December 20 - Remembering

The other night as I was watching the news, one short clip caught my attention. The story told of the threat of a volcanic eruption in Iceland. The news commentator went on to say that the town of Grindavik had been evacuated. I thought back to 2015 when Lyle and I had been in Iceland and had spent a couple of days in this same town.

Grindavik is a small fishing town with a unique harbour. While we were there, I think that we paid more attention to the town’s proximity to the ocean than we did to the presence of the black lava rock beside the trails where we walked. It was such a peaceful place and for the two days of our visit, the sun was shining. We promised that if we were ever to return to Iceland, this was one spot that we would like to revisit. Now I just feel such great sympathy for the townspeople who have been evacuated from their homes. The pictures on TV are quite frightening.

If you would like to read about Grindavik, I wrote about our visit on my blog. You can click here to access this blog post. You could also go to the archives section and look for May 2015. It is the post titled "May 25 - Iceland (Part 2)" where I have written about Grindavik.

While New Year’s Day is often a time to look ahead with new plans and resolutions, for me, Christmas is a time when I can reflect on memories of the past. I remember our trip to Grindavik with much fondness.

 

 

December 14 - In Sydney

I love spending time in Sydney. There is so much to see and do in this bustling city. Whenever Lyle and I go to Australia for family visits, we try to spend at least a couple of days in Sydney. Even though I grew up in the suburbs of Sydney, I can still find new things to explore and familiar places to revisit.

On our last trip we had two days to ourselves. For the first day we had booked tickets for a theatre production of Wicked. Sydney is well known for its live theatre productions, and an afternoon at the Lyric Theatre in the Darling Harbour area lived up to our expectations. We took the ferry from Circular Quay and had a picnic lunch in a park near Pyrmont. That was fun in itself. There just happened to be what looked like a Harry Potter scavenger hunt happening. Various costumed characters rushed around the park in front of us. They were obviously looking for something but whether or not they found it was irrelevant to us. They provided us with our pre-show entertainment. 

While it was relaxing in the park, it was a bit more frustrating inside the theatre, which is in turn, inside the Star Casino building. After our experience at Wynyard Train Station, I had become more aware of accessibility issues and was insistent that we find elevators instead of using stairs or escalators. The lifts were a lot more difficult to locate, but we persisted! I was glad that I had my cane with me.

On our second day we took the ferry across the harbour to Manly. This is always a great tourist activity and I never tire of it. This time we made a point of finding the name of my grandfather’s cousin inscribed on the war memorial at Manly. John Williams grew up in the area but tragically perished in an escape attempt from a German concentration camp  during World War II.

After that sombre moment, we walked on to the beach and around the rocks pathway to Shelley Beach. The walk is popular with locals and tourists alike. There aren’t any steps, but there are a couple of steep sections that might be difficult for those using walking frames or wheelchairs.

There are two photos with this post. In the first, I am standing at the rail of the ferry with the Sydney Opera House in the background. In the second, Lyle and I are standing on the pathway to Shelley Beach with the distant view of Manly in the background. Lyle is usually the one who takes the pictures so it’s nice to have one where he is in the frame instead of just me. 

 

Sue across the harbour from the Sydney Opera House

 

Sue and Lyle across from Manly Beach

 

 

 

 

 

December 6 - At the Station

We are in Sydney, staying at a hotel near Wynyard Railway Station.  This is not where we usually stay when we are in Sydney, but this trip we decided to try something new.  It was a mistake.  While the hotel is fairly modern, the location is very noisy, and the railway station is a zoo.

Wynyard Station is huge.  It was constructed in 1932 to coincide with the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  The station is built on the side of a hill, a major engineering feat in itself.  The various underground train tracks can be accessed by a series of stairs, elevators, or lifts.  It’s hard to believe that I first negotiated this maze when I was an eleven year old school girl.  Now many years later and with Lyle by my side, it seems more difficult.  Of course, part of the problem is my sight.  Lyle is good at reading the signs and I do my best to try to remember which signs he should be looking for.

