[Nfb-seniors] New to this...

Tue Nov 24 22:51:01 UTC 2009

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your reply.  What would you suggest as to the best way to learn
braille?  I know there are a number of different courses out there...just
wondering what might be best for home study?

I appreciate you answering the butt wiping question.  I never really thought
about it, but I guess not everyone looks at the TP after they wipe.  I sort
of figured that was the answer to the question after I asked it, but I was
just curious and you folks said I could ask any question, even such a dumb
one like that.

I am also interested in how the blind play chess as I am an avid chess
player and play online every day.  I am not very good and will probably
never improve as I don't want to put in the time and effort to really study
the game, but I enjoy playing and I know I would miss it.  I probably spend
too much time playing now as it is, as I have other things I need to spend
time on like playing music and doing scroll sawing projects, especially
around the holidays.  I am also still working full time for another 18
months, so I don't have a lot of spare time.

Thanks again for replying to my questions...I appreciate it.  Take care of
yourself and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Sincerely,
Ray Juliano

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 10:39 PM, Mike Freeman <k7uij at panix.com> wrote:

> Hi, Ray!
>
> I'm not David but I'll take a stab at your question. Before doing so,
> however, may I congratulate you on your positive attitude and desire to do
> some of the adjustment to blindness, if it comes, before being faced with
> the necessity of doing so.
>
> Now to your question: I can't resist a moment of facetiousness: I never
> knew anyone to have eyes on his/her posterior! I suppose what's really meant
> is how do you know when you're clean without looking at the TP. It's pretty
> simple: as you wipe, you can tell from the way your rear feels if anything
> is coming off onto the paper. When it feels like nothing more is being
> transferred, there's a rather good chance that you've done the job! You just
> have to pay attention to the way it feels as you wipe. Incidentally, you pay
> attention to how your rear feels; you obviously don't examine the business
> side of the TP with your fingers! Actually, it never occurred to me that
> anyone would look at the TP until I discussed this with a sighted person of
> my acquaintance.
>
> As with much else in adjusting to blindness, practice makes perfect.
>
> Mike Freeman
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Raymond Juliano <rayj1941 at gmail.com>
>  To: NFB Senior Division list <nfb-seniors at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Sunday, Nov 22, 2009 20:30:51
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-seniors] New to th...
>
> >
> >
> > Dear David,
> >
> > Thank you for the reassuring reply to my letter.  I really do appreciate
> the
> > information, altho at the present time my right eye is doing all of the
> > seeing for me.  I am to have a silicone oil bubble placed into my bad
> left
> > eye on Dec. 3rd. to try to stop the bleeds I've been having.  My retinal
> > doctor will suck out the old blood, do another vitrectomy, and place the
> oil
> > bubble.  It may help to restore some of the vision I've lost due to the
> CRVO
> > of two and a half years ago.  After a recent trip to the Mayo Clinic, the
> > retinal doctor up there told me that there were also some atherosclerotic
> > changes in my good right eye, and the very early beginning of macular
> > degeneration that might give me similar problems in my good right eye.
>  So I
> > am just thinking ahead and trying to prepare myself for the possible loss
> of
> > vision in my right eye as well.
> >
> > Hearing from people like you gives me the reassurance that I will be able
> to
> > deal with becoming legally blind if it should occur.  I would like to
> learn
> > braille while I can still see, and I did order some information from the
> NFB
> > as to use of the white cane as well as some other things.  I am 68 years
> of
> > age and still working full time as a nurse anesthetist in our small
> critical
> > access hospital up north here in the upper peninsula of Michigan, and
> plan
> > to retire from anesthesia on May 16th. of 2011, which will be my 70th.
> > birthday.  I still have a lot that I want to see and do while I still
> can.
> > I am happy to hear that I will still be able to pursue my hobbies of
> scroll
> > sawing, chess, and music with or without sight.  I have gotten into
> writing
> > the lyrics to my own songs, and then working out the melody and the
> guitar
> > chords later.  I also play the piano and would like to be able to keep
> that
> > up as well.
> >
> > I would be interested in hearing how you do your wood working and how
> people
> > play chess without sight.  I don't think playing music would be too
> > difficult as I have a good ear and do fairly well without music.  I also
> do
> > hypnosis and I don't think that would be too difficult to do without
> sight
> > either, especially if I had an assistant.  I have a sort of dumb and
> maybe
> > embarrassing question for y...how do you wipe your butt without sight?  I
>  > know that is a very stupid question, but I was just curious.
> >
> > Any suggestions you might have for me of things to start doing while I
> still
> > have one good eye, would be very much appreciated.  I am very much
> > interested in how you do all that you do without the use of your eyes.
> > Again I thank you for your reassuring letter and for the three key things
> > that one has to do with a disability.  I am going to save your letter for
> > possible future reference, and again I thank you for writing and hope to
> > hear more in the future.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Ray Juliano
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 3:58 PM, David Evans <drevans at bellsouth.net>
> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Dear Ray,
> > >
> > > I have been legally blind since the age of 16 and I have never let it
