August 13 - Blind Spots

It is always quite difficult for me to explain my low vision. I imagine that it might be the same for other people who have limited sight. It is far easier to explain full sight or no sight at all, but low vision can be different with different eye conditions. For instance, some people have poor central vision and others have no peripheral vision. My own sight seems to be all over the place and I know that I have what I would call various “blind spots”.

These blind spots are more noticeable when I am looking straight ahead. Most times I am so used to this phenomenon that I don’t really pay any attention to it. However, twice in the last few days I have come up short. The first time was in our driveway and the second time was on our local walking trail. Both times were a surprise.

The driveway incident had Lyle shaking his head with laughter. In the early morning I had put out several bags and boxes for a collection agency. Then I was back inside to shower, have breakfast and get ready for our morning walk. I was a bit rushed for time and Lyle went outside to wait in the car. As I raced out to meet him, looking ahead to the car, I crashed right into the boxes I had left there only a couple of hours previously. I had forgotten that they were there and simply didn’t see them again.

The second incident was on our usual walking trail. This is a trail that I walk along several times each week and so it is very familiar. However, on this particular day there was a crew working on the bridge underpass. My walking partner was very careful in directing my path through the roped off construction zone. It was only at the last minute that she realized that I was going to walk directly into the side mirror of one of the parked trucks. I stopped inches before smashing my face into the mirror. I simply don’t see what is right in front of me.

These blind spots are interesting when it comes to using a white cane. Obviously I wasn’t using my cane in my driveway, but the cane just isn’t helpful when it comes to detecting objects at the height of shoulder or face level. The mirror of the construction truck was a one off incident, but I have also come into contact with side mirrors when vehicles are parked too close to or even on the curb.

I also find it especially annoying when people allow branches from the trees in their yards to hang out over the sidewalks. Pedestrians with sight can merely duck their heads or walk out onto the road. I tend to walk right into the offending branch. Sidewalk obstacles can definitely create hazards for pedestrians with limited sight.

My blind spots can be frustrating and annoying, but for the most part I am grateful for the sight that I have. I am also grateful when other people make concessions for those of us who do have limited sight and who try to ensure that our pathways are clear of potential hazards.

July 30 - Counting Fingers

Do you remember your last eye exam? What kinds of vision tests were you given? Does your optometrist ask you to read a line of letters on a chart or to follow a little light around as he/she examines your retina? These kinds of tests don’t work for me. I have long ago given up the idea of finding letters on an eye chart. When I go to the optometrist, I don’t do any of these types of tests. Instead, the test for my central vision is to try to see and count the number of fingers that my optometrist holds up in front of my eyes.

Sometimes I try to do this test for myself at home. Of course, I have the added advantage of knowing how many fingers I am holding up, but I still try to see if the number that I see matches what I know to be there. I also have the advantage of trying this test in various lights as opposed to the dimly lit room of the optometrist office.

There are also times when I wonder if I will always have all my fingers to count. I was thinking this just the other day when I once again jammed my thumb into a splinter of wood.  I had been reaching down to a lock on our deck door but somehow misjudged where I was reaching and suddenly ...OW! The splinter jammed itself right under my thumbnail. Even then I couldn’t see exactly what I had done. After Lyle pulled it out with tweezers, he told me that I shouldn’t put the chunk of wood in the garbage. When I asked why not, he responded with unusual and mostly unappreciated humour that the splinter might just be big enough to add as kindling for our woodpile.

Because I can’t see the ends of my fingers, I have had several past accidentals pokes, slices and jabs. Last fall, I put my hand down to lift up our apple slicer. Unfortunately, it was upside down on the counter and I ended up with a deep slice in my left thumb.

These little misadventures have reminded me of how little I really do see with my central vision. I often find myself reaching and touching things that I can’t see. Most of the accidents are minor – a spilt glass of water for instance. Minor accidents are frustrating but the issue can usually be resolved without too much fuss. The others, where I end up hurt, take a little more time. My thumb is still bruised and hurting although I count myself fortunate that I will likely keep the nail. Basically, if I hope to continue to count fingers I need to take more care when I am handling sharp objects.  I need my hands and fingers with their accompanying sense of touch to help me see.

July 15 - Mini Golf and Other Games

Last week on our family summer holiday, we played mini golf. It was a swelteringly hot day but we were on holidays and playing mini golf was somewhat traditional.

As we played, I realized that my sight had deteriorated from this same time last year. This year, I wasn’t able even to glimpse the end of the little track to the hole. I had no chance of seeing the hole itself. After the first two holes, Lyle pointed out that I wasn’t even holding my golf club correctly. I had been trying to hit the ball with the short end rather than the longer end of the club. I stumbled a bit walking from one hole to the next. I certainly missed my white cane, but I had left it behind, reasoning that holding one stick was going to be enough for me to handle. A golf club and a white cane at the same time would have been just too awkward.

