The first difficulty might present itself right when I step
outside my front door. If the temperature is thirty below or an otherwise
freezing number on the thermometer, I dress accordingly – toque, jacket, boots
and heavy mitts. Therein lies the problem. Just try getting a firm grip on the
handle of a cane through the thickness of those mitts. The mitts and the cane
simply don’t fit well together.
Then there is the issue of the snow. I use a mobility cane
with a small roller ball on its tip. When I walk forward, I move the cane back
and forth in front of me to clear my path of any obstacles. This is excellent
when the surface is smooth and clear, but just try propelling the cane through
snow. I might add that moving the cane back and forth through gravel or loose
sand is equally useless. Lyle keeps our driveway and sidewalk clear of snow but
if I venture far from home there are always a few neighbours down the way who
aren’t or possibly can’t be as considerate.
So we come to the next problem. Let’s presume that I am out
and about on my own and using my cane as best as I can maneuver it. Who will
see me? One of the functions of the white cane is to identify the user as blind
or with low vision. If I hold my white cane in front of me but am backlit by a
glaring white snow bank, it is hardly visible. You can see this in the picture
I have attached with this post. I have posed and am holding my cane a little to
the side. It blends in almost too well with the white of the snow bank behind
me.
You might also notice in the picture that I’m not wearing my
dark glasses. On a cold day, this is another challenge. Do I wear the glasses to
protect my eyes from the glare of the sun or do I run the risk of having the
frames stick to my nose and ears in the cold? The following picture was taken
on a day when the temperature was nearly thirty below zero so I decided to leave
the glasses behind.
With all these minor annoyances, I am still glad that I have
the use of my cane. I know that some people have truly major hurdles to cope
with when it comes to getting around in the cold and snow of a Canadian winter,
so I am just counting my many blessings.
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| Sue standing in front of a snow pile |
Enjoyed reading about your cruise.
ReplyDeleteDorothy