The other issue is the escalators.  In order to reach the four levels of the station, one must use a long and steep escalator or find the lift.  Yesterday Lyle couldn’t find the appropriate lift and so we thought we would try the escalator.  Lyle went first, but as I stepped to the top I could see that the steps were moving way more quickly than usual.  I was frozen at the top.  Lyle couldn’t retreat up the same escalator and had to find the up escalator to get back to me.  By the time he reached me a small group of passersby had gathered to assist and encourage me.  Someone was able to point us in the direction of the nearest lift.

All these things are adventures, but I do think that we could find some that are less heart stopping than our adventures in Wynyard Station.  Tomorrow we are going to attempt to negotiate Central Station. It is larger and also complex. As I recall, there is only one set of major escalators, and there are lifts located at the bottom of each platform.

Once you know the way, trains are an easy to get around Sydney.

December 1 - In the Ocean

I love the ocean. I love the sound of it, the feel of it, and even the smell of it. I like swimming in the surf, but I especially like swimming in the various rock pools around the area where we stay when we come to Australia.

My favourite of these pools is at a place called The Entrance. This is on the Central Coast about an hour and a half north of Sydney.  At The Entrance there are three separate pools carved into the rocks. The largest of these is Olympic length. The middle sized one (my favourite), is perfect for swimming or walking my laps. There is also a wading pool for the kids with a large sun shade over the top. Yesterday when were at the pools at high tide, the waves were just high enough to crash and splash over the outer rock wall.

There are two pictures with this post. In the first I am standing in the smaller lap pool. The second picture gives an overview of the three pools.

 

 

Sue in smaller pool

Rock pool at the Entrance

 

 

 

 

November 26 - At Church

Lyle and I are regular church goers and over the course of a year we often attend three different churches. We have come to know the people in each of these congregations. Just as the people are different in their own ways, so are the buildings where the services take place.

For the past few Sundays we have attended the church close to where we stay in Australia. This church building is my favourite. It is relatively new, built in 2010, and has a wonderful high ceiling open space design. I love sitting in the chairs (not pews) and looking towards the altar with huge windows on either side.

There are two pictures with this post: the first showing the a wide view of the church, the second showing the altar front with one of the large windows at the side. You can see the green of the trees through the glass. Often during the service the call of the bush birds can be heard through the open windows.

Wide view of the church

The left side of the church

 

November 21 - At the Beach

The main reason Lyle and I come to Australia is to spend time with family, but we usually like to do other things as well. We enjoy spending time at the beach.

Now I don’t necessarily mean lying on a beach towel on the sand in the sun. Actually, that’s a bit of an invitation to developing a melanoma. The Australian sun is very hot and also there is a hole in the ozone layer over the continent. So, lying around in the sun is not a major activity - but what do we do?

My very favourite time of day at the beach is first thing in the morning when we walk to a local coffee shop, get a take away coffee and sit on a bench looking out at the waves. We also like to splash and swim in the waves. I am fond of walking laps in a nearby rock pool and Lyle and I both enjoy walking along a beach boardwalk or along the sand at low tide. Just watching the waves provides an endless source of enjoyment and entertainment. 

There are two pictures with this post.  In the first picture, Jill and I have just finished our coffee and are standing by the rail overlooking the beach.  For the second picture, I have walked down a dozen steps to the edge of the sand.

 

Sue with Jill

Sue on the beach

 

 

 

November 16 - At the Races

In Australia on the first Tuesday of November it is Melbourne Cup Day. The Melbourne Cup is the biggest horse race in the country and also the biggest money maker for the industries connected with the event. At the time of the race, the country almost literally comes to a standstill.

Lyle and I are in Australia for the month of November. Although we only watched the Cup on TV, this week we decided to go to one of the local horse racing events at the Gosford racetrack. It was great. We bought general admission tickets and took our seats in the near empty stands. In contrast, the Members Lounge was crowded and noisy.

While I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see the race itself, there were lots of other things to enjoy. Before each race the horses paraded around an inner circle. We found a place close to the fence and the horses passed by with metres of where we were standing. They were truly magnificent and powerful animals. At the finish line of the race my heart nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard the thundering hooves race by.

While my sister Jill, Lyle, and I didn’t bet any money, we had fun choosing our favourites before each race. I even picked one winner. Lyle did better at this as he chose his favourites by examining the appearance of the horses. Jill and I selected our favourites by the sound of the horses’ names!

