[nabs-l] Blind Hope | Wapato man learns to live without sight, Yakima Herald-Republic, November 5, 2011

[Chris Nusbaum]

It's interesting that this article is heaping so much praise on 
the state rehab center.  It seems like the state center out in WA 
is pretty good, in that it teaches independence, not dependence.  
It was a very interesting article.  However, the only thing I 
would take issue with in this article is that the descriptions in 
it sound as if the writer is saying, "How amazing! He's learning 
to live his life independently, and he's blind! How amazing he 
is!" But this is the very thing that we in the NFB are having 
problems with; the belief that blind people can't live 
independently, and those who do are somehow especially amazing 
and gifted.  He can cook blindfolded? He can cross a street and 
not be fooled by a turn in the sidewalk? He can wield a saw? How 
amazing! I may be overreacting to the word choice of this 
article, but that's what I think.  Any other thoughts?

Chris

"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 
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind, 
1968-1986

P.S.  The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps blind and visually impaired 
youth in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through 
providing assistive technology and scholarships to camps and 
conventions which help them be equal with their sighted peers.  
For more information about the Foundation and to support our 
work, visit us online at www.icanfoundation.info!

Sent from my BrailleNote Apex

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Humberto Avila" <avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com
To: 
<nfbWaTlk at nfbNet.org>,<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>,<blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Tue, 8 Nov 2011 20:37:47 -0800
Subject: [nabs-l] Blind Hope | Wapato man learns to live without 
sight,Yakima Herald-Republic, November 5, 2011

Hello All.  I thought this might be very interesting to share 
with you.  It is
an article from the Yakima Herald Republic from Yakima, 
Washington

link:
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/11/05/blind-hope-wapato
-man-learns
-to-live-without-sight?utm_source=feedburner
<http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/11/05/blind-hope-wapat
o-man-learn
s-to-live-without-sight?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm
_campaign=F
eed%3A+yhronlinenews+%28Yakima+Herald-Republic+Today%27s+News%29
&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+yhronlinenews+%28Yakima+Her
ald-Republi
c+Today%27s+News%29


Text: Tracy Sanchez listens to traffic as he navigates his way 
from the
Washington State Department of Services for the Blind to a nearby 
library as
part of his mobility course on Wednesday, Sept.  14, 2011.  
Although Sanchez
still has some sight, he does the assignment wearing glasses that 
have been
painted black, so he can't see at all in order to hone the skills 
he will
someday need as his vision fades.


