[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 20:36:54 UTC 2013

I hear a lot of experience and strength.  Maybe she has not hit her rock 
bottom yet.  There is always the yets.  Maybe she can give a lead some day.

RH

On 11/19/2013 2:31 PM, Edwin wrote:
> I just hope she isn't hurt by a car or even killed because of her reluctants
> to use a cane.		
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: il-talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of NFB Related
> Robert A Hansen
> Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2013 3:02 PM
> To: Jemal Powell; NFB of Illinois Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [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.
>
> the thing is, none of her neighbors will mind if she uses a cane or not.
> this is simply her thinking.  eventually her neighborswill think there is
> something wrong with her if she does no find something and soon.  I find
> that most people have better things to concern their time with.  She acts
> like her eye sight loss is temporary.
>
> RH
>
>
> On 11/18/2013 6:33 PM, Jemal Powell wrote:
>>
>> ----- 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
>>
>>
>>
>> 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
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>>    NFB-NEWSLINER Team.
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