August 6 - Using a White Cane

Those of you who have been following this blog from the beginning will know that I tend to write mostly about vision loss and the use of white canes.  I thought that today might be a good time to focus again on the use of the cane and what it means.

In the past couple of weeks I have come across people who have varying perceptions of the practical value of a white cane.  Some of these people are fully sighted, some are partially sighted, and others have no sight at all. 

I think that my recent thought process about all this started with an email from my sister.  Jill wrote about the conversation she had had with a visually impaired friend.  Her friend had been travelling but while travelling had not used his white cane at all, saying that the people of the country he visited simply did not recognize its significance. Instead he relied on the arm of a sighted friend. Then, just a few days ago I encountered another partially sighted person.  This person had her cane folded up and tucked into her backpack.  She said that she had no intention of ever using her cane until she had absolutely not a single speck of sight left.  She said that she was just too stubborn and too independent to use a white cane. 

On the other side of the equation, I have met people with varying degrees of sight who would not venture anywhere without using their cane.  I suppose that I fall somewhere in the middle of all this. There are times when I use my cane and times when I feel that it isn’t quite necessary.  When I am walking in a familiar place with Lyle by my side, I will tend to leave my cane behind.  However, when I am alone or when Lyle and I are walking in places that aren’t part of our regular routine, I will definitely use my cane.  For the most part I think that the use of a cane depends on how the user perceives its function. Partly, I see my white cane as something that will give other people some indication that I am not fully sighted. This would hopefully give them some forewarning that they could move out of my way, or perhaps offer me some assistance. However, I also use my cane as a safety measure for myself.  When I move my cane in front of me, it gives me information about what lies in my path. The tip of the cane will tell me when there is a step or curb in front of me. My cane will be first to touch any obstacle - fire hydrant, a child’s bike or scooter left on the path, construction fence or other random object -  before I stumble into these myself. 

I know that it would be far easier for friends to know how to react to me if I either consistently used my cane or consistently didn’t use my cane.  Nevertheless, I see my white cane as a tool and so use it accordingly. I use my white cane when I think that I need to do so and just hope that other people won’t be too judgmental of my inconsistencies.