There are three pictures with this post. In the first picture I am standing in profile with my favourite horse in the background. In the second picture, you can see the back of my head with horse over the fence in front of me.  You can tell we are quite close to each other.  The third picture is of several horses parading around the inner circle.

It was a great day!

 

Sue in front of her favourite horse

 

Sue standing in front of another horse

 

 

Horses parading around

 

November 4 - Bird Watching

I will never list bird watching as a pastime. Even though I can hear the twittering in the trees and bushes, I simply can’t see those tiny feathered creatures. I have learned to identify certain sounds – the call of a loon and the hoot of an owl, the drumming of a woodpecker, and the coo of the pigeons under the bridge where I walk – but I just can’t see the actual birds. Given this, I was totally amazed the other week when I saw a chickadee.

We were in Birds Hill Provincial Park just north of Winnipeg. It was a lovely fall day and we were out for a walk with our family. There are a number of walking trails in the park but we had chosen Prairie Winds. At one point I could hear the chattering of chickadees in the bushes. The sound was right beside the trail. I could see the movement of the branches and hear the fluttering of little wings.

Then our son directed me to hold out my hand and see if the birds would come closer. It was totally amazing! Several of the chickadees seemed to take turns to land on my hand. I could feel the scratching of their little claws and because it was as close as my outstretched hand, I could see the bird before it flew away.

I could have stayed in the same spot for ages. I’m not sure if the others in our group realized what a visual miracle this was for me. I do know that our two grandchildren sat themselves down in the middle of the trail waiting for the chickadees to come to them – an they did! Like me, I think that the children were fascinated and could have stayed in the same position for ages.

There are two pictures with this post. The first shows me holding my hand out with a tiny bird perched on my fingers. The second is of our two grandchildren with a cluster of little birds fluttering around them. I was told that one bird even landed on Lexi’s head.

It was a great day for bird watching! 

Sue with bird in hand

 

Grandchildren with birds

 

 

 

 

October 25 - Please Pass the Butter

After a three day family weekend, we were finishing up with Sunday brunch. Our son had cooked the pancakes and bacon and our daughter-in-law had prepared the fruit and other fixings. We were all relaxed and the conversation was easy. Then daughter Jennifer looked up and asked, “Mum, could you please pass the butter?”

My eyes scanned the table in an attempt to locate the position of the butter dish.  Where was it? There was a break in the chatter as the others silently watched my effort to locate the elusive dish. Then Lyle reached over in front of me and passed the dish across the table to Jennifer.  Everyone let out their breath and burst out laughing. “Good call, Dad,” said our son. It had been clear to one and all that my inability to see had made it impossible for me to comply with Jen’s innocent request.

This is what I love about my family. They are both mindful and forgetful of my poor vision. They don’t put my vision at the forefront of our interactions. I am fortunate to have several close friends who are able to walk this balance between care and concern and a measure of protectiveness.

Please pass the butter. I love it! For the instant of forgetfulness on Jen’s part, I was just one of the family without need of any special considerations. When it was obvious that I didn’t have the ability to see and comply, the mindfulness kicked in, Lyle passed the butter and we were back to a normal family gathering again.

October 16 - Bluffing!

My long time friend and I were having a leisurely coffee chat about this and that when Shirley reminded me of some of the aspects of my initial reactions to my vision loss. In particular Shirley, remarked of how I used to try to bluff my way through situations that really required sight.

Bluffing or faking it is not unusual for people who are experiencing vision loss. I know that in my early years of impaired sight, I was pretty good at this way of coping. I’m not really sure why I wanted to keep up the pretense. Possibly, I just didn’t want to talk about my change in circumstance. Possibly I just wanted to go on being just like everyone else. I know that I had an abhorrence of thinking that others might look on me with pity. Possibly, I thought that if I stuck my head far enough into the sand, this whole vision loss thing would turn out to be just a bad dream.

Although I was good at pretending, this coping behaviour wasn’t especially productive. For instance, when someone asked me to look at something – a photo, some printed information, some distant scene, or whatever, I would simply nod and smile. I wonder now what I was missing out on. In retrospect, it would have been far simpler to admit that I couldn’t see and ask for an explanation of whatever was being pointed out to me.

