[Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina Doctors

Tue Feb 21 19:44:21 UTC 2012

Most of what you said, I can appreciate because it comes from someone
who's older, so has infinitely more wisdom than myself. That's ok, I'm
used to that. However, I have to disagree with your statement about
being disowned. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that is exactly
what will happen if I choose to leave, so please don't profess to know
the future, especially when you know nothing about me.

On 2/21/12, David Evans <drevans at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
> Dear Mark and All,
>
> The advice you gave is very true.
> Every one of us has to shed our diapers or break out of the shell at some
> point.
> It is not an easy thing to do and is scary as Hell to most of us, but most
> of us make it.
> One thing is for sure, our parents are not going to be around forever to
> watch for us and do things for us.
> It is a Right of Passage, that we must , at some point do what we think is
> best for us regardless of the fact that our parents like it our not.
>
> You can not worry about them disowning you as Nature is going to do that for
> them at some point anyway.  The fact is they are going to pass on and leave
> you behind and then it is all on you anyway.
> Most loving parents are not going to disown their children and you can not
> let the thought of that paralyze you and prevent you from taking charge of
> your life.
> I have met parents, who have told me, that the biggest fear they had about
> their Blind child, was that they did not know what was going to happen to
> their child after they passed on.  They, did not even seem to realize that
> they were the ones, holding their child back from becoming a confident and
> capable Blind person, because they over protected their child by cutting
> their food for them, picking out and physically dressing them, tying their
> shoes, walking them everywhere, not trusting and having a little faith in
> their own child to do anything for themselves.
> They saw the solution to protecting their child as putting that child in a
> cage and not letting them out to where they might get hurt.
>
> As a result, we have non-functional Blind people who are trapped in the
> shadow of their parents.  Tied to them by Mommy's apron strings or Papa's
> judgment and disapproval.There is an old saying that says,"Nothing grows in
> the shade."
> It is a scary thing to think about and can shake anyone who does not have
> the confidence in themselves.
> I agree that attending a good training center, and I do recommend and NFB
> training center at that as I have mentored a few young Blind people since
> becoming an NFB member.
> Not all have had the problems cutting the apron strings, but the process is
> much the same.
> We must educate and motivate, step by step.and the first thing is changing
> the mind set.
> There are three things that all People dealing with a disability need to
> have to be successful.
> There: 1). Good positive attitude about life and Life in general, so that
> when Life gives you lemons you know how to make lemonade, turn those
> negatives in to positives.
> This is important in learning when and how to overcome those barriers that
> pop up in Life.  You learn to find ways to go under, around over and through
> them.
> 2). you need access to good rehab training, Adaptive equipment and
> information that helped you to cope and compensate for that disability and
> finally; 3). you must know someone else who has that disability who knows
> more  about that disability than you do.
> This is where the members of the NFB come in.
> It is the collective knowledge of the members of this great organization
> that can provide over 50,000 mentors to draw on in helping you to figure out
> what you can and need to do to be successful living with Blindness.
> As for reducing Blindness to a mere nucence, here is the way it works for
> me.
> I have been legally Blind since the age of     16 because of RP. and I never
> got any rehab training until several years after I become an NFB member in
> 1987.
> I still thought of myself as sighted, with just a little vision problem.
> It was not until I was picked to go to my first Washington Seminar in 1991
> that I really got it as to what a powerful force the NFB was and how being
> an active member could and would change me and my life.
>
> I had "zero" skills of blindness and was so deep in denial that I would not
> do the very things that would have helped me to remain employed and
> independent.  I had a chip on my shoulder the size of a pine forest and
> thought I knew better than anyone else.  They were not in my shoes.  They
> did not know hao I was feeling right?
> Well I got my socks blown off by the NFB members I met and observed.  I, for
> the first time, saw just what confident Blind people could do and how they
> used their skills to do the things I use to do as a sighted person.  Reading
> Braille like I use to read print, traveling about with their canes and guide
> dogs all over a large city and conducting business the way I once did as a
> sighted person.
