[Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina Doctors

Tue Feb 21 03:10:02 UTC 2012

Michelle:

While not denying you the freedom of choice to assert that you "miss" sight,
permit me to point out some logical flaws in your reasoning:

First, in all your examples, you are not missing sight; rather, you are
missing what you imagine sight would bring you. I say imagine because, given
that we cannot predict the future nor can we say with certainty which, if
any, alternative history of our lives we would live were we to experience
things differently or have something (in this case, sight) that we did not
have, we can only *imagine;* we cannot say for certain. Logically-speaking,
you truly don't know if you would have driven had you had sight; my
grandmother and mother did not drive and my grandmother was born in a little
rural town (or it was then) known as Brush Prairie, Washington. You also
don't know whether you would have appreciated sunsets or gazing into your
lovers' or daughters' eyes, either. Not every sighted person gets off on
these things, romantic literature to the contrary notwithstanding.

Second, although you feel the dependence of not having easy transportation,
it's easy to forget that sighted persons feel dependent on or enslaved by
certain realities also -- lack of income or health or brains or any number
of other things. So while blindness constrains you and me and every other
blind person, so do a myriad of other traits and placing the limitations of
blindness in a different category from other limitations imposed upon us is
counterproductive. That's what "Blindness; handicap or Characteristic" is
all about. WE all have talents and limitations; blindness is just one of the
latter.

I'm definitely not saying you have no right to your feelings or that they
are not legitimate. But we don't compete against what we might have been; we
compete against others as they now are.

Till,

Mike Freeman

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Michelle Medina
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 6:56 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina Doctors

Johanna,
First off, allow me to say that I was born without eyes and therefore
have never had eyesight. However, if you will accept my word for what
it's worth, the story goes that you 'can't miss what you do not have'.
I'd venture to say at least partially that this is a falsehood.

I live in a rural area and am unable to drive a car. Most people
think: "So what. You can't drive a car, big deal."
What they think and sometimes say is NOT how I feel. I feel like it's
a huge deal. There is no transportation *no buses and noone available
to drive me somewhere to catch a bus* even that isn't the route of it
though.

My best friend is also legally blind though she does have some sight.
We used to sit in what would have been her car on her sixteenth
birthday if she would have been able to get her license and crank the
stereo in the dead of summer with the windows down just to imagine the
feeling of freedom, the roadtrips we would take, the growing up we
would have done over the course of a spring break or a summer spent
roadtripping around the country.
Ovbiously, as blind individuals we can still do this, however, to me
it is the 'absolute freedom' of getting up and leaving exactly when I
Desire to versus waiting for someone else. It is the 'absolute
freedom' of walking into my parents room and saying: "I'm going to
visit Elias now, I'll be back in a couple of hours!" versus waiting
for one of them to drop me off. It's getting out of the car and
walking into Walmart and reading the labels on food products and
picking out what I believe to be the healthiest choice versus going in
with a companion whose in a hurry, or waiting at the customer service
desk for an hour and 15 minutes. *Note: our Walmart doesn't have
shoppers as I said I'm in a rural place, and I like alot of people
live off of SSI so don't have the money to buy a label reader*

Ultimately though, it isn't about money anyway, or even convenience,
though I would find these things convenient, who wouldn't? Smile.

It really boils down to the feeling I got the first time I tied my
shoes or the first time I rode a horse by myself or the first time I
Brailled up something without needing any help. It's that "I can do
this!!!" feeling that I get. That feeling of as I said before,
absolute freedom and excitement that I didn't rely on anyone, I did it
myself!! And I'm sooooo proud of myself for doing whatever thing it
might be, ON MY OWN! There's nothing like that feeling. You can't buy
it or have it given to you or find it in a food or pill or even
another person. You can only find it within yourself.
And if I had my eyesight and could experience the glory of a
sunset/rise, or of looking into someone's eyes and seeing through to
the depths of their soul, or laying eyes on my baby daughter for the
first time, or the person who would become my romantic partner I can
only imagine the exhilaration and excitement and utter pleasure it
would bring me.
Michelle

On 2/20/12, Johanna Baccan <24kjo at optonline.net> wrote:
> To All:
>
> I was asked by Dr. Steven  Sang one of the top Retina Doctors at Columbia
> Presbyterian  Hospital in New York City, new York  to speak to Columbia
> University Medical Students.  He wants me to encourage them to become
Retina
> Doctors and Retina Researchers.     I am a 54 year old woman and have a
> unusual form of Stargardt's Disease and have been visually impaired for 34
> years.  I know that we all have mastered some if not all the Techniques of
> Blindness.  But my talk is going to be on what it would mean to regain my
> vision and what I have missed out on for 34 years.  I would like to hear
> from all of you to let me know what it would mean to you to have or regain
> your vision.  What struggles have you had.  There has been a declined in
> Medical Students to become Retina Doctors and Researchers in this country.
> As a whole the Blind Community seems to function in a way that people
don't
> realize how difficult it really is.  So instead of talking how I mastered
> the Techniques of Blindness I have to talk about the reality of vision
loss.
> These students are exposed to other patients with diseases that are much
> more visible and pronounced then our vision loss.  At times my particular
> eye disease has been called a Hidden handicap.  Because to look at me even
> though I use a cane I do not look visually impaired at all.  Any
suggestions
> or comments would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Johanna Baccan
>
>
>
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-- 
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
~ David Whyte ~ (House of Belonging)

Sadie Marie Medina!
Original birthdate unnone.
First birthday with us: 2/15/2009
Welcome home baby!

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