January 27 - Vision Testing

It might be difficult to determine just how much and how well someone with partial sight can see. Possibly it is easier if the person is totally blind or else has perfect twenty-twenty vision. During my last visit to her office, my optometrist confirmed that with my left eye I could count fingers, and with my right eye I could detect movement. This assessment was both perfectly accurate and absolutely not true.

Let me explain. In the semi-darkened exam room at the optometrist, it was true that my vision was limited to counting fingers and detecting movement. I never see well in shadows or darkness, and not only that, my vision was still a bit blurred from the drops that had been put in some minutes prior. In fact, in this situation I had to struggle even to catch sight of the testing hands of the optometrist...and so, in this way the diagnosis was correct.

Yet, when I left the darkened office for the brightly lit waiting area I was easily able to see to make my way through the displays of spectacle frames to the receptionist counter to pay my bill. When the optometrist followed me out, I was able to see that she was dressed in a dark outfit and that she was of a slight build. I could see that there was at least one other person in the waiting area – perhaps more but at least one was visible to me. Details weren’t clear but I was obviously able to see far more than moving hands and fingers. While I’m sure that the optometrist wrote on my chart that I had very limited vision, in actual fact, and although my vision is indeed limited, functionally it is better than the assessment written on my chart.

So, what was accomplished by having my eyes tested? Several things! First, it was established that there had been little change in my vision since my last visit. Secondly, there was only a very small change in the beginnings of a cataract in one eye. Finally, and this is the most important reason for my annual visit – the exam revealed that I didn’t have any other detrimental eye conditions. This last is important because, as it is with other physical health conditions, early detection often means early treatment and a better chance of recovery. So, even though I know what I can see and testing itself won’t change that, I will continue to schedule my regular visits to have my vision tested and my eyes examined. Even though today my eye condition is irreversible, who knows...one day, a cure, treatment or surgery might surface.

 

January 19 - Motivational Walking

As I write this, there are only two more days of the modified health restrictions in Alberta. Will this never end? Lyle and I continue to do our part and we hope and pray that others are doing the same. Isolating and sanitizing have become the norm. It is a long time since we have seen the rest of our family but we know that they are healthy and so we count our blessings. There are many others who aren’t as fortunate.

It is difficult to keep a positive outlook in such trying times. Lyle and I have found that regular exercise is really helpful. Lyle walks every day regardless of the weather and uses a fitbit to record his steps. This isn’t a new thing for him. He has been walking every day for about fifteen years now. In fact, he has already completed the distance from the north to the south pole and is currently making his way around the equator. Of course, while the walking is in real time, the distances are virtual.

Way back, I began the daily walks with Lyle but he began walking more quickly and often I found myself skipping days here and there. Last summer, I found a new program to keep myself motivated. I know that I have mentioned this in previous posts, but today I thought I would give you an update on my progress.

To date, I have completed two virtual walks – the Great Ocean Road in Australia and the Alps to Ocean Road in New Zealand. From the many walks that were offered, I chose these two because we had been to both places before and it was a good way to relive some travel memories. I have now decided to branch out from the familiar to the unknown and currently, I am walking along Hadrian’s Wall in England.

Hadrian’s Wall was admitted to UNESCO’s World Heritage sites list in 1987. Shame on me that I needed to look up my old tour book to find the exact location. The wall, of which only remnants can be seen, runs from east to west near the English Scottish border. In real time, there are several walks and hiking trails in the area but my virtual walk is approximately 90 miles along the length. I am enjoying reading about the various forts, turrets and small towns along the route.

It feels quite strange to be walking along this northern section of England when the rest of the UK is in such dire straits with the coronavirus. While most of the country is in lock down, I can enjoy the peace and quiet of my solitary virtual walk. One day, I hope that Lyle and I will be able to visit this area in real time and space. The thought is a further motivation for my walks.  

In case you are interested, the site that I am using is:

www.theconqueror.events

 

 

January 11 - How Do We See?

How do we see? If you are asking yourself why I would ask such a silly question, I think that it must be because you can see with your eyes. Indeed, that is the way that most people see. However, if your eyes don’t work, or don’t work properly, you will know that my question isn’t silly at all. People who are blind or partially sighted must use other ways to connect with what is around them.

We live in a world that is geared to sight and most people can take this visual world for granted. They can read newspapers, watch television, read menus in restaurants, drive a car, walk without bumping into solid objects, recognize the faces of friends and family. The list goes on. That is just the way it is for someone with sight...but how is it for people who can’t see with their eyes? How do we connect with this visual world?