Now you might be wondering why I had decided to join the family for what sounds a bit like torture. Actually, in spite of my difficulties with the practicalities of the game, it was fun and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Our five year-old granddaughter was a huge help in assisting me in finding my ball after each shot, and one member of the family usually helped in lining up my initial putt. When the scores were tallied, we sat under a shady tree to hear the results. I “won” with the highest score – being at least twenty strokes more than the next person on the scoreboard. (In case you are unaware, in golf the player with the lowest number of strokes is the winner.) We all clapped for my incredibly high score. Daughter Jenny received an ovation for her three holes in one. We clapped for Lyle for his sportsmanship and for Andrew for his skill in keeping the scores. Of course, Lexi received an enthusiastic applause for being the absolutely cutest player on the team. Now I ask you, how could I have missed all that! It didn’t seem to matter that I couldn’t see to play well. It just mattered that I was part of the family team.

We are hoping to play a number of other outdoor games this summer. Again, I know that I will be the poorest player when it comes to skill and seeing, but my family is great. I don’t plan on missing out on the fun because of my limited sight. No, it won’t be the same as if I had twenty twenty vision, but I am going with what I have and making the most of it. Summer games can be so much fun!

July 2 - Photographs

My friend, Ron, is getting ready to put his home on the market and downsize to something smaller. Consequently, he is in the process of clearing out the excesses from his home of umpteen dozen years. The most difficult of the decisions he is making in this process is the sorting through of old photographs. Which ones should he keep and which ones go to the discard pile?

Ron has sight challenges. He told me that most of his photos are very blurry and this is not due to the lack of skill of the photographer. Ron’s eyes just don’t see detail any more.  However, of the few pictures that he can make out, they bring back memories.

I understand Ron’s difficulty. I have a shoe box full of old photos. I can’t really see any of them and yet I hate to throw them out. I know that many have special memories...but which ones? When Lyle describes the picture to me, I can usually remember the occasion. This is often what happens when I post old travel photos on this blog.

I think that the best photos are photos where I keep the image in my mind.  Maybe when COVID is behind us, I will arrange a family day where everyone can sort through my old photos. The ones that family choose not to keep might well end up in my own discard pile.

 

June 23 - Riddles

Question: What goes up a chimney but can’t come down a chimney up? 

Answer: An umbrella.

 

I have a hard time explaining this riddle to our granddaughter. For starters, I don’t use an umbrella, and secondly, neither of our houses have those big wide fireplaces and chimneys that would accommodate an umbrella whether it was either up or down.

 

I think that my riddle and answer might be this.

Question? How many hands does a blind person need to hold an umbrella?

My answer? Two hands just aren’t enough.

 

Of course, this last question isn’t really a riddle, but it is a bit of a conundrum on a rainy day. When I am holding my white cane in my right hand, I find it difficult to hold anything else in my left. Walking and holding an umbrella up in one hand and a cane down in the other is just plain awkward. For that matter, I don’t bother with a purse or handbag either. I much prefer a small backpack. So, on rainy days, you will see me in my all purpose raincoat with its hood and no umbrella in sight.

 

Here is another riddle.

Question? What is black and white and red all over?

Answer: Well, in my day the answer would be a newspaper.

 

Again, this answer is beyond what my granddaughter would think. They don’t use newspapers in their house. Instead, the news comes on a screen – TV, ipad, cell phone, laptop, etc.

So, Lexi came up with her own answer.

“Nana, is it a red panda?” (Lexi had been to the zoo the day before and seen the pandas so I guess they were still on her mind.)

When I shook my head, she beamed a huge smile and said,

“Oh, I know, of course, it’s a sunburned zebra!”

 

So much for riddles and the modern generation!

June 13 - White Cane Connections The media

This week, Lyle and I are going on a little road trip around southern Alberta. We will stop at Claresholm, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat – all places that bring back good memories from our walks in 2012.

The 2012 walk in Claresholm was organized by my friend, Joyce. At the time, Joyce was the facilitator of the support group there. The troops of white cane users and their friends had rallied around and Joyce had also invited representatives of the local newspaper. At Joyce’s invitation, I had walked with this group before at CNIB fund raising events, and also been a guest speaker at their support group meetings. It was good to see old friends and we will stop to see Joyce again on this trip – only outside visiting of course!

