[nagdu] People with sight getting guide dogs

[Mardi Hadfield]

Hi, Mardi here. I am partially sighted, but that does not mean I can see
well. I was injured in a car accident and had a brain injury. I overcame
most of my brain damage and most people can't tell that I have any deficit.
For years I suffered seizures and was told I was faking because they could
never see any seizure activity on an EEG. I suffered further damage to my
brain after a motorcycle accident,as I was not on any medication at the
time.It took 5 years of being persistent and finally getting a doctor to
recognize my seizure triggers  and when to take the EEG. It was proven that
I indeed did have seizures and was not faking. No doctor ever apologized to
me either. During this period, I also suffered with double vision. Every
eye doctor I  saw said that new glasses would clear that up. Well it never
did and was again,I was told that I must be faking. I stopped going to
doctors .This greatly affected my depth perception and I frequently tripped
over things or fell or ran into things.I could not read very well so I
stopped enjoying books.I suffered  because of ignorant doctors.Finally one
day I realized that my vision had really gotten a lot worse. I finally got
an eye doctor who referd me to a Neurologist. I was diagnosed with cortical
vision impairment.My double vision was caused by my brain damage. It was a
brain problem ,not an eye problem.It still affected my sight.I was also
diagnosed with beginning cataracts, and macular degeneration.Every thing I
was seeing was doubled,blurred,and hazy. Since there were no schools that
trained guide dogs for wheelchair users at that time,I decided to train my
mobility service dog to guide me.I had the help of a private trainer
then.My eyes have further deteriorated  and now what I see is still very
blurred and doubled and hazy and lines are broken or interrupted and wavy.
I have a large dark spot in the middle of my right eye.I can not see any
thing in that eye except around the very edges of the eye,which looks like
slightly colored shadows. I have three quarters of my right eye that I can
see, still doubled ,blurred and hazy,interrupted and wavy.This vision is
not all that usable. I can not see in the dark..In the day time,the sun  or
even the inside light hurts my eyes so much,I have to wear sunglasses.I can
see things if they are very close and I stare at them for a period of time
so that my eye can focus.What I see is never clear.I have had totally blind
people say to me that I have an advantage because I can still see.I am
gradually loosing the rest of my sight.The thought of this greatly
frightens me, but at the same time, I fully trust my dogs. Dogs that I have
trained my self.I do not feel that I have taken a dog that a totally blind
person should have had instead of me.I will continue to train my own dogs
as long as I can. If a time should come when I can not train my own dog, I
will apply to a school.I find it not very easy to use a cane with a
wheelchair.I have broken many canes,getting them caught in the crevices of
sidewalks and streets.Just because a person is legally blind does not mean
that they all have good clear vision.My dogs have made things much easier
for me over the years.I know that even when I loose the rest of my sight,I
will still have a life and will still be able to do things because of the
people on this list and a friend who is a total.If you all can do it,than I
guess I will be able to do it also.I would have never thought about these
things before I joined this list  several years ago.It has opened my mind
to things and my fears have been greatly reduced. In my 68 years of life,I
have waited for many things.We must be happy that we have a life and are
able to do the things we want. We must embrace each other and be thankful
for things we do have.GOD will take care of the rest of it.   Mardi and
Shaman, retired and Neechee.


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