[nabs-l] Blindness, loss and therapy

Sun Aug 21 01:17:30 UTC 2011

Hi Bridgit,

As one of those students, I have the same hope! I will try my best to
carry that torch wherever my future in the Federation takes me! In
fact, a friend of mine and I have started to have a good-natured
argument about which one of us will be NFB President and who will be
the vice President. I know one thing... if he were President, I'd
write all the speeches! *Smile!

Chris

On 8/20/11, Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Chris,
>
> Thank you for your kind words.  What a lofty goal you suggest!  *smile*
> Who knows where the future leads for any of us?  I'm at a place where
> I'm open to enter whatever door is left ajar.
>
> I'm so unbelieveably grateful for the Federation.  I hope the students
> on this list carry forth the torch that remains burning brightly.  We
> have so much yet to accomplish, but I'm sure we are all just at the
> beginning of great things.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
> Read my blog for Live Well Nebraska.com at
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:55:45 -0400
> From: chris nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> 	<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Blindness, loss and therapy
> Message-ID:
> 	
> <CABpnAxHsgTBVnhVqo1XzP22f98vkqo7dJFrTD0=0jtO9+atrhA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hi Bridgit,
>
> I completely agree! Don't demean yourself, you're very bright, IMO! I
> believe you could very well be an NFB leader on the national level if
> you wanted to persue that goal! The quote from Dr. Jernigan in my
> signature, a quote that's so famous within the Federation, says it all.
>
> Chris
>
> On 8/19/11, Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> As a former sighted person, I thought I'd weigh in on this topic.
>>
>> I was fully sighted for 22 years then loss my vision due to a viral
>> infection compounded by pneumonia.  I drove, loved fashion, had
>> managed a clothing store, an avid reader, dancer, had been a
>> theatre/vocal performance major, was raised sighted, lived sighted
>> then pretty quickly lost my vision.  It took about a year beginning
>> with just a little haziness to my vision, and at the end of the year,
>> after a procedure that was suppose to restore vision, I lost it all.
>> Eight years later, it has cleared, if you can call it this, to where I
>
>> can make out shadows, light and some colors, but I'm basically totally
>
>> blind since I can't use any of this to use my eyes visually.
>>
>> I'm not sure why, and I've come to realize I'm in a minority, but I've
>
>> never struggled much with losing my vision.  It wasn't the greatest
>> thing to happen, but it was not even close to being the worse thing
>> either.  I can't even put it in the middle of bad things that can
>> happen.  From the beginning, long before I knew about training centers
>
>> or consumer organizations or philosophies of blindness, I discovered
>> blindness was not a catastrophic event and I was still very capable.
>> I knew I was the same person I'd always been, and I knew I could still
>
>> do all the same things, I just had to figure out how to do them.  My
>> biggest problem, and it still is, has been other people in my life.
>>
>> Once my eye specialist diagnosed blindness, my dad couldn't stop
>> crying, and my mom said I better get back on anti-depressants, which
>> I'd been on and off of for years for an entirely different reason.  It
>
>> was surreal comforting my father since I never cried about it.  This
>> isn't to say it has always been easy or wonderful, but my blindness
>> has never struck me deep enough to feel this way.  And I remember
>> being angry that my mom automatically assumed blindness would depress
>> me.
>>
>> For eight years, people, mostly sighted, have tried to project
>> feelings and thoughts onto me that are just not true.  No matter what
>> I do, what I say, I still have people assume blindness is
>> life-altering and limits you beyond functioning.  I don't provide lip
>> service because I've been brain washed or have an agenda, once I
>> received training, my life's been normal.  I've actually accomplished
>> more blind than I ever did sighted.  Once my doctors cleared my
>> health, I couldn't get into a training center fast enough.  I attended
>
>> the Iowa Department for the Blind, and I went in with an open mind,
>> eager to soak up whatever I had to learn.  It was difficult being
>> around students who were resistant to training, or who couldn't "cope"
>
>> with their blindness.  I'm not trying to diminish anyone's feelings
>> and experiences, but blindness is relatively permanent, and instead of
>