Generally speaking, people who don’t use their eyes to see negotiate their environment by using touch and sound. For instance, as I type these words on my computer, I am using sound. I use a program called JAWS, which reads back to me the letters or words that I type on my keyboard. When I send and receive text messages on my phone, I listen to Siri. Often when I meet people, I try to identify them by the sound of their voices.

At home, I frequently use my sense of touch. I have tactile buttons on the keyboard of my computer and on the surface of the microwave. Often, I will clear the surface of a chair with the back of my hand before I sit down on the cushion. I keep my keys, wallet, sunglasses, etc. in the same spot on the counter but I will put my hand down to feel which one it is that I want. Although I organize the contents of my fridge and freezer in a specific order, I usually try to check an item by the size or shape of a container. I feel that I am getting fairly good at this. It has been some time since I last tried frying frozen corn instead of what I thought was a package of hash browns!

All this is well and good at home, but in these COVID times I am especially grateful that Lyle is around. I would feel uncomfortable taking the arm of someone from outside my household if I needed a guide. At home, I always use the handrail when I am climbing up and down our stairs, but in these current infectious days, I wouldn’t want to be touching any handrails in public places. In pre COVID times when I was grocery shopping my myself, it wouldn’t have been unusual for me to pick up items to examine them more closely. I am grateful that Lyle has done all of our grocery shopping since last March so that I don’t need to go into stores and touch items on the shelves. 

I have touched (no pun intended) on only a few ways in which people who have limited or no sight navigate through a visual world. COVID has simply made this an additional challenge. Yes, we might see in different ways, but COVID has added additional challenges for us all. Bring on the vaccine! We are waiting with hope and optimism.

 

February 5 - Sustainability and Fashion

Like many other people, Lyle and I are concerned with the life of our planet. In our own small way we do our best to recycle, preserve and conserve. So when we were watching TV and heard the commentator talk about sustainability and the fashion industry, our ears perked up. We listened attentively and then burst out laughing.

What was the joke? Well, as we listened, the earnest woman on our TV screen encouraged us all to wear each article of clothing at least thirty times before we refreshed our wardrobe. Only thirty times! Lyle and I looked down at what we were wearing. Possibly I had been wearing the same outfit every second day since the fall...and it wasn’t even new when I started out.

I’m not sure about you, but in these pandemic days when many of us are spending most of our time at home with little opportunity to go out and about in the company of other people, Lyle and I tend to wear our comfortable casual clothes over and over again. Thirty times! That was the joke. I haven’t been inside a clothing store for nearly a year and with the requirements of daily living in this coronavirus era, I doubt that I will be rushing out shopping in the near future. Yes, I think that I will be able to follow this fashion advice towards sustainability.

 

January 1 - World Braille Day

World Braille Day is January 4. It is a day when we commemorate the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of the language which bears his name.

Louis Braille was three-years-old when he suffered an eye injury in his father’s workshop and by age five he was completely blind. Nevertheless, at an early age Louis recognized the importance of communication as a door to knowledge. He determined to find a way that people without sight could access this knowledge. Working tirelessly, and often without the support or even approval of his teachers and guardians, he invented a code a raised dots. When these were arranged in specific orders, the six dots represented the letters of the alphabet. These letters could then be read by touch.

I am a proponent of braille although I regret to say that I can’t read it myself. I remember that this was the advice of the first ophthalmologist I consulted when my sight changed. He told me that he couldn’t do anything for me, that I shouldn’t come back to see him again, and that I should go home and learn braille.

At the time, I was emotionally distraught and quite resistant to the idea that I wouldn’t ever again be able to see clearly with twenty-twenty vision. Now many years later, I regret that I didn’t follow his blunt and pedantic advice.

Several years ago, I did make an attempt. Along with another fellow in my support group, I decided to try to learn the raised dot system. Ross was pretty good at the task, but I barely managed to decipher the alphabet. I made the excuse that my fingertips just weren’t sensitive enough but I think that in the end, I simply didn’t have the proper determination.

So, January 4 is World Braille Day.  Because the braille system is a universal language and can be adapted to most spoken languages, January 4 is celebrated around the world.

I also want to wish all of you a Happy New Year for 2021. With the vaccine on the horizon, surely this coming year will hold more promise than the one we have just farewelled.