Lyle and I are church goers, and although this should have been one of my safest environments, I went for a number of years trying to bluff my way through Sunday services.  I would always accept a hymn book and a printed bulletin. Standing in the pew, I would open the book at some random page and hold it in front of me. I have a pretty good memory and was able to sing most of the hymns. I think that the change came one Sunday when Lyle reached over and turned the book from its upside down position to the right side up.

Looking back, I wonder just how many people I was fooling. I think of the old saying that you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Today, I wonder why I even tried. Certainly life is easier now that I have emerged from this stage of denial.

These days I have learned to be appreciative of the helping hands of my sighted friends.  Now that I’m not hiding behind the facade of bluff and pretense, I feel more comfortable in my own skin. Hopefully I have also become more gracious and accepting of help when it is offered.

 

October 7 - Horror Stories

In my last post, I wrote that some airline passengers who were visually challenged had some unfortunate experiences when they were travelling alone. Since then, several people have asked what those experiences might have been. The people who asked this question all had sight and they told me of their own hard luck travel experiences of delayed flights and lost luggage. How then, they asked, did the experiences of passengers with sight difficulties vary from this?

From what friends tell me, and from my own experiences, I think that the most stressful part of solo travel for a visually impaired person is being left alone without a guide or point of reference. I have been left twice. The first time I was actually at the original boarding gate. However, the gate was changed and in spite of initial reassurances that I wouldn’t be forgotten, I was! I became agitated when I heard the final call for my flight and I wasn’t on it! When I managed to flag someone down, everyone was most apologetic.

The second time I was left alone at the end of a tunnel in Toronto. There was to be an exchange of guides but the first guide left me and the second one didn’t show up. Knowing that I could have easily wandered out onto the tarmac, there was great consternation when a baggage handler finally found me. Both of these instances were prior to 9-11 and the additional security following that date.

When I write of horror stories, I instantly recall hearing of the young woman who was left on the aircraft after the plane had landed. She was told to wait in her seat and someone would assist her after all the other passengers had disembarked. This is the usual practice. However, nobody came and the next thing the woman heard was the air circulation shutting down and the doors closing. She was alone and indeed stayed that way for several hours until the maintenance crew came along to clean the plane. Now that is a horror story to beat most tales of woe. Personally, I think that she should have been given a free travel pass for life but I understand that she did at least get an apology.

My friend, Norma, told me of her strange experience. Norma was travelling with her guide dog and in spite of showing her travel documents several times to ground agents and officials while being guided to her flight, she was put on the wrong aircraft.  Norma protested at the time, but nobody seemed to listen. However, before takeoff, there was a great kafuffle and another blind passenger was led onto the same plane with her guide dog. The ground crew had mixed up the two women and put the other passenger on Norma’s flight. While Norma is Caucasian and of average height, the other passenger was a petite Asian woman. Both were travelling to entirely different destinations but both had guide dogs. Yes, just because we are blind, does not mean that we are all the same!

I think that in some instances it could be quite stressful to travel with a canine guide. Just last spring, my friend Sue was led on board to find that the seat numbers were different from the ones she had booked. There simply wasn’t enough space under the seat for her guide dog. The crew was unhelpful and both Sue and Button became agitated and stressed. Finally, when Sue stood up and declared that she simply couldn’t fly with the airline arrangements, a double seat was found in the rear of the plane. By this time, Button was just as stressed as Sue and simply refused to move from the place where she had collapsed in the aisle. As a last resort, the pilot himself came back and carried the dog to the new seat. Sue has great trepidations about flying again.

Well, some of you had asked, and so these were a few of the horror stories I referred to. I could go on, but I think that you get the drift.

Please, if you are travelling and see a white cane or guide dog traveller, don’t be afraid to offer assistance. Although I don’t always need the extra help, I am always grateful for the offer.

September 29 - Visually Impaired Airline Passenger

It has been a few years since Lyle and I have needed to travel separately.  Usually we try to coordinate our various commitments but this last time it just didn’t work out.  In the end, Lyle took our luggage and drove and I booked a flight to follow several days later.

