[Blindtlk] Non 24, Sleep Problems, and how our blindness weighs in

[Chaim B. Segal]

Hi Folks:

I have not posted on this list in a great number of months, as work duties circumvented my opportunity to read as many messages from listserves as before. I decided to start receiving mail from these nfbnet.org lists again, because I think there is pertinent information out there I should be aware of. Even if I end up running behind on digests, better to be informed.

When I think of the Non 24 issue, something entirely different comes to mind. As was stated on this list a few days ago, many sighted people also have sleep-related difficulties, which have nothing to do with blindness. My own father, bless his memory, lost a job in his later days because he kept falling asleep. Falling asleep on the job was the last straw which caused my release from my previous job, but that was largely caused by stress on account of a new order of rules-entirely different subject.

A good number of years ago, my older blind brother was diagnosed with sleep apnea. To make a long story short, his doctor-ordered sleep study led to his being prescribed a C-pap. Parenthetically, he was extremely overweight, which may have been part of the cause of the sleep apnea.

I have been married, thank-God for six years and counting. Early on, I discovered that my wife had an extremely serious problem with narcolepsy. I don't want to make myself a laughing stock, but I'll say that she and I are not exactly thin. I will spare unnecessary detail. I discovered on my own that she had serious trouble breathing throughout the night, and was often awaken by her gasping for air in her sleep. Recalling these symptoms from my older brother, I took it upon myself to engineer her getting a referral for a sleep study. Turned out, she also had sleep apnea. Like my brother, she uses a C-pap, and has much more energy during the day. The sleep doctor (who just retired) nearly insisted that she try Non 24. She and I were adamant that this was not a matter of interest. Like a number of unfortunate sighted folks out there, the guy was under the impression that blind people cannot really move comfortably beyond their own space. He was, in fact, surprised to find out how many blind couples exist.  I am glad we had the opportunity to set him straight. It bothers me that there is not a mandatory course in disability awareness for doctors and nurses in medical and nursing school. I think that anybody entering the medical field who may, at any point in their career, treat a disabled person be notified concerning appropriate personal etiquette in dealing with us.

I know that some of us bld do exercise and try to watch what we eat. Sadly, a number of blind people don't. There are a number of reasons for this, including in some cases fear among gym staff that we will get hurt on their equipment, or their insurance does not allow it. My oldest (sighted) brother pointed out that with a number of us not being able to see our own body profile in the mirror, we don't realize how unhealthy we look in comparison to other people around us. While he may have a valid point, my argument to him is that from what I have heard, the majority of the US population is indeed overweight. Be that as it may, you don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnea. Maybe, a number of blind and sighted people alike have sleep apnea, but are not being treated for it. Maybe a number of blind and sighted people are not getting adequate exercise throughout the day and are not eating right. Maybe, there are many factors involved.

I think that before doctors prescribe this "antidote", they ought to take a person's daily factors into account. I also think that gyms, spas, and the like, should be encouraged to run specials which encourage blind and disabled folks to come and work out. I'll take it a step further. For those blind people who attend regular mainstream school classes, there should be a law which demands that any physical fitness instructor in a public institution be given the means to include a blind or disabled student along with the rest of the class.

On this note, I'll add one more comment. From mid way through my seventh grade year through my freshman year, I received no gym instruction in my local public school. Indeed, one reason I decided to attend the Ohio State School For The Blind for high school was that I was told physical instruction was taught there. During my sophomore year there, they did some repairs on their gymnasium and there was a big ribbon-cutting ceremony. We had been swimming in their pool in place of gym instruction. What happened after the big fanfare? Some well-meaning folks decided that we had to have a similar experience as sighted folks. So, they decided to teach us how to hit a tennis ball with a tennis racket. It flopped! As soon as we were shown how to do it and commanded to do so, the teacher(s) had to go show another blind person the same thing. So, A would shove the ball out of his hand with the racket, and have nothing to do until it could be retrieved. I felt it was a complete waste. And, as Mr. Robert Mills, one of the  best o&m instructors in the country said, "This is a blind school! You students are blind! They have a g d big beautiful gym! They should use it for what it is supposed to be used for!" 

Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow or next day on an entirely different subject.

Chaim

Chaim B. Segal
Contact Marketing Representative
 Sinclair Community College
Dayton, Ohio

Every Man, woman, every boy and girl,
Let your love light shine, make a better world.

Daryl Hall And John Oates

Sent from my Braille Sense U2 Mini