[il-talk] Fw: Here is yet another reason why our work in the NFB is necessary. Read this article and the attitude displayed by the subject of the article.

Tue Nov 19 19:59:55 UTC 2013

I hope she finds the Federation and hopefully a seed will be planted in 
her so she can move forward in life.

RH

On 11/18/2013 6:33 PM, Jemal Powell wrote:
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> ----- Forwarded Message -----
> From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online <nfbnewsline at nfb.org>
> To: Jemal Powell <derek2872 at yahoo.com>
> Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:49 AM
> Subject: Article from New York Times National Desk 2013 11 17
>
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> THE NEEDIEST CASES: SIGHT LOST, SIGHT RESTORED. A Tool Meant to Keep Her Safe Makes Her Feel Like a Target. By JOHN OTIS. Cynthia Gibbs-Pratt would rather walk into walls than use a cane to guide her. And often, she does. She had 20/20 vision most of her life. Last April, Ms. Gibbs-Pratt, 47, learned she had macular degeneration, a progressive disease that robs those who have it of their sight.. 'If somebody came to you today with this cane and said you had to use it, would you accept it? she asked. Pride plays a clear role in Ms. Gibbs-Pratt's unwillingness to embrace her disability, but fear is the more potent force girding her stubbornness. She believes that walking the streets of her Bronx neighborhood with the cane would present her as weak, that it would provide a bull's-eye for anyone seeking an easy target. 'I feel vulnerable, because people always see me by myself,' she said. 'I don't want people to know I'm disabled. It does not help that her
>   neighborhood is unfamiliar, and so very far from her family in Brooklyn, where Ms. Gibbs-Pratt spent most of her life. She moved into her current apartment with her husband after they wed two years ago. The two separated in February, shortly after he revealed that he had cancer. Ms. Gibbs-Pratt was confronting her own significant health issues at the time, including chronic bronchitis. 'He said it would be too much for me, to deal with what I'm dealing with, and take care of him,' she said. 'He didn't grow up with the same family values I grew up with. I just pray, 'God have mercy on his soul.' Last summer, Ms. Gibbs-Pratt's misfortune was further compounded when she fell behind on bills after her illnesses kept her out of work for three and a half months. She holds a job as a food stamp eligibility specialist and received $1,400 a month from her union while on sick leave, which was significantly less than her usual income. She was unable to cover her
>   $1,071 monthly rent or her Consolidated Edison bill. No assistance was offered from her absent husband. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York, one of the agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, provided $351, applying $200 to Ms. Gibbs-Pratt's back rent and $151 toward her electricity bill. Her rent troubles may be behind her, but Ms. Gibbs-Pratt still lacks the financial stability to move back to her old neighborhood. Coupled with her deteriorating eyesight, her seclusion has led to mounting paranoia. She covers her reduced-fare MetroCard to hide her disabled status when swiping it. As she fumbles to fit her keys into her door, watched by a cluster of marijuana-smoking neighbors, she fears for her safety. Despite her isolation, Ms. Gibbs-Pratt has no shortage of support. Two cousins, who regularly trek in from Harlem and Coney Island, provide an immense amount of help. Her husband's aunt, Sharon Bouyer, whom Ms. Gibbs-Pratt
>   calls Mama, offers telephone counsel from Jacksonville, Fla. And her biggest source of support, she said, has been Catholic Charities Guild for the Blind. The agency helps her acclimate to her new world, teaching her how to traverse the city's streets by using landmarks and counting steps. The guild has fitted her desk at work with a special computer station and provided her with other items, like a talking watch. And a mobility specialist, who often visits her home, has equipped her kitchen with Braille-like bumps that allow her to safely use the knobs on her stove and properly work her microwave. But she has yet to warm up to that cane. 'I'm not totally rejecting it, because I know at some point I'm going to have to use it,' she said. A recent series of near-misses forced Ms. Gibbs-Pratt to confront the dangerous consequences of her stubbornness. She was nearly sideswiped by three different vehicles in one week. Acceptance of her impending blindness
>   comes in dribs and drabs. Tears come whenever she dwells on her fate, but so too does a mustering of courage. 'I used to do so much,' she said. 'I was the one always running and jumping for everybody. I still don't want to accept it. But God brought me through so many things. This vision thing is only temporary. PHOTO: Cynthia Gibbs-Pratt (PHOTOGRAPH BY MARILYNN K. YEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES). This article is provided to you as a courtesy of NFB-NEWSLINE® Online for your sole use. The content of this E-mail is protected under copyright law, and is not to be distributed in any manner to others; infringement of our non-dissemination agreement is strictly prohibited. Allowing someone to have access to this material is in violation of the Terms of Use agreement that you electronically signed when you signed up for NFB-NEWSLINE® Online. Please do not forward this E-mail or its attachments to any other person or disseminate it in any manner. Thank you. The
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