NFBNJ-Seniors] share your story about being a senior with vision loss

Thu Aug 22 14:36:13 UTC 2019

Hi you all

The below article is one piece of great informational literature that we in
the NFB have to share. This piece was published when Dr. Maurer was
president. I bet we could add more stories like this to our mounting
treasure trove of NFB literature. will you share your story? Write something
up, or call me at 402-660-1743 and tell me about you; either way, and we
will get it edited and ready to share! One last thing, what is presented
below concentrates on those of us who are partially blind and sighted, so if
there is some one reading this who has with age, become totally blind, we
need your story, too!

Meet Some Competent Seniors with Low Vision

Meet twelve individuals who are blind or visually impaired and lead
interesting, fulfilling lives. They range in age from 75 to more than 90.

Seniors with low vision are a cross section of senior citizens. They have
had as many different careers and other experiences as any group of seniors.
Seniors adjust to vision loss in different ways according to their
personalities and opportunities they are given. We are introducing several
individuals below that you may find interesting. Seniors who wish to find
opportunities for training and a better adjustment to poor eyesight should
contact the National Federation of the Blind.

Helen has been visually impaired all her life. She had a good memory and
managed to finish high school, but she never really believed she could
compete on the job. She raised a daughter and was active in her church, but
did not work outside the home. In her mid-60's, Helen learned she could get
training to become more self-sufficient as a person with low vision. She
learned to travel independently with a long white cane, and she learned to
believe that she could do more than she had formerly thought. Since that
time, Helen has become well-known as a cowboy poet, and she has maintained
several jobs. Until the age of 83, she worked part-time in a cafeteria. Now,
at 86, she is fully retired but still active in her church and in the
Organization of Cowboy Poets. She says, "I wish I had known as a young
person what I now know about blindness, but I am glad I got my training and
found out what others with low vision are doing when I did."

Heather found out she was losing her eyesight after she was 80. She was
frightened, but determined to stay active. She heard about the National
Federation of the Blind and called the President, Marc Maurer. He referred
her to a good training center and introduced her to the director. Heather
immediately enrolled in that training and completed it. Then she moved to a
new city where she had wished to live. She continues to travel, to hold
strong opinions, and to encourage others who are losing vision to expect
life to be just as interesting and challenging as it ever was.

Lloyd has retinitis pigmentosa which causes slow deterioration of vision
over a period of ten to forty years. Lloyd was an aircraft mechanic when he
could see well and continued to do that work long after his vision was
worsening. When he stopped working on aircraft, he continued to work on
everything that needed fixing. As his sight diminished, he took training and
learned independent travel and Braille. He says that his hands are well
calloused so he does not expect good speed in Braille, but he uses it to
keep track of phone numbers and other short pieces of information. Lloyd
also has a substantial hearing loss, but he likes to work in his shop. He
built a beautiful sun porch on his house. He is now 77, but when he was 75
he helped a friend who also has vision loss to build a house.

Jim has macular degeneration and still has some usable vision, but gave up
driving several years ago. Jim has lived in many places and done many kinds
of work. He is a good gardener and excellent carpenter. Unfortunately, he
bought a house that was not in good condition structurally. He decided that
the only solution was to tear it down and build a better one. He met Lloyd
on the bus going to a meeting of blind and visually impaired senior citizens
who were sharing experiences and ideas having to do with their lives as they
lost vision. Jim found that he and Lloyd had a lot in common. When Lloyd
learned that Jim wanted to tear his house down and rebuild it, he offered to
help. So they did. They had a wonderful time, and Jim's new house is well
built and comfortable. When it was completed, he cooked lunch for the whole
blind and visually impaired senior support group. Now Jim and Lloyd have
written a book about their experiences building the house.

Arlene called the National Federation of the Blind to find a better
magnifying glass so that she could continue doing books for people. She was
83 and a little bitter about her deteriorating vision from macular
degeneration. The NFB tried to help Arlene find a better magnifier, but it
also introduced her to many other people who were losing vision as seniors.
Arlene joined three groups and says she needs them all. If you talk to
Arlene now, you will not see any hint of bitterness. She stays busy with her
children and grandchildren and her work for the National Federation of the
Blind.

