[nabs-l] how to Receive Medical Services as a Blind Person

[Elizabeth Mohnke]

Hello All,

Thank you for the responses to my message. I clearly understand why they want to focus on my blindness. However, I still need to receive medical treatment for things that have absolutely nothing to do with my blindness. 

Simply telling someone that I am more than my blindness, or that it really does not matter how much I can see, and that I am there to discuss other things that have absolutely nothing to do with my blindness does not seem to work for me. Especially when a medical provider is not even willing to see me or treat me in the first place.

Thanks,
Elizabeth 

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of chelsea peahl via NABS-L
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2016 1:16 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: chelsea peahl <chelsea.peahl at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] how to Receive Medical Services as a Blind Person

Most of the time I try to educate. If that doesn't work, my next response is typically "my eyes are not connected to..." (Said body part that is ailing you.) I know that becomes quite sassy, but I've found that it gets them to shut up. Also, talk about something else about you, that gets their focus off what they see as the obvious elephant in the room. That is what I've done. 

Chelsea Peahl

> On Aug 2, 2016, at 11:10 PM, wmodnl wmodnl via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> They focus on blindness because they sometimes follow the medical model of disability or because, they feel that, blindness is somehow related to the other issue.
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On Aug 2, 2016, at 21:36, Elizabeth Mohnke via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello All,
>> 
>> Please forgive me if this message is not appropriate for this email list. However, I am rather frustrated right now, and I am not quite sure what to do. So I thought I would try posting to this email list with the hopes that maybe someone out there might be able to help me.
>> 
>> Anyway, I am just wondering how I might actually be able to receive adequate medical treatment despite the fact that I am blind. It seems like no matter where I go or what type of medical treatment I am seeking that I am always being treated differently because I am blind. And there have been some cases where I have been flat out denied medical treatment because I am blind.
>> 
>> And so I am really wondering how I can receive proper medical treatment when it feels like the only thing medical professionals want to do is focus on my blindness. Or because they do not want to treat an injury caused by an accident because it is now considered to be chronic pain even though the acute injury caused by the accident was never really properly treated in the first place.
>> 
>> I guess I am just wondering all of this because I received a voicemail message today from the insurance company sating that I need to obtain an independent medical exam.  I am worried that this is just going to be another medical professional who is going to focus on my blindness or tell me that the physical pain I am experiencing is somehow chronic pain that was not caused by an accident. And it is just really frustrating not to be able to receive the medical care that I need when I need it.
>> 
>> So I am wondering if there are any other blind people out there who have had a difficult time receiving medical care or treatment because of their blindness, and if so, what did you do so that you could receive the medical care and treatment that you needed?
>> 
>> Again, I am not quite sure if this is the most appropriate place for me to be posing these questions and frustrations as they are not necessarily related to being a student. If it is not appropriate to discuss on this email list, then I would appreciate hearing from people off list as well as other more appropriate places to pose these frustrations and questions.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Elizabeth
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