> They really impressed me and I found that I wanted what they had and to be
> just like them.
> I met NFB members who shared their knowledge and experiences with me and
> advised me.
> I just wished I had gone to an NFB training center back them instead of
> wasting several years trying to teach myself and getting very poor training
> and instruction from a very poor state agency.
> If I had only knew then what I know now, that time I wasted with half way
> measures would have been spent arming myself with good skills and more NFB
> philosophy
> Getting back to that statement about reducing Blindness to a nucence.  I
> think of a nucence as being something like a Nat that keeps buzzing around
> your face and will not leave you alone.
> Well, my nucence was a Nat the size of a 747 jumbo jet in the beginning and
> I had a hard time thinking of it as anything smaller than that, but as I
> write this, I have come to realize that the nucence has gotten allot smaller
> over the years to the point I do not much notice it anymore.
> I still wish I were not Blind, but I Am just happy living my life and doing
> what I want to do.
> I am working again and have a job I enjoy and gives me a chance to help
> people everyday .
>
> If I can mentor someone, I am here to talk to and give my opinion, but I
> believe very much in teaching a person how to fish instead of just feeding
> them for a day by giving them a fish.  If you know how to fish, you can feed
> yourself for a lifetime, right?
>
> I am now 65 years old, married with two grown kids and one grand child, all
> obtained after becoming blind so you see, you can have it all.
> David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
> Palm Beach County Chapter President
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark J. Cadigan" <kramc11 at gmail.com>
> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 9:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina Doctors
>
>
>> Desiree,
>>
>>
>>
>> I for one am a current college student. Like most college freshmin, I live
>>
>> in a dorm. It is not what you imagine it to be. I have never been the
>> victim of hazing or other harassment, and for that madder, I can't think
>> of anyone else at my school that has. This is not a community college, but
>>
>> a private university, and they would not tolerate that type of negative
>> behavior.
>>
>>
>>
>> This is just a thought, but have you ever considered attending one of the
>> NFB training centers. Even if you already have impeccable skills, city
>> travel is very different than rural travel. I attended BLIND Inc. and
>> highly recommend it.
>>
>>
>>
>> Also, the skills you learn at a training center will help you get a job,
>> and there are far more jobs available in a big city than in small towns.
>> Once you establish residency in some ware like MN for instance, the state
>> rehab there is wonderful at paying for things like college or other
>> training required to help you get a job.
>>
>>
>>
>> Also, if you go to a NFB center, they will pay for you to go to convention
>>
>> witch is a wonderful networking experience.
>>
>>
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Desiree Oudinot" <turtlepower17 at gmail.com>
>> To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 2:11 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina Doctors
>>
>>
>>> No, my blindness wouldn't be nearly as much of an obstacle if I lived
>>> in a city. But I do know also that if things don't work out if I did
>>> move into an apartment, I would have no one else to turn to. I would
>>> end up out on the street if I couldn't pay rent. I know if I go
>>> against their wishes I'll be disowned. Also going to college is
>>> certainly not in my plans. While I'm not ruling it out altogether,
>>> maybe 5 or 10 years down the road, I want to be in a better place
>>> mentally than I am now. I know that if I do it now, all that will
>>> happen is I'll burn out. I definitely do not want to live in a dorm. I
>>> know all about hazing and all that crap. If I do go to college, I want
>>> it to be at a community college. The problem is, if I do that, I want
>>> to go somewhere where I know I won't run into any of the a-holes I
>>> went to school with around here. I even have one in mind, but being a
>>> blind person, moving into a new city, and trying to maintain a job so
>>> I can survive and go to college is just way more stress than I need.
