[nagdu] Going Downhill

Thu Apr 21 21:46:01 UTC 2011

Julie,

Yeah, I have the problem of looking down on stairs, too.  Every time I think
I have that bad habit licked, there I go again.  How great it will be, I
thought to myself for quite awhile, when I'm blind enough I can't keep doing
this myself...

Then I noticed that I stopped at the head of staircase in what was to me a
pitch-black stairwell, absent-mindedly glanced down and utterly rocked my
own world.  On, no!  It's not my vision that's the problem!  It's me!  I've
discovered that I can do the same thing to myself in sleepshade.  I can
catch it with stairs now, but I still do it to myself if I'm not paying
attention.  Good grief!  When will I ever learn.

I tried dark sunglasses on a cloudy day to see if blocking my vision would
help on the hill.  Nope.  I still can't resist the urge to look down, and I
still go reeling around in a circle to try to keep my balance while the
world rocks like a small boat in a big storm beneath me.  So the adventure
continues.  /grin/

I have managed to figure out that the contact of the cane tip with the
ground prevents the vertigo from ever happening at all, which is why I
didn't notice any such thing until I started working Mitzi and happened to
turn around to go back down a small incline...  /lol/

I keep thinking that if I could figure out how to teach my brain to hold
that sense of balance without the actual third point of contact (2 feet plus
1 cane equals 3), I can hold onto it long enough to put in some real
practice and get it set so I don't always have to worry about falling on my
face at an inconvenient time...

Do you ever get that falling off a cliff feeling when you're standing on a
level floor just because a breeze blew a bit of your hair in front of your
face or something like that?  What a hoot!  Every now and then I can still
manage to trip over a patch of sunlight on the living room carpet.  My
roommates find this very amusing indeed.  Life, eh?

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 11:30 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Going Downhill

If the grade is really steep it might help to lean back a bit.  No other 
real helpfulness though. *smile*

I do experience some serious vertigo on stairs though.  I can empathize. 
the thing that helped me the most was not to look.  My vertigo is triggered 
by the visual effect of standing at the edge of a cliff, or so it looks to 
me! *smile* If I don't look, no vertigo.  After a few years of not looking 
going down stairs I seem to be mostly past my dizzy issues.  Every now and 
then it will cause me problems, but usually it's only when I look over the 
railing or the stairs are the open sort.

HTH
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2011 10:43 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Going Downhill

> Hey!  How do all of you go down hills with your dogs without getting, you
> know, seasick?  Or is that just me?  /lol/
>
> Now that I don't have rain as much for an excuse not to get my lazy 
> backside
> out with my dog, I'm looking for a route to walk on this side of the Road 
> of
> Certain Doom.  The best and safest route to get some decent walking 
> exercise
> -- with sidewalks part of the way! -- is up a fairly steep hill.  Good
> exercise for the dog, too, since she has to drag me up the thing once I 
> wear
> out.  There's even a little spot where I can let her have some run play
> before we turn around to come back down...  Supposing I don't break my 
> neck
> falling on my nose.  /lol/  How I didn't literally fall on my nose the 
> first
> time -- when the effect was a real surprise -- is beyond me.  I  had to 
> sit
> down right where I was while the whirling sensation just kept building and
> building...  So I couldn't get up.  I've experienced the minor version of
> that on gentle downslopes, but never like that!  The only reason I didn't
> end up calling DD to come pick me up because I was too seasick to get home
> is because I am just too dang stubborn and have way, way too much pride.
>
> So.  By this spring, it seems I can think about taking the hill on again
> with getting seasick in advance, and I think this time I'll have a 
> strategy.
> /grin/
>
> So here's my plan, in general:
>
> 1.  Take dog on leash, use cane going up and coming down for added 
> reference
> point for balance to learn to maintain balance and proprioception on steep
> grades.
>
> 2.  When ready, use guide dog to go up the hill.  Take cane out before
> turning around, to use as reference point to judge grade.  Use cane to 
> come
> down.
>
> 3.  Repeat as necessary, removing cane tip from ground periodically to 
> build
> up number of steps to walk without reference point before falling on nose.
>
> 4.  Gradually build up until the cane on the ground is no longer 
> necessary.
>
> 5.  Start using guide dog to come down and see what happens.  /smile/
>
> Any comments, helpful hints, strong advice, smart remarks about what a 
> dolt
> I am?  /lol/
>
> Thanks!
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
>
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/julielj%40neb.rr.com
> 

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/tamara.8024%40comcast
.net