home. It is called Making Life More Livable and it is available from BARD. [It is also available from AFB in paperback, e-book and online/download forms.]

Although the book stresses there is no one size fits all adaptations, it does make some basic suggestions. Also – note to caregivers – it stresses it is important for anyone making adaptations to actually look at the set up already in place and ask the visually impaired person what he thinks and wants. And yes, I find that to be common sense but if there is one thing I have learned in life, it is common sense is not so common!

So, onward!

Running into doors is apparently a common accident. Sliding doors or leaving doors off of cupboards and rooms altogether is suggested in the audio book. If you cannot take doors off, making an effort to keep them all the way closed or all the way open was suggested. Curtains and beaded hangings could also be used and are a lot softer when you run into them!

Rugs are another hazard. If the edge is coming up, tack it down. Do the same if the rug slides on a slick floor. Sometimes it may be best to just remove the rug.

You may not, however, want to get rid of small, area rugs entirely. Rugs of a contrasting color can be used to define an area. Remember I once missed the last step and almost twisted an ankle? The dark tile at the bottom of my dark-carpeted stairs now has a light-colored area rug covering it. So far, no more missed last step there.

Door sills are supposed to be another big cause of accidents. If you have door sills, hopefully they are beveled so your toes don’t clunk into the sides of them. If they are not beveled, painting them some crazy color might be helpful. Yellow not required. Be creative. After all, we are the generation that introduce the term ‘psychedelic’ to the world!

That is what I have learned so far. Hopefully helpful. 11:30. Pet the dog. Lunch. Listen a little longer. I will let you know what else I learn.

Click here for more ideas from the book.

Continue reading “There’s No Place Like Home”

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