[NFBF-L] You are a fall risk because you are blind

Sat Sep 2 16:44:40 UTC 2023

I am with others who would like to be on this committee. The last time I had surgery, about a year ago, an alarm was put on my bed and I couldn’t even get up to go to the bathroom without the thing going off. I had several joint replacements over a year and a half. With each one, hospital personnel had me up on my feet the same day of each surgery. I am totally blind but certainly was capable of getting up with my walker to get to the bathroom or sit in a chair. I think I was treated as a person  who was incapable of moving around my hospital room because of being a senior citizen and being  blind. They didn’t put the alarm on hospital bed when I had my hip replacement or my shoulder replacement. The knee replacement is when it all when down hill. I explained that I live alone and have done so for 20 years being completely capable of managing home responsibilities and working my 6th guide dog. That didn’t matter. They insisted on keeping that alarm on my bed as well as bed rails. I was totally indignant! !  

I should also mention that twice while in the hospital, my meal was left across the room from my bed and I didn’t even know it was there. So much education is needed for hospital personnel!  

Kathy Davis

From: NFBF-L <nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of PLipovsky via NFBF-L
Sent: Friday, September 1, 2023 8:26 PM
To: kaye.j.zimpher at gmail.com; 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List' <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: PLipovsky <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBF-L] You are a fall risk because you are blind

I would definitely like to be a part of such a  committee, so pleased keep me in mind if it comes to fruition.

Thanks.

P:L

From: NFBF-L <nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Kaye Baker via NFBF-L
Sent: Friday, September 1, 2023 7:50 PM
To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List' <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Kaye Baker <kaye.j.zimpher at gmail.com <mailto:kaye.j.zimpher at gmail.com> >
Subject: Re: [NFBF-L] You are a fall risk because you are blind

This seems to be an ongoing issue. In the past few months,  I have, like you spoken to many who have been told they are a fall risk by the medical profession because they are blind and only because they are blind. Last year at our state convention, we passed a resolution to begin working with medical professionals to show them the real truth about people who are blind. Working on this resolution will take a lot of work, and actually it will require work from many,  not just a few. It is my sincere hope that in the near future we can form a committee to begin to decide how we conduct this much needed training, and where the training would have the most impact and effectiveness. 

From: NFBF-L <nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Jody ianuzzi via NFBF-L
Sent: Friday, September 1, 2023 7:24 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindtlk at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Jody ianuzzi <thunderwalker321 at gmail.com <mailto:thunderwalker321 at gmail.com> >; NFB Talk Mailing List <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> >; Raul Gallegos - NAGDU <rgallegos at nagdu.org <mailto:rgallegos at nagdu.org> >; NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> >
Subject: [NFBF-L] You are a fall risk because you are blind

The last time I went to see my doctor he really made me angry. He told me that he was concerned that I might fall because of my visual impairment.  I said that if I just lost my site that there would be a period of adjustment where I would have to learn alternative techniques to be more confident.  I told him that I have  been blind my entire life  I had no more chance of falling than he did and that since I started learning the martial arts 52 years ago, I could probably teach him how to fall without getting hurt!

Since this happened I have relayed the story to many people have told me that they are also considered a fall risk by medical professionals. So is this a new protocol? Are we all incompetent at walking without having

Since this happened I have relayed the story to many people who have told me that they are also considered a fall risk by medical professionals. So is this a new protocol? Are we all incompetent at walking without having to worry about falling?  I think it is so much of a coincidence that I have heard the story from many places around the country. I think I think we really have to educate the medical profession as well as everyone else!   

JODY

To Boldly Go  🖖🏻 

thunderwalker321 at gmail.com <mailto:thunderwalker321 at gmail.com>  

"What's within you is stronger than what's in your way."  NO BARRIERS  Erik Weihenmayer

On Sep 1, 2023, at 6:55 PM, Raul Gallegos - NAGDU via BlindTlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindtlk at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

Hello Mark. That’s a new one for sure.

On a different but slightly related note, I went on a cruise earlier this year.

Upon my re-entry back onboard the ship after indulging a nice and long day of sun and adult beverages, the security folks wanted to check my cane before letting me on the ship. I politely declined and told the nice security person that my cane posed no threat and that I could just walk through the gate and that I have done this many times. He was rather insistent, however. So, the compromise was to let me walk through, then they would check the cane anyway. Considering I was tired, and a little, well, happy, and I didn’t want my good mood to be ruined, I let the security folks check my cane after I walked through. Here is where the funny part comes in.

As I am standing in front of the nice security person while my cane is getting checked for contraband, he puts his hands under mine and tells me that it is all going to be okay, and I can just lean forward on him, and he will make sure I do not fall. I instantly figured out that he honestly thought my cane was for balance, not guiding. Instead of educating him further, I grabbed his hands and started dancing with him. We twirled around a few times, and as we danced, I educated him that my balance was better than fine, and that my cane made a great dance partner when my wife was not around and when my cane wasn’t doing its real job of guiding me.

In the end, it was a funny time, and hopefully, this nice security cruise ship person received a little education in a positive way.

--

Raul Gallegos

From: nFB-Talk <nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Mark Tardif via nFB-Talk
Sent: Friday, September 1, 2023 5:25 PM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org <mailto:blindtlk at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Mark Tardif <markspark at roadrunner.com <mailto:markspark at roadrunner.com> >; NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbf-l at nfbnet.org> >; NFB Talk Mailing List <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfb-talk at nfbnet.org> >
Subject: [NFB-Talk] Strange Stuff

Alright, friends.  I’m going to tell you something that will either leave you laughing or crying, and it is to demonstrate that no matter how well educated you are, if you are not familiar with blindness, well, you can still come across as, to put it politely, not the brightest light in the room.  The other day I saw a doctor I had never met before.  He had never spoken with someone who was born blind, and I suspect he had never spoken with any blind person.  Anyway, he saw my long white cane and, get this, asked if this was my “eye stick.”  Yes, that was the term he actually used, “eye stick.”  I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to just moan with sadness, but one does need to remember manners in this situation, so I told him that we call it a long white cane and told him what it was for.  He actually asked a number of good questions about blindness, which I thought was good, but it was clear that he needed much educating.  He seemed surprised I can actually walk around town independently.  I guess we have a lot of work to do, still, to put it mildly.  Also, I must say that while people up here are often extremely nice and courteous, they seem to pride themselves on being quite insular, even more than the rest of Maine, which is my state incidentally.  I say that because along with the term “eye stick,” I’ve often heard some very strange and, frankly, primitive ideas that I won’t actually go into here, but I do often think that holds us back in a lot of ways.  Anyway, I just thought I would share that bit of strangeness.       

Mark Tardif 
Nuclear arms will not hold you. 

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