SEATTLE, Wash.  -- He has blind faith -- faith in his teachers 
and
classmates, faith that he can do anything.
Even if the world around him is almost completely black.
Because for Tracy "Dino" Sanchez of Wapato, believing is seeing.
Sanchez is legally blind and rapidly losing any remaining 
eyesight.
The 45 year old was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa nearly 20 
years ago,
a genetic disorder that leads to incurable blindness.
Because it's a progressive condition, Sanchez is preparing for 
the day --
"the doctor says it could be tomorrow, a year or 20 years" -- 
when he won't
be able to see at all.
And that has brought him to Seattle, where he's enrolled in a 
vocational
rehabilitation program at the state Department of Services for 
the Blind.
He's memorizing Braille, mastering computer skills, typing 25 
words a minute
and learning to maneuver around the kitchen.  He's even wielded a 
9-inch
radial arm saw.
And in the process, he's envisioning a brighter future.
For years Sanchez was able to make do, not giving in to the 
disability that
was inevitably going to catch up with him.
An enrolled Yakama tribal member, after graduating from Wapato 
High School,
he dabbled in a variety of careers, starting with sailing on a 
crab boat in
Alaska, then working in sales, casinos and construction.  It was 
during one
of his building jobs that he realized he could no longer discern 
objects
outdoors in sunlight.
"I started to notice that my vision was getting worse," he 
recalls.  "My
enemy became those yellow signs that say 'wet floor.' I would 
always knock
into them.  But I was in denial for years."
As it became increasingly more difficult to work, Sanchez 
qualified for
Social Security disability payments.
In many ways, that made him more pessimistic.
"I felt hopeless and helpless," he says.
However, Social Security personnel referred him to the Yakima 
office of the
Department of Services for the Blind, and that was the beginning 
of his
renaissance.
Although skeptical, he decided to enroll in the training center 
run by the
blind services in Seattle.  He realized he needed to learn how to 
function if
and when he becomes totally blind.
That didn't make the transition any smoother, though.
"When I first came, I was broken and angry.  I couldn't drive," 
he says.  "I
thought, 'What am I going to do now?'"
And then he saw the light.
"I got my hopes up," he says, after finding out that the center 
helps
develop skills to live independently and be successfully 
employed.
"People who lose their vision have to learn to do things 
differently,"
explains Keiko Namekata, training center program manager.  "Our 
world is
defined by what we see, so people who don't function visually 
have to learn
to compensate and fill in the gaps."
Training takes between 25-30 weeks.  Students attend classes from 
8 a.m.  to 5
p.m., five days a week.  Of the seven instructors, three are 
blind or
visually impaired.  An average of 20 students attend at a time.
The program is free to the students, funded through state and 
federal
monies.  The cost of fully training a student is about $11,000.
Namekata, who lost her sight as a youngster due to a degenerative 
disease,
says, "We focus on matching each person with a job that utilizes 
their
skills, interests and talents, so they'll be successful for the 
long term."
A divorced father with three children and three grandchildren, 
Sanchez
started at the training center last spring.
"Everything I do here boosts my confidence," he notes.
One recent day, Sanchez was getting ready for a test in his 
mobility class.
(Instructor Mary Lorenz calls it "How to get there and back.")
Sanchez's homework was to research the location of the 
neighborhood library
and telephone to ask about steps and the entry way.
With that complete, he grabs his cane and dons dark, 
light-blocking glasses
and begins walking down a hill three blocks to the library.
Lorenz follows a discreet distance behind.
He stops at a crosswalk, ears cocked.  "I listen for traffic.  I 
know when it
stops and goes, and I go with it," he says.
He rotates his cane over the width of the sidewalk, feeling for 
the curb.
He's doing well, but there is treachery ahead: cracks and bumps 
in the
cement.
He negotiates those successfully, but he's fooled by a side path 
that veers
from the main sidewalk into a park.  He follows briefly, then 
pauses.
"He realizes the traffic sounds are gone," his teacher says, 
sotto voce.
Once Sanchez figures out his mistake, he rights himself and 
easily makes it
to the library.
He's especially pleased that he wasn't fooled by a nearby parking 
lot that
he has mistakenly strayed into on four previous trips.
"I beat the parking lot!" he cheers.
Later, he reflects, "It doesn't matter if you wander off.  What 
matters is if
you get out of it."
Lorenz gives him high marks.  "You have good problem-solving 
skills.  You're
curious and alert."
With that successful foray, Sanchez will be readying himself for 
the final
exam, which involves traveling in a bus to downtown Seattle, 
entering a
building through a revolving door, riding an escalator and 
returning to the
school.
He's already cooked an eight-course meal from scratch, including 
ribs, baked
beans and potato salad -- all the while wearing his dark eye 
coverings.
That was in his home economics class, where he also mastered 
sewing, house
cleaning, ironing and doing laundry.  Again, without being able 
to see what
he was doing.
Instructor Donna Lawrence points out, "Our whole goal is 
independence."
She adds, "(Sanchez) got so excited to cook; he'd never done it 
before.  He's
so inspiring, a stellar person."
Lawrence isn't the only one who finds Sanchez's enthusiasm 
infectious.
Classmate Tim Brown notes, "Dino is one of those guys who draws 
people in.
He's very gifted."
Sanchez's final class of the day is wood shop, where he's making 
a headboard
for his bed.  Relying on instinct and instructor Bronson Goo's 
guidance, he
uses a router to carve a notch along an oak board.
Sanchez has taken on a leadership role during his training, 
serving as
president of the student body.  He works closely on school 
projects with
another Lower Valley resident, Monica Salazar, from Granger.
Also legally blind, Salazar eventually hopes to become a massage 
therapist
or work in a preschool.
Sanchez plans next to pursue a degree in business management.  
Ultimately, he
hopes to own his own business.
He's not sure what yet, but he's sure of one thing:
"I could have been one of those guys who took social security 
disability and
done nothing else.  But," he emphasizes, "I want to live.
"I think I make the guy standing on the corner holding a 
cardboard sign look
bad because I'm doing something for myself."
That doesn't mean he's immune to down times, yearning for enough 
vision to
choose any job he wants.
"I wouldn't wish this on anybody.  I really enjoyed construction 
jobs,
working outside and getting dirty.  I wish I still could do 
that."
Yet most people who know Sanchez remark on his determination and 
charm,
rather than his waning eyesight.
"He's a wonderful person, such a great personality," says Anna 
Marrs, a
rehabilitation tech in the Yakima office of the services for the 
blind.
She points out that when Sanchez settles on a career, he'll be 
joining many
other visually impaired people employed in the state.  She notes 
that 147
people with low vision found jobs in Washington last year.
Sanchez fully intends to boost that number.
"Life is always going to bring you down.  But it's your choice to 
get up and
do something about it."

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