> stop
> > > me from doing what I want do.    I just do things in a different way.
> > > I have learned, over the years, that there are three things that every
> > > person facing a disability need to have.
> > > They are: (1). You need to keep a positive attitude so that when Life
> gives
> > > you lemons, you know how to make Lemonade and turn those negatives in
> to
> > > positives.  (2) You need access to good rehab training, adaptive
> equipment
> > > and information that will let you cope and compensate for that
> disability.
> > > (3). You need to know, and have friends, who know more about that
> disability
> > > than you do.  This is why the NFB is so great as it has so many
> wonderful
> > > people in it that lead by example and are more than willing to share
> what
> > > they know and what they have with anyone.
> > > Just ask your questions, we are here to listen.
> > >
> > > David Evans, NFBF and Jack the guide dog.
> > >   P.S.  I use saws and routers to cut wooden doll furniture and things.
> > > There is also a blind person's Chess group and they play by phone and
> > > computer e-mail as well as in person.
> > > I know several blind musicians and know that if you want to keep
> playing,
> > > you can.  I play instruments and don't read a lick of music.
> > > As an Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer, my motto has always been:
> "the
> > > difficult we do immediately; the impossible just takes a little
> > > longerdd0----- Original Message ----- From: "Raymond Juliano" <
> > > rayj1941 at gmail.com>
> > > To: <nfb-seniors at nfbnet.org>
> > > Sent: Sunday, October 25, 2009 1:25 PM
> > > Subject: [Nfb-seniors] New to th...
> > >
> > >
> > >   Hello,
> > >ar
> > >ar I am new to this, but thought that I would get involved just in case
> I
> > >ar lose
> > >ar what remaining sight I have yet in one eye.  About two years ago I
> > >ar sustained
> > >ar a CRVO of my left eye.  It has caused a marked loss of visual acuity
> in my
> > >ar left eye along with narrow angle glaucoma.  Thus far my right eye
> seems to
> > >ar be o.k., altho during a visit with a retinal specialist at the Mayo
> > >ar Clinic,
> > >ar he took photos of my right eye and it is showing some narrowing of
> some of
> > >ar the retinal vessels where they cross over each other which could lead
> to
> > >ar another occlusion of my right eye that would produce blindness in my
> right
> > >ar eye as well.  I have had eye injections, lazering, and a number of
> > >ar surgical
> > >ar procedures in the past two years and will have a silicone oil bubble
> > >ar placed
> > >ar into my right eye on Dec. 3rd. to try and control the frequent bleeds
> I
> > >ar have
> > >ar been having in my left eye.  The oil bubble would remain in the eye
> 6-12
> > >ar months or possibly indefinitely depending on how I tolerate it.  At
> the
> > >ar same
> > >ar time my retinal doctor would suck out the old blood and possibly do
> more
> > >ar lazering to try and control the neovascular glaucoma.  I also have a
> tube
> > >ar shunt in the eye for the narrow angle glaucoma which seems to be
> > >ar controlling
> > >ar the pressure.
> > >ar
> > >ar I can't imagine anything happening to my right eye or I would be
> legally
> > >ar blind.  I am so grateful every time I open my right eye and can still
> see
> > >ar out of it.  I love to read and I write poetry and song lyrics for the
> > >ar guitar, and I also play the piano.  I love music, and I know I would
> > >ar continue to play even without my sight, but it would probably be a
> > >ar difficult
> > >ar adaptation.  I also like to play chess and I play about 20 games
> online at
> > >ar gameknot.com and I was wondering if I would be able to continue to
> play
> > >ar chess if I could not see the moves.  I know that some of the great
> chess
> > >ar masters play blindfolded games, but I am not now nor will ever attain
> that
> > >ar level of expertise, at least not in this lifetime.  I also like to do
> > >ar scroll
> > >ar sawing, which I don't know how I would be able to do if I could not
> see. I
> > >ar also do hypnosis, and I think I would be able to continue to do that,
> but
> > >ar it
> > >ar would be good to be able to have continued access to the many
> hypnosis
> > >ar books
> > >ar that I have collected over the years.  I am currently working full
> time as
> > >ar a
> > >ar nurse anesthetist at a small critical access hospital about 25 miles
> from
> > >ar my
> > >ar home, but plan on retiring from anesthesia within the next two years
> or
> > >ar sooner depending on the stability of my sight.  At the present time
> there
> > >ar is
> > >ar no known long term cure or treatment for what I have short of a
> retinal
> > >ar stem
> > >ar cell implant, altho my doctor feels that I cure or treatment will be
> found
> > >ar for my CRVO within my lifetime.  I tell him I hope they hurry up as I
> am
> > >ar not
> > >ar getting any younger...lol...I am 68 years young and I don't plan on
> > >ar retiring, but refiring as Art Linkletter suggests doing.  I hope to
> have
> > >ar some time and vision to be able to enjoy some retirement before my
> time
> > >ar here
> > >ar is up.  I have a wonderful wife, a dog, a cat, four adult children,
> and
> > >ar five
> > >ar grandkids.  I live on a 4000 acre walleye lake and I love to fish.
>  My
> > >ar wife
> > >ar is a writer and photographer and we like to travel and enjoy life up
> here
> > >ar in
> > >ar the U.P. of Michigan.
> > >ar
> > >ar Thanks for taking the time to read this and responding.
> > >ar Sincerely,
> > >ar Ray Juliano
> > >ar _______________________________________________
> > >ar Nfb-seniors mailing list
> > >ar Nfb-seniors at nfbnet.org
> > >ar http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-seniors_nfbnet.org
> > >ar To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> > >ar Nfb-seniors:
> > >ar
> > >ar
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-seniors_nfbnet.org/drevans%40bellsouth.net
> > >ar
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > >
> > >
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