The deluge of rain of this past week has reminded me of my wet weather dilemma. If I am holding my white cane down in one hand, will I be able to hold an umbrella up in the other hand? Basically, the answer to this question is no.
It is both uncomfortable and awkward to move about when I can’t use my hands and arms for balance. I discovered this in my early days of white cane use. Pre-vision loss, I used to carry my essential items in a large purse or handbag. Some of the female readers of this blog might remember that party game often held at bridal or baby showers. Which guest can find particular items in their handbag – nail file, Kleenex, safety pin, match box, a bank card, etc.? If not the winner, I was usually close. I carried nearly everything in my very weighty purse. When I switched from driving to walking, I knew that I needed to lighten the load.
At first, I simply tried to clear out nonessential items. Some of the heavier items were keys, coins, and make-up. Even this wasn’t a great solution. Using my cane in one hand and the still heavy bag in the other was a strain. My next step was to transfer the items of the purse to a small backpack. It was easier to use my cane with the other hand free but the weight on my back was still too much. I reassessed!
When I scrutinized what I was carrying around with me each day, I found that there were really only three truly essential items - my keys, a folded bank note, and a piece of ID. These could fit into a pocket and the backpack could go. Great! This was a fair weather solution, but didn’t solve the problem of wet weather days.
In the end, I made the only logical choice. Rather than using an umbrella, I have switched to wearing a raincoat. It’s not the best solution but it does leave me my hands free. It seems to work well enough. My raincoat has a hood and it is long enough to cover the pocket where I keep my three essential items. The raincoat doesn’t work in every rainy day situation but it does solve the problems related to using an umbrella along with my cane. It’s strange what adjustments a person needs to make in order to get on with the little challenges of daily life.
Now Alberta, forget this rain and let’s see some summer sunshine!
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