[nfbwatlk] Blind Hope | Wapato man learns to live without sight, Yakima Herald-Republic, November 5, 2011

[Julie Warrington]

A very inspirational and exciting  story.  Best of luck in the future.
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Subject: [nfbwatlk] Blind Hope | Wapato man learns to live without 
sight,Yakima Herald-Republic, November 5, 2011


> Hello All. I thought this might be very interesting to share with you. It 
> is
> an article from the Yakima Herald Republic from Yakima, Washington
>
> link:
> http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/11/05/blind-hope-wapato-man-learns
> -to-live-without-sight?utm_source=feedburner
> <http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/11/05/blind-hope-wapato-man-learn
> s-to-live-without-sight?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=F
> eed%3A+yhronlinenews+%28Yakima+Herald-Republic+Today%27s+News%29>
> &utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+yhronlinenews+%28Yakima+Herald-Republi
> c+Today%27s+News%29
>
>
> Text: Tracy Sanchez listens to traffic as he navigates his way from the
> Washington State Department of Services for the Blind to a nearby library 
> as
> part of his mobility course on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. Although Sanchez
> still has some sight, he does the assignment wearing glasses that have 
> been
> painted black, so he can't see at all in order to hone the skills he will
> someday need as his vision fades.
>
>
> SEATTLE, Wash. -- He has blind faith -- faith in his teachers and
> classmates, faith that he can do anything.
> Even if the world around him is almost completely black.
> Because for Tracy "Dino" Sanchez of Wapato, believing is seeing.
> Sanchez is legally blind and rapidly losing any remaining eyesight.
> The 45 year old was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa nearly 20 years 
> ago,
> a genetic disorder that leads to incurable blindness.
> Because it's a progressive condition, Sanchez is preparing for the day --
> "the doctor says it could be tomorrow, a year or 20 years" -- when he 
> won't
> be able to see at all.
> And that has brought him to Seattle, where he's enrolled in a vocational
> rehabilitation program at the state Department of Services for the Blind.
> He's memorizing Braille, mastering computer skills, typing 25 words a 
> minute
> and learning to maneuver around the kitchen. He's even wielded a 9-inch
> radial arm saw.
> And in the process, he's envisioning a brighter future.
> For years Sanchez was able to make do, not giving in to the disability 
> that
> was inevitably going to catch up with him.
> An enrolled Yakama tribal member, after graduating from Wapato High 
> School,
> he dabbled in a variety of careers, starting with sailing on a crab boat 
> in
> Alaska, then working in sales, casinos and construction. It was during one
> of his building jobs that he realized he could no longer discern objects
> outdoors in sunlight.
> "I started to notice that my vision was getting worse," he recalls. "My
> enemy became those yellow signs that say 'wet floor.' I would always knock
> into them. But I was in denial for years."
> As it became increasingly more difficult to work, Sanchez qualified for
> Social Security disability payments.
> In many ways, that made him more pessimistic.
> "I felt hopeless and helpless," he says.
> However, Social Security personnel referred him to the Yakima office of 
> the
> Department of Services for the Blind, and that was the beginning of his
> renaissance.
> Although skeptical, he decided to enroll in the training center run by the
> blind services in Seattle. He realized he needed to learn how to function 
> if
> and when he becomes totally blind.
> That didn't make the transition any smoother, though.
> "When I first came, I was broken and angry. I couldn't drive," he says. "I
> thought, 'What am I going to do now?'"
> And then he saw the light.
> "I got my hopes up," he says, after finding out that the center helps
> develop skills to live independently and be successfully employed.
> "People who lose their vision have to learn to do things differently,"
> explains Keiko Namekata, training center program manager. "Our world is
> defined by what we see, so people who don't function visually have to 
> learn
> to compensate and fill in the gaps."
> Training takes between 25-30 weeks. Students attend classes from 8 a.m. to 
> 5
> p.m., five days a week. Of the seven instructors, three are blind or
> visually impaired. An average of 20 students attend at a time.
> The program is free to the students, funded through state and federal
> monies. The cost of fully training a student is about $11,000.