As the day of my flight drew nearer, I must admit  to a few nervous butterflies.  I wasn’t worried about the flight itself. I knew what to expect - preboarding, establishing the location of the nearest emergency exits, and locating the nearest washroom.  Then sit back and relax from takeoff to landing.  No worries there!  However, it was the time spent on the ground that was my concern.

My first worry point was the checkin.  My friend, Shirley, was to drop me off at the terminal doors.  What then?  As it turned out I had taken only a dozen steps or so before a ground agent noticed me and approached to offer his assistance to check me in for the flight.

I had three separate guides before I finally boarded the plane.  Debbie, who took me through security, explained that she had attended a class to learn how to assist passengers with special needs.  I was pleased to hear that.  I know that assistance has certainly improved over the years I have been travelling.

My second worry spot was the time on the ground waiting for my connecting flight.  It wasn’t all that bad but things didn’t go quite as smoothly as boarding the first leg.  For starters, the ground agent  wasn’t there to meet my plane in Vancouver.  Fortunately some of the flight crew stayed with me until they rounded someone up.  This particular agent was rushed. In spite of my request for him to point out the nearest washroom, he had me at my next gate without pointing out the washroom location.  When I again repeated my request, he gestured back down the terminal hallway, saying that if I got as far as the escalator I had gone too far.  When a fellow passenger overheard this unhelpful exchange, she volunteered to guide me back to the washroom.  Thanks, Shelley!

I have heard numerous horror stories from blind and visually impaired airline passengers but my trip last week went fairly easily.  The experience did remind me of things to keep in mind when travelling alone.  First, I need to be alert to my own travel needs, and when necessary, be vocal in expressing them.  Secondly, I need to be ready to ask for assistance and be gracious in accepting it.

Thankfully, last week’s solo experience has reinforced my confidence as an independent visually impaired airline passenger.

September 20 - What Colour Is This?

The seasons are changing and I am gradually changing my wardrobe to go along with the cooler temperatures. I don’t have much trouble with this in the spring when I switch to neutral toned shorts and multi coloured tops, but the winter pants are a different story. Black, brown, navy, dark grey or dark green  – they all look the same to me. I am often asking Lyle, “What colour is this?”

In the early days of my vision loss, I remember once when a friend asked if I could still see colours. I responded with great confidence that yes, I could. “For instance,” I said.” I can see that you are wearing a green sweater.”

There was a moment of silence until my friend corrected me by saying that her sweater was actually blue.

I like bright primary colours and I wear them whenever I can. Now if I could just talk Lyle into wearing some of those same colours perhaps I might be able to pick him out in a crowd!

I have known some people who have been colour blind. Not being able to distinguish between red and green is a challenge, but once I met a woman whose world was seen only in black, grey and white. Connie told me that she thought she might be able to see some shades of yellow.  When friends told her that something was yellow, she thought that she could discern some difference from her black and white world.  Now that is truly colour blindness.

There is a battery operated device on the market that will read colour aloud. I experimented with this once but thought it was unreliable for the different shades of colours and obviously didn’t work on multi coloured stripes and patterns. This was a few years ago and likely there have been some improvements in the technology. I do have a couple of friends who use the device and as they have no sight, it is certainly better than braille or other tactile labelling on clothes.

So, what is the solution? For me the key is organization. I hang my clothes in colour sections. While sighted people might hang pants in one section, tops in another and so on, I hang all the blue clothes together, all the brown in another part, etc. In my drawer I have two rows of socks. I can tell the difference between black and white and those are the only two colours I buy.  While mismatched socks are one thing, mismatched shoes could be more obvious to someone with sight. Once I spent a whole day wearing a blue shoe on one foot and a black on the other. They were the same style but apparently very different colours. I was saved embarrassment during the day as Lyle didn’t tell me of my mistake until we were home in the evening.

People who are blind or partially sighted need to make all sorts of adjustments to living in a world geared to sight. Fortunately as the fashion world evolves, our choices of colour no longer stand out as mistakes, but rather as individual fashion statements. What colour is this? The answer matters only to the individual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 12 - Cataracts

Cataracts! The most obvious symptom of cataracts is blurred vision.  This is caused by a cloudiness on the lens of the eye. Of course, blurred vision might be related to a multitude of other eye conditions and the only way to have a positive diagnosis is to see an optometrist or ophthalmologist. 

