[nagdu] Re New Member

[Elizabeth Rene]

Dear Gail,

Fear not.

Don't fret over the possible result of any one eye test.  And don't let 
anyone bully you by asking," What do you mean: do you want to be blind?" 
That person isn't partnering your husband or parenting your children.  You 
are.  You have the right to anything that will strengthen you for the life 
you're living.

The fact that you fear going outside without the help of a dog or a cane 
says it all.  You need a guide dog, and you need the confidence that would 
come with some skilled O&M instruction.  Neither of these have to exclude 
the other, and guide dog school can help with both.

The point of the eye examination done by guide dog schools is to determine 
whether you could benefit from a dog guide, and to help determine whether 
you could trust your dog's judgment, and not second guess him (though, I 
think, sometimes a little usable vision can help you to understand why your 
dog is disobeying a command--exercising intelligent disobedience).

>From my experience, I don't think that either GDA or GDB would deny you 
admission based on anything you have written about your vision or lack of 
formal O&M instruction.  They would be interested in whether you could allow 
your dog to guide you.  I have quite a bit of usable vision, though my 
Electroretinagraph has been flat since 1990.

I was born with what was diagnosed in the late 80's as cone dystrophy, and 
delayed getting my first guide dog until age 27, because I believed one had 
to be totally blind to qualify.  I was wrong.  I was first attracted to GDB 
in 1977 because of their willingness to work with my usable sight, provided 
that I would entrust myself to my dog's guidance.

The remaining sight that I do have has never stood in the way of my getting 
subsequent dogs, either from GDB or GDA.

At worst, or, depending on your perspective, at best, you may be asked to 
wear a sleep shade or put translucent tape over your own glasses, so that 
you can get used to trusting your dog as a guide, during the first week or 
so of training.

As a sidelight, I want to tell a story of an exercise that we did at GDA one 
afternoon last July when it was too hot to train outside (it was about 106 
degrees that day).  All of us who had any sight to speak of were asked to 
don glasses covered with tape.  The totally blind didn't need these.  Then 
an obstacle course was set up in the main corridor.  Each of us was asked to 
go down that hall, first with our canes, then with our dogs.  We were timed 
to see how long it took to get through the obstacles with a cane, then with 
a dog.  This was done for fun, and not as a test.  No one got hurt, and no 
one got upset, though at least one class member was newly blind.  WE all 
supported one another and cheered each other on through the exercise.  The 
interesting fact that emerged was that even the most seasoned cane user 
among us cut her travel time through the obstacles in half with her dog! 
Every one of us got through the maze about twice as fast with our dogs.  I 
still grin to remember this.

Gail, you deserve not to be afraid.  You deserve the confidence, the 
competence, the independence, and the joy that a guide dog can bring into 
your life.

Call GDA, GDB, or any other school that attracts you, and start the 
application process.

Call today.

You owe it to yourself.

Happy tails.

Elizabeth