>> wallowing in self-pity and refusing to move forward, why not adopt a
>> positive attitude and learn what is currently available to the blind
>> to live active, productive lives?
>>
>> When I discovered the NFB and studied its foundational philosophy, I
>> thought, finally, others who get it.  I'm a complete human being with
>> an emotional landscape- thoughts, feelings, desires, and my entire
>> life is not wrapped up in blindness.  During my first national
>> convention, during Dr. Mauer's banquet speech, his theme revolved
>> around the concept that blind people are not broken sighted people.  I
>
>> cried as he spoke because I knew this, felt it, for years.  It was
>> comforting to be around people who agreed.
>>
>> Yes, I miss visually seeing at times, and I don't like that we are
>> still fighting for equal rights, and I wish more was accessible to us
>> allowing for the ease most sighted people experience in terms of
>> information, but usually, blindness itself has nothing to do with this
>
>> other than because people believe sight is so instrumental to doing
>> the most mundane task, they don't consider how simple being blind can
>> be if certain things changed.
>>
>> I miss sight, but not the way I miss my grandma who passed away years
>> ago.  It's a different loss, and for me, no way near the magnitude of
>> loss experienced with true death.
>>
>> Left to my own devices, life truly isn't that huge of a challenge.  I
>> don't struggle mentally with blindness, nor is it a physical challenge
>
>> in terms of doing things.  I've found alternative techniques equal to
>> using sight most of the time, and should these techniques be
>> recognized as equal to sight and adopted on a large scale, most blind
>> people would have very few, if any, issues.
>>
>> I'm not saying I'm happy to be blind, but I'm not unhappy either.  And
>
>> I don't pretend life is super easy, but again, more than half the
>> time, the difficulty is related to attitudes and perceptions and
>> unwillingness to change that creates the difficulty in blindness.  I
>> still make mistakes and I have my own personal limitations, but I
>> don't feel my blindness contributes to intellectual or physical
>> limitations I have. As a person who was once sighted, I don't think
>> much has changed in my life.  I enjoy the same things, I do most of
>> the same things- blindness isn't stopping me.  I should probably
>> mention I'm also stubborn and rebellious, so when I'm told I can't do
>> something, I more likely to do it.  LOL
>>
>> So do I think all blind people require therapy?  No.  And should
>> training centers provide therapy?  No, and if a person feels therapy
>> would be beneficial, it is up to an individual to seek that care out.
>> It's no different than any other medical concern.  If you need a
>> doctor, you find one and go to their clinic.  The world does not bring
>
>> you medical help.  So why should a training center provide it?  As a
>> diabetic, I wouldn't expect an on-staff endocrinologist.  People
>> seeking therapy shouldn't be ostracized and made to feel bad for doing
>
>> so. What's right for me, may not be so for others, but an individual
>> need, or desire, does not mean training centers should invest in a
>> therapist.
>>
>> People need therapy and psychiatric help for many reasons, and if a
>> person believes this would help them deal with blindness, that's okay,
>
>> and they should seek that help out.  I don't think it is necessary for
>
>> an institution to provide that care though.  At the end of the day, it
>
>> does not contribute to the program.
>>
>> While losing a sense after once having had it, it is a loss to an
>> extent.  And there is an adjustment period since you learn to do
>> things in a new way.  I understand I'm in a minority with my view when
>
>> it comes to sighted people becoming blind later in life and how we
>> address this fact, but I didn't find blindness to be as emotionally
>> challenging as some believe, nor did it take me long to adjust to
>> being blind.  I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, so if this is
>> possible for me, I know it is possible for various crayons- all
>> shapes, sizes and colors!
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dotkid.nusbaum%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Chris Nusbaum

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The real
problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that exists. If
a blind person has the proper training and opportunity, blindness can
be reduced to a mere physical nuissence." -- Kenneth Jernigan

Visit the I C.A.N. Foundation online at: www.icanfoundation.info for
information on our foundation and how it helps blind and visually
impaired children in MD say "I can!"