>>>
>>> On 2/21/12, Johanna Baccan <24kjo at optonline.net> wrote:
>>>> Dear Mike, and All,
>>>> the talk is not for the purpose for getting students to go to Columbia
>>>> They
>>>> are already Medical students at Columbia deciding on what kind of Doctor
>>>> they want to be.  This is not my intention to get across that blindness
>>>> is
>>>> not respectable or have the sighted realize what we cannot do.  I know
>>>> that
>>>> you do not know me but I am a good role model for someone who is living
>>>> with
>>>> Blindness.  When the students meet me they will know that a Blind person
>>>>
>>>> can
>>>> just about do anything.  I am on a Web show on Thru our Eyes called
>>>> Looking
>>>> Good Without Looking.  I am the Co-host.  I am called the Make-up Diva.
>>>> I
>>>> train women if they choose to put on make-up.  You do not have to see to
>>>> wear make-up.  As a matter of fact I put it on better than a sighted
>>>> person.
>>>> Our next show is this Wednesday night and I will send the link to the
>>>> list.
>>>> Our show is for Men, Women , and Teens.  It is for full vision, low
>>>> vision,
>>>> or no vision.  I am proud of my Blindness and how I cope.  Yes,  I have
>>>> all
>>>> the frustrations and stress that go along with it also .  But I choose
>>>> to
>>>> keep going and learning to make my life and others around me better.
>>>> I
>>>> just joined the NFB a year ago.  Yes I heard they were Radical.  But
>>>> when I
>>>> joined I found it to be not so.  Desiree forgive me if I spell your name
>>>> wrong.  You see by being involve with the NFB we all want to help one
>>>> another with problems that each other may have .  One or many of us have
>>>> been through it and we can help one another. Please ask us questions so
>>>> maybe we can help.  I used to drive 34 years ago and I still miss it
>>>> terribly.  I too have to depend on friends, and family for rides.  You
>>>> know
>>>> that there is a talking cash register.  Get with a VR counselor and see
>>>> what
>>>> kind of jobs are around you.  By the way where do you Live?  They may be
>>>> able to connect you with a job that uses a talking cash register.  There
>>>>
>>>> is
>>>> a lot more technology out there now then there was for me 34 years ago.
>>>> Keep fighting and do not give up.    If you have not already gotten your
>>>> degree than do so.  Yes, there are many small minded  and mean people
>>>> out
>>>> there.    You have to rise above it.  I know it is not easy.  Getting
>>>> back
>>>> to my talk.  All over the country there are  places that are doing
>>>> research
>>>> .  These places  need Retina Doctors and Researchers to continue what
>>>> has
>>>> been started.  There is stem cell research, gene therapy research,
>>>> retina
>>>> cell transplantation research,  and retina doctors that are needed to
>>>> continue this.  Don't worry Mike I will let them know also the
>>>> techniques of
>>>> blindness.  We all can do almost the same things that the sighted do.
>>>> But
>>>> with technology we get the same result but the way we get it done is
>>>> different.
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>> Johanna
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
>>>> Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 10:19 PM
>>>> To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
>>>> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina
>>>> Doctors
>>>>
>>>> If you were African-american (and I don't know whether you are or are
>>>> not
>>>> and it truly doesn't make a difference), would you consent to give a
>>>> talk on
>>>> what you're missing out on by not being Caucasian, especially since the
>>>> purpose is obviously to get more specialists to go to a prestigious
>>>> medical
>>>> school?
>>>>
>>>> Were I you, I'd refuse because going through the "ain't it awful"
>>>> routine,
>>>> even if in a worthy cause, hurts the blind in that it concentrates upon
>>>> what
>>>> the sighted think we *can't* do rather than showing them that
>>>> ultimately, it
>>>> is respectable to be blind.
>>>>
>>>> Mike Freeman
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of Johanna Baccan
>>>> Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 5:43 PM
>>>> To: Blind Talk mailing List
>>>> Subject: [Blindtlk] Encouraging Medical Students To Be Retina Doctors
>>>>
>>>> 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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>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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