> Namekata, who lost her sight as a youngster due to a degenerative disease,
> says, "We focus on matching each person with a job that utilizes their
> skills, interests and talents, so they'll be successful for the long 
> term."
> A divorced father with three children and three grandchildren, Sanchez
> started at the training center last spring.
> "Everything I do here boosts my confidence," he notes.
> One recent day, Sanchez was getting ready for a test in his mobility 
> class.
> (Instructor Mary Lorenz calls it "How to get there and back.")
> Sanchez's homework was to research the location of the neighborhood 
> library
> and telephone to ask about steps and the entry way.
> With that complete, he grabs his cane and dons dark, light-blocking 
> glasses
> and begins walking down a hill three blocks to the library.
> Lorenz follows a discreet distance behind.
> He stops at a crosswalk, ears cocked. "I listen for traffic. I know when 
> it
> stops and goes, and I go with it," he says.
> He rotates his cane over the width of the sidewalk, feeling for the curb.
> He's doing well, but there is treachery ahead: cracks and bumps in the
> cement.
> He negotiates those successfully, but he's fooled by a side path that 
> veers
> from the main sidewalk into a park. He follows briefly, then pauses.
> "He realizes the traffic sounds are gone," his teacher says, sotto voce.
> Once Sanchez figures out his mistake, he rights himself and easily makes 
> it
> to the library.
> He's especially pleased that he wasn't fooled by a nearby parking lot that
> he has mistakenly strayed into on four previous trips.
> "I beat the parking lot!" he cheers.
> Later, he reflects, "It doesn't matter if you wander off. What matters is 
> if
> you get out of it."
> Lorenz gives him high marks. "You have good problem-solving skills. You're
> curious and alert."
> With that successful foray, Sanchez will be readying himself for the final
> exam, which involves traveling in a bus to downtown Seattle, entering a
> building through a revolving door, riding an escalator and returning to 
> the
> school.
> He's already cooked an eight-course meal from scratch, including ribs, 
> baked
> beans and potato salad -- all the while wearing his dark eye coverings.
> That was in his home economics class, where he also mastered sewing, house
> cleaning, ironing and doing laundry. Again, without being able to see what
> he was doing.
> Instructor Donna Lawrence points out, "Our whole goal is independence."
> She adds, "(Sanchez) got so excited to cook; he'd never done it before. 
> He's
> so inspiring, a stellar person."
> Lawrence isn't the only one who finds Sanchez's enthusiasm infectious.
> Classmate Tim Brown notes, "Dino is one of those guys who draws people in.
> He's very gifted."
> Sanchez's final class of the day is wood shop, where he's making a 
> headboard
> for his bed. Relying on instinct and instructor Bronson Goo's guidance, he
> uses a router to carve a notch along an oak board.
> Sanchez has taken on a leadership role during his training, serving as
> president of the student body. He works closely on school projects with
> another Lower Valley resident, Monica Salazar, from Granger.
> Also legally blind, Salazar eventually hopes to become a massage therapist
> or work in a preschool.
> Sanchez plans next to pursue a degree in business management. Ultimately, 
> he
> hopes to own his own business.
> He's not sure what yet, but he's sure of one thing:
> "I could have been one of those guys who took social security disability 
> and
> done nothing else. But," he emphasizes, "I want to live.
> "I think I make the guy standing on the corner holding a cardboard sign 
> look
> bad because I'm doing something for myself."
> That doesn't mean he's immune to down times, yearning for enough vision to
> choose any job he wants.
> "I wouldn't wish this on anybody. I really enjoyed construction jobs,
> working outside and getting dirty. I wish I still could do that."
> Yet most people who know Sanchez remark on his determination and charm,
> rather than his waning eyesight.
> "He's a wonderful person, such a great personality," says Anna Marrs, a
> rehabilitation tech in the Yakima office of the services for the blind.
> She points out that when Sanchez settles on a career, he'll be joining 
> many
> other visually impaired people employed in the state. She notes that 147
> people with low vision found jobs in Washington last year.
> Sanchez fully intends to boost that number.
> "Life is always going to bring you down. But it's your choice to get up 
> and
> do something about it."
>
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