Lyle and I have been reading up on the subject. In fact, Lyle has just had his second cataract removed. It has been an interesting experience for him. The first procedure went relatively smoothly, although his eye felt quite gritty for a few days afterwards. For the second surgery, an intern doctor was doing the procedure. The surgery wasn’t quite as comfortable but the recovery has been excellent. The duration of the surgery seems to be from ten to twenty minutes depending on the doctor who is doing the procedure, but the wait time at the hospital is usually much longer. 

Some doctors will give the patient a mild sedation before operating but in most cases the area is just frozen. The eyelid is held back as the doctor removes the damaged lens and inserts a new clear lens. Lyle said that the hardest part was keeping his eye open and looking at a very bright light during the procedure.

Since Lyle’s diagnosis of cataracts, we have become more aware of just how many people we know who have had cataract surgery. Cataracts are definitely more prevalent in an older generation but they can also develop in younger people. In an Australian study, we read that the condition is more common in people with brown eyes rather than blue. The study also reported that the condition can be accelerated by exposure to the sun.

Having said this, I have brown eyes and Lyle has blue eyes. I don’t have cataracts and now that Lyle has had his surgery, he doesn’t have cataracts any more either. I think that the lesson is that there are always exceptions to any medical rule and the best way to have peace of mind is to regularly have that important optical check up.

 

 

September 3 - Blind sports

 

It was winter when I first arrived in Canada – many years ago now. I remember wondering what people did to stay active in this land of ice and snow. Then I watched a competitive figure skating show on TV. I was enthralled. The skaters were so graceful as they glided around the ice. I knew that this was going to be my new sport.

The next day, I headed out to a sports store and bought a brand new pair of skates. I could hardly wait to get to the community ice rink to strut my stuff.  My friends watched with barely hidden amusement as I stepped out onto the ice, and then they burst out with laughter as I instantly fell onto my derriere. This was certainly not going to be as easy as the professionals I had watched on TV. I spent the next hour or so clinging to the wooden boards on the sides of the rink as I clumsily made my way around the edge of the outdoor rink.

I learned a lot about sports that day. Although I did try out my skates a few more times, I never came close to becoming even mildly proficient. What was needed I decided was a bit of natural talent or ability, an enjoyment of the sport, and practice. I was both unwilling and unable to meet any of these requirements.

As well as the above, a blind athlete should also consider the practicality of location or perhaps some form of assistance. For instance, a blind golfer might need a ride to the golf course or a blind lawn bowler might need a sighted guide to explain distance to the jack.

With blind sports, there are other additional restrictions. While blind and visually challenged athletes can be found in many, many sports, there are some that are a no go. For instance, race-car driving is out of the question. Playing squash would be almost impossible.

Since becoming partially sighted, I have stayed active but have become more realistic in which sports I choose. For instance, I no longer play tennis, but I thoroughly enjoy my time at the local swimming pool. I will never become a professional athlete but I am full of admiration for those athletes who pursue their chosen sport. Either I know, or know of, visually challenged athletes who climb mountains, downhill ski, play golf, wrestle, ride a tandem bike, are part of a dragon boating team, or part of a Goal Ball team. BTW – Goal Ball is a team sport designed especially for players who are blind.

I have been prompted to write all this following a day last week, when Lyle, our daughter and granddaughter went on a long bike ride together. We don’t own a tandem bike and since I don’t feel safe on a bike alone I didn’t go. I felt quite nostalgic as I watched the three of them ride off down the street. However, I captured the moment in the picture that follows.

The family going on a bike ride

 

 

 

 

August 29 - Vulnerability and Crisis

I am sure that over the past weeks, many Canadians have been following the news stories of the recent devastating wild fires.  So many people have had their lives changed. There are many aspects of loss and destruction but I have especially been thinking of people who have needed to evacuate their homes...and especially of those people who are vulnerable in even the best of situations.