In Lethbridge, I remember that it rained – one of the very few days that we hit inclement weather for our walks. Fortunately, we were a small group that day and we were able to change the location of the walk to a more sheltered location. It was here that I met Matthew and Cory. Cory had very limited sight and Matthew had no sight. Both were young men, possibly in their twenties, and it was on this walk that I became more acquainted with the challenges of gaining employment faced by young blind and partially sighted Canadians. Both Matthew and Cory had excellent computer skills but at the time of our walk, neither had been able to find work. I was able to put forth this problem later in our time in Lethbridge when I was interviewed by AMI, the accessible TV channel. Thanks to Bob Short of Lethbridge who arranged both this and an interview with the Lethbridge newspaper.

In Medicine Hat, we were able to connect with our friend, Norma. Norma, blind herself, is a keen advocate on behalf of people who are blind or partially sighted. During our few days in Medicine Hat, Norma arranged to introduce us to her friend at the local radio station. I had been interviewed on radio before but only for short clips while standing on street corners and once by phone from my home. This was my first time in the studio. It was memorable.

After I had donned the head phones and fronted up to the microphone, the announcer told me that I would have two minutes to explain my walks. As it turned out, the two minutes extended for another ten. When I was asked about the challenges of crossing busy intersections in city streets, I happened to mention the benefits of audible pedestrian signals at traffic lights. Wouldn’t you know it but that the city had just that week installed audible signals at an intersection in the downtown area where I was to walk the next day. It was definitely a current topic for the radio interview.

On the whole, the media were very kind and supportive of my venture to spread an awareness of the use of white canes. At this point, I must mention two of the most impressive interviews for me. A young reporter in Outlook, Saskatchewan and another, a young woman in Waterloo, Ontario, presented me with the most thoughtful and insightful questions about blindness, partial sight and the challenges and accomplishments of people who use white canes. These two interviews and the subsequent press releases stand out in my recollections even these nine years later.

There has been much criticism of the media in current times but I must say that my experiences were good. Through the various forms – print, TV and radio – it was a privilege for me to be able to present myself as a white cane user and to talk about all that the white cane has meant to me and to others who are blind or partially sighted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 6 - White Cane Connections - The Trails

Although I began my cross Canada walks in 2012, it was nearly a year before that time when I began thinking of the idea of a larger project. I remember that I had been walking with Lyle on a trail that was unfamiliar to us both. The gravel path was uneven and I was having trouble following the surface with my white cane. I found myself wondering how my cane might respond to different surfaces. Indeed, were there ground surfaces that would render my cane ineffective? Where could I go to test out some of these surfaces? Did other white cane users experience the same challenges as I did? As I pondered the answers to these questions, a potential plan began to take shape in my mind. It would still be several months before this vague idea became more concrete and the White Cane Connections walks were set in motion.

I suppose that in a way my white cane journey started even years before that. My sight changed when I was a young adult and using a cane was an evolving learning experience. I began my life as a partially sighted person with an identity cane. This cane was small, light weight and for my purposes pretty useless. For the few times that I ventured outside with it, I found the cane not at all helpful. I didn’t feel safe. Sure, possibly others might notice the cane and identify me as someone with limited sight but the cane wasn’t long enough to help me move around safely and independently.

It was actually several years after that inauspicious beginning when a CNIB staff person noticed my discomfort with the identity cane. She suggested that I try the longer mobility cane. At first I was hesitant. I had been so frustrated with the smaller white stick that I carried around. Now here was this woman suggesting that I carry an even larger one. Still, in the office that day I was prepared to give it a go. After five minutes of instruction, my world changed. I think that I even shed a few tears of relief. The freedom of independent mobility offered by the cane was tremendous.

It was a rocky start but over the years, my awkwardness in handling the cane has gradually dissipated. In 2012, I was even excited to think that I would be testing my cane over so many different terrains. In the year of the White Cane Connections, I walked my cane over city sidewalks, pavements of irregular brickwork, pressed dirt and  gravel. I travelled across Canada stopping to walk in over 80 cities, towns, villages, parks and hamlets. Sometimes Lyle and I walked alone and at most other times we walked with groups of other white cane users.

I was always interested to hear their personal stories, but past this the conversation nearly always got around to tales of accessibility. What were the areas of their locale that were either inaccessible or unfriendly for people who used a cane or other mobility device? Were paving stones uneven so that canes were caught in the cracks? Were there audible signals as well as visual prompts on traffic lights?  Were fire hydrants, signs, trees, shrubbery, lamp posts situated inappropriately on sidewalks for people with low or no vision? Were there areas in the neighbourhood where improvements could be made? Had these issues been brought to the attention of local councils? Would our white cane walks serve to bring an awareness to people who were in a position to make changes?

As I think back, I am pleased to report that on a number of occasions, the White Cane Connections Walks did make a difference. Promises and changes were made. Perhaps when you are out walking this week on the trail in your neighbourhood you might keep an eye out for obstacles that might be a challenge for the blind and partially sighted community. Let’s all work together to make our trails accessible for everyone.