September 27 - CNIB

It was 1986 when my eyesight underwent a very sudden change. Overnight, I went from seeing with twenty-twenty vision to becoming legally blind. It was an emotional and life altering change. I really didn’t know what was happening to me. Fortunately, after visits with ophthalmologists and retinal specialists, there was CNIB who came to my rescue. No, the agency didn’t fix my sight, but representatives from the agency taught me how I could best live my life as a visually impaired person.

Then, some years later, I decided that I would like to take a university course with the ultimate aim of achieving a Master’s Degree. Again, I turned to CNIB. Staff members put me in touch with volunteers who would read and record my textbooks for me. I took further mobility training and learned how to use my white cane on Edmonton’s transit system. I took a six-week course to learn the intricacies of an audible screen reading program on my computer. There were six of us in the class and the CNIB instructor was excellent.

In the past and on different occasions, I have visited the CNIB offices in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. It seems that as of this month, those visits, however helpful they might have been to me as a CNIB client, will now be just a nostalgic memory.

Not so long ago, the CNIB divided its focus. As I understand it, there are now two main streams. The first is CNIB Foundations and the second is Vision Loss Rehabilitation. Unfortunately, the latter, which apparently relied solely on provincial government funding, has been severely impacted when the latest application for funding from the provincial government was denied.

I am just a lowly client so I really don’t have any idea of how the financial end of things works, but I do know how this cutback is going to affect me.

This is what I have heard. The subsidiary CNIB offices in Grand Prairie, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat have been closed. The CNIB stores in both Edmonton and Calgary are closed as of today.

For rural clients especially, the closing of the subsidiary offices is a major blow. For people with low or no vision, it is difficult enough to find transport to these local offices without now having to find ways and means to get to the further distances of the main offices in Edmonton and Calgary.

As for the closing of the stores – well that is another issue again. The word is that we can now order all our vision aides on line. Ordering on line might work well enough for people who are sighted, but for people who need to test a magnifier, for instance, this doesn’t work well at all – and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Those of us with partial vision are not all painted with the same brush. Partial sight can range from seeing light and dark, to seeing black and white, to seeing only peripherally, to seeing only the tunnel of central vision, to counting fingers, and so on. Finding the appropriate aides to help us maneuver our way in a sighted world, often means a bit of trial and error. Ordering items online doesn’t really allow for trial and error testing.

This past week, in a recorded phone message from Matthew Kay, Executive Director of Vision Loss Rehabilitation, Mr. Kay said that Vision Loss Rehabilitation would try its best to continue to serve CNIB clients. He suggested that a letter writing campaign might be launched in order to regain funding for next year’s budget. Nevertheless, it will be difficult to regain services once they have been discontinued. I am deeply disappointed with this turn of events.

If I hear anything further, I will post the information on this blog.

September 20 - Eating Outside

Dining out or eating outside? Both of these terms have slightly different connotations. When I think of dining out, I think of an evening meal in a restaurant. When I think of eating outside, I think of sunshine and possibly even a picnic table. Of course, in certain circumstances there doesn't have to be an absolute choice, but if there was, I would choose eating outside.

So, what is the difference between the two? For me, it is mostly lighting. Too many restaurants are dimly lit. When the light comes primarily from the romantic flicker of a little candle set in the table centre, I have difficulty in seeing my plate - much less the food on it. In daylight, I have a much better chance of seeing what I am eating.

Now the choice between dining out or eating outside is not always absolute. Sometimes the quality of the food in a restaurant overcomes all other sight considerations. Sometimes the heat and glare of the sun, or heavy rain and thunder clouds, or the presence of stinging insects or mosquitoes, make eating outside just too uncomfortable.

We were fortunate this past week on the Oregon coast. The sun shone and the temperature was mild. There weren't any bugs. The seafood was excellent and we ate outside nearly every day.

There are two pictures with this post. In the first picture, I am sitting at an outside picnic table under the restaurant umbrella. I remember I had salad and clam chowder that day. It was an excellent lunch.

In the second picture I am sitting on a bench in front of a large anchor of a ship. I am drinking a vanilla bean latte purchased at a nearby specialty coffee shop.

When eating outside is good, it's very good indeed!

 

 

Sue sitting outside for lunch

 

Sue sitting outside in front of an anchor enjoying a coffee

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 13 - Foggy Vision

Over the past few days I have had several spells of "foggy vision."  Fortunately for me, this hasn't been due to an additional eye condition. Rather, it has been due to actual fog. Lyle and I are staying on the Oregon coast where fog or mist isn't an unusual occurrence. Usually the fog dissipates with afternoon sunshine.

While my own eye condition primarily affects my central vision, I have found this full field vision cloudiness to be quite unsettling. I imagine that the mist in front of my eyes is akin to what it is like seeing through cataracts. It is good that these days that a cataract can be removed relatively easily with laser surgery.

Lyle and I both enjoy spending time on the Oregon coast. We both like walking on the beach. At low tide the sand is slightly damp and firm - just ideal for long walks. I especially like the wide expanse of sand. There are rarely obstacles in my path and I like the freedom of mobility without the necessity of using my white cane.

There is a picture with this post. It shows me standing on the beach with ocean waves in the background.

Sue on the beach

September 5 - Alone in a Crowd

Over the past ten days or so, I have had occasion to attend several events from breakfast to luncheons to afternoon teas to evenings out. The crowds of people at these affairs have ranged in number from forty to four hundred. Actually, the total number doesn’t really seem to matter to me because once the distance is past the person who is sitting right beside me, I can’t see to recognize anyone.

I find this very frustrating. I like people and I like chatting with friends and acquaintances. When Lyle is with me he is good about making sure to point out people whom I might know and if the situation warrants, perhaps taking me over to  meet with them. Of course, he isn’t always with me and not only that, we do know different people.

My solution to my dilemma is usually to sit or stand in one place and hope that friends will approach me to say hello and this is where I want to thank the people who at this past series of crowd events have done just that. Thank you for coming to me and thank you for identifying yourself.

I’m always grateful when people say who they are when they speak with me. This is especially so when I don’t expect to see them or when there is a group of people. I’m not too bad at recognizing voices...but not always. In a crowd or a  roomful of people it’s even more difficult.

It is hard to be alone in a crowd but gratifying when I know that there are people who recognize the challenge of my poor vision.