We often tend to identify with people who are in similar circumstances to our own and I suppose that is why I have particularly been thinking of people who have sight challenges. For myself, I often find it confusing when Lyle and I move temporarily to different accommodations. Nearly always this is because we have chosen to do so. When this happens, for instance when we are on a holiday, I find myself relying strongly on Lyle as I get used to different kitchen appliances, strange bathroom fixtures, even different arrangements of furniture.  Of course, all this occurs when we are doing this voluntarily and have time on our hands to adjust to the new circumstances. Mandatory evacuations because of an impending disaster such as flood or fire, are an entirely different situation.

In an evacuation, people need to leave their homes and most of their possessions behind. For those of us who rely on assistive devices, this is an additional hardship. Many of the devices we use on a daily basis are not easily portable. I imagine that this is even more so for folk who have mobility challenges.

In times of crisis we need to reach out to each other. Most people do this. I hope that this blog serves to bring an additional awareness in times of crisis to those people who are more vulnerable than the general population.

 

August 20 - Sight and the Dentist

I am going to a new dentist and it has been an interesting experience. I think that I was a little surprised by how accustomed I had become to my former dentist and to the staff at his dental clinic. Not only that, but they had become used to me as a visually impaired patient. Over the years we had both adapted fairly well. Now with the change  in dental care the journey will start over.

So far, things have gone well. On my first visit to the new clinic I indicated that I had vision issues and Lyle made a note of this on the required paper work. Dr. Mike was great. After evaluating just how much I could see, (or should that be just how little I could see?) he proceeded to explain verbally what needed to be done with my teeth. Instead of visually pointing out my x-rays, he explained it all verbally. If he gestured with his hands, he also explained everything with words. I was impressed.

On my next visit, I had my teeth cleaned and the dental hygienist gave similar verbal cues. Before she thrust any instrument into my mouth, Nancy alerted me as to what she was about to do. There were no sudden squirts of water or unexpected probing instruments. My initial anxiety gradually diminished.

Of course, as with most things, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. On Day 1, when the technician came to lead me to the back, the receptionist called out, “be careful...” Her voice drifted off in some confusion as to what to say next. Then she added in a stage whisper, “Sue can’t see!”

I know that she was trying to keep this information confidential but I’m sure that everyone in the waiting area heard the warning. I felt like explaining that it was no secret that I couldn’t see but my poor vision didn’t also mean that I couldn’t hear.

On my second visit, I was transferred from one room to another. I said that I could follow the person in front of me – something that I can do in a narrow hallway. However, my guide kept zig zagging from side to side and I finally called out to ask her to walk in a straight line.

“Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry, I thought I might try to walk beside you but I couldn’t decide which side to be on.”

New dentists, new doctors, new personal interactions - all of these are opportunities for new learning experiences. Both sighted and blind, we need to learn from each other.

August 6 - Holiday Pictures

Lyle and I don’t take many pictures when we are on vacation, but we did take a few on our recent trip. I hope that the following will give you a hint of what it was like on our travels.
As I wrote in a previous post, our trip started with a few days in Amsterdam. The highlight of our time in that city was time spent in the house of Anne Frank. Pictures weren’t allowed on this tour and on our walk to the Frank warehouse from our hotel, I was too busy trying to dodge bicycles and other pedestrians to think about pictures. So, it was on the following day when we took a train to Zaanse Schans that we turned the phone to camera mode.

In the first picture I am standing on a bridge with a row of traditional windmills in the background. When I think of Holland or the Netherlands, windmills are one of the symbols that comes to mind.

 

Windmills at Zaanse Schans

From Amsterdam, we cruised to Oslo. We did our own walking tour and ended up in the palace gardens. I wanted to stand beside the young guard who was on sentry duty but he warned me that I was standing too close to him. Still, in this second picture you can see us both. The guard was wearing a blue uniform with shoulder scales. His helmet was blue with a plume of black feathers. He was wearing white gloves, and holding a rifle with an extended bayonet.

 

Sue with palace guard

From Oslo the cruise ship sailed on to three smaller fjords. In Flam we took a tram tour from the centre to the old town and then around the harbour. I was surprised at just how busy this small town was in tourist season. I gather that in the winter months it settles down to its year round population of just 450.

The third picture shows me sitting on the bench of the little tram with our cruise ship, the Rotterdam, in the distance across the harbour.

 

Sue in front of the Rotterdam