[BlindTlk] Using your cane

[Ericka]

I have tried a lot of different kinds of canes. I broke telescoping canes easier than straight canes so I stuck with straight cane‘s though I loved the fact that they store in a purse or backpack when not in use. I mentioned earlier that the Ambutech and other heavier canes are harder for me to maneuver with. That’s why I use the carbon fiber NFB cans. Believe me you have a folding carbon fiber NFB Kane existed I would be using it. I always feel bad when waitresses trip on my cane. You try to put it in the least dangerous spot but it’s hard to find.  If it’s a lot better under a church pew then under a table in a restaurant. :-) When I was younger I like the marshmallow tips. And I did use Nambatac Kane at 2K If it’s a lot better under a church pew then under a table in a restaurant. :-) When I was younger I like the marshmallow tips. And I did use Nambatac Kane at the time. But medical situation changed and while my vision hadn’t my body needed something more  safe. The other canes just gets stuck in cracks. My NFB Kane has never gotten stuck in a crack. I have still horrible childhood memories of the summer I was between sixth and seventh grade. I got two weeks of mobility training and the cane was an Amber tech. It had one of those regular tips. No matter how I tried to slap that sucker it would always find every crack in the sidewalk and every unsafe/uneven sidewalk. I only found out by getting a handle in my guts. That was enough for me to toss an Amber tech into the street and hope it died or sneak it under the gutter. The Y should have been using it, I never went back to using a cane at all until I was 35. It wasn’t embarrassment, it was the pain that Handel  caused! 

Are use both tapping and sweeping with my NFB cane. I use all my senses when I travel. Once I detect there’s a curb. I have a way of kind of measuring to see how high it is. I stick my cane over the edge and wherever it hits I can feel without bending over to touch the cane to see where it met. Then I just gracefully step over because I know they don’t have to look to see. I use that method for steps too. I tend to walk kind of fast compared to some other people so I am smelling the air walk and feeling with my cane and the bottoms of my feet to capture the whole “picture“. My ears are at high alert too. I don’t wear headphones  or anything while walking. I’m a little partial so it’s not like I got a lot of advantages over someone who is totally blind. I don’t have distance vision and the older I get my near vision isn’t so hard either. 

I’m not traveling anywhere today as there are storms all over the Midwest.

Ericka Nelson

> On Apr 25, 2022, at 2:11 PM, Jamelle via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Since we talked about canes yesterday, I wanted to ask:
> 
> 1.    Do you use a folded cane?
> 2.    Yes. I do.
> 
> Do you tap your   cane your  from side-to-side?
> 
> 3.    No I don't. I just drag my cane. So there's the possibility I'll
> injure myself.  I'm one of those blind person's who doesn't walk in a
> straight line  and I may get off track.
> 4.    What about you
> 5.    P.s. Sorry for the errors. I'm not a pro at using technology and
> jaws. So the numbers are still appearing in the message.
> 
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