[Nfb-utah] new member intro

[Charisma]

Hello. I am not entirely sure what this list is about so I thought I'd be polite and introduce myself in case it would be rude not to.

My name is Charisma. I am a single mom of one, living in SLC. I am looking for a group to talk with about vision struggles. I am at the stage where I am angry about it all, and rather frustrated by not being able to get the items I need to due to prohibitive costs and ridiculous (in my opinion) limitations on the definition of blindness. My physical vision is basically normal, corrected with glasses for nearsightedness. However, since a brain injury I have extreme light sensitivity that makes it miserable to keep my eyes open all the time or use them a lot. And because it was a central brain injury, since then my brain has difficulty translating the visual words into their meanings. In my view these add up to a functional blindness that, while not as much as folks with physical low-vision or blindness struggle with, still affects my life in many of the same ways. I basically want to scream. 

I have learned Braille I and most of II though I cannot feel it on paper--just on the display with the pegs set at very firm--but I do not own a display--I was just able to use a friend's when she came over every few weeks to tutor me a bit in Braille. 

I am hoping there are options I have not encountered that may help ease this trapped feeling. 

Thanks,

Charisma