[Ohio-talk] DON'T YOU JUST HATE THIS!

[Deborah Kendrick]

Dear JW, 
Several years ago, I interviewed and wrote a story about a brilliant man who
happened to be both blind and of Japanese-American descent.  He told me
that, although his wife and children all experienced some discrimination or
misunderstanding due to being Asian, in his case, the blindness was always
first.  Blind first, Asian second.

That seems to be the case no matter what other characteristics we may have.
As you may know, I had a terrible accident and have been in a wheelchair for
eight weeks.  I am experiencing the same thing in this instance.  Physical
therapists come and all I want to do is work on exercises that will
strengthen my leg, my core, my whole body, build flexibility, and make me as
ready as can be for learning to walk again.
Inevitably, what they see is blindness.  They assume that my life consists
of sitting here in this chair waiting for them to show up.  They routinely
ask how much I can see -- finding the answer of zero unfathomable.  Today, I
learnted that a woman who has been here four times had been signing her
tablet for me to prove that she was here because she was afraid to ask the
blind woman if she could sign her  name.

Every day, I give thanks that, for so many years, I have been only blind, so
much more navigable are its challenges than not being able to stand or walk.

And yet, blindness consistently overshadows any other difference in the eyes
of the uninformed.  
Thanks for sharing your story.  It makes me feel less alone.  And thanks for
listening to mine!

Peace,
Deborah

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Smith, JW
via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2017 11:44 AM
To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List (ohio-talk at nfbnet.org)
Cc: Smith, JW
Subject: [Ohio-talk] DON'T YOU JUST HATE THIS!

After my visit to my doctor yesterday, I was sitting in the reception area
waiting for my ride and a gentleman asked me if I was blind and after I
confirmed his suspicions, he told me just how sorry he was that I was blind
at least 5 times in about 7 minutes!

No matter how many times I told him that life was good and that he should
not feel that way he kept on saying it.

Needless to say, I was not unhappy when he was called for his appointment
before my ride came for me.

I don't know about you but I get so tired of these kind of exchanges and
interactions and they seem to happen when my patience is fairly low!

Oh well, there are none so blind as those that will not see or who refuse to
understand that one can have a productive and satisfying life even without
physical sight.

GOOD GOD!

Jw

Dr. jw Smith
School of Communication Studies
Scripps College of Communication
Schoonover Center, Rm. 427
Athens, OH 45701
smithj at ohio.edu<mailto:smithj at ohio.edu>
T: 740-593-4838


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