Sybil is only 75. She began losing her vision in her 60's. She was
devastated and thought it was the end of her life. She tried to find a
doctor who could cure her but failed. Then she came across members of the
National Federation of the Blind. She learned that many, many people have
had and are having experiences similar to hers. She began to become
independent again and joined her local chapter of the NFB. She went to a
national convention and saw thousands of blind and visually impaired people
working and playing the way people do at conventions. She met some
individuals and became close friends. Now Sybil is a leader in her chapter
and well known in her community. She is eager to tell others 'both blind and
sighted 'about her experiences, so that they don't have to struggle "as much
as I did when I first lost my sight."

George is 103. He has been losing vision for some years but only recently
became unable to read. His housekeeper wants to protect him and wants him to
find things to do inside his house. George is unwilling to do this. He has
been a farmer all his life and has brought large plastic tubs onto his
patio. There he plants whatever strikes his fancy from time to time. He
enjoys working with his plants, but his housekeeper and some friends fear
that he will hurt himself. Other visually impaired people encourage George
to do what he wishes. Blindness or low vision is no reason to stop living
and doing what interests us, even at 103.

Beatrice is a retired school teacher. She went to a state convention of the
National Federation of the Blind looking for something to do. She said, "I
know a lot of people and have a lot of experience, and I want to share it
with other people." Members of the NFB encouraged her to learn Braille and
to buy a white cane, which she did. Then she began to tell people about the
Federation and to raise funds. She said she needed a cause and found as much
need among blind and visually impaired seniors as among the school children
she had taught. The specifics were different, but her skills and experiences
were just what was needed.

Ethel felt trapped in her mobile home when she lost her vision in her
mid-70's. Her husband would not let her do much anymore, and she was very
frustrated. A member of the National Federation of the Blind came to visit
her and showed her that she could dial the phone more conveniently if she
took it off the wall. It was at an inconvenient angle for her hand motion.
This person also left Ethel some audio materials about other blind and
visually impaired people. Ethel began to understand that she could cook
again and take care of her own needs. She got some training and learned to
travel independently. She was elected president of her chapter and helped to
strengthen it. Then she moved to a different town and organized a new
chapter. She died at age 89 and is remembered in a very special way by many.

Margaret has had low vision all of her life, but didn't realize that her
level of vision constituted legal blindness. She moved with her husband to
the United States from Germany as a young woman. She raised two children and
established a private kindergarten. She is respected by most of the citizens
in her town, many of whom were her kindergarten students. When she retired
because of poor health and worsening vision in her early 60's, Margaret
wanted to write a book. She tells wonderful stories. It took her about two
years to find a talking computer she could afford and learn to use it, but
she got that accomplished. Then she wrote a cookbook. She has published the
first volume of her autobiography and is about to complete the second of
three parts.

John is 88. He was a newspaper reporter all his life and continued to write
a column for another 15 years after he retired. In his early 80's macular
degeneration caused his vision to become so poor that he gave up his column.
He was appointed to the board of the rehabilitation agency for the blind and
began to meet other blind people and people who were losing vision. He moved
to a retirement center where he could use a closed circuit TV enlarger which
helps him read more print again. He also joined the National Federation of
the Blind and found contact with other blind and visually impaired people
stimulating.

Mickey loves to dance and cook. She took some lessons in cane travel and
Braille and became the leader of a senior support group. She continues to
dance almost every week, even though at 89 she has some health problems.
Mickey still has a little remaining vision for which she is grateful, but
people think of her as charming and busy more than anything else. After the
first shock of poor vision, she has continued to enjoy life and to help
others.

For more information about blindness, please contact the Jacobus tenBroek
Library of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute at (410)
659-9314, or send an e-mail to  <mailto:jtblibrary at nfb.org>
JtBLibrary at nfb.org.

NFB
National Federation of the Blind
Marc Maurer, President
200 East Wells Street
      at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
Phone 410 659 9314
<http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org

LBM35P Rev. 3/12

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Meet Some Competent Seniors with Low Vision