[stylist] consternation! and befuddlement!<sp>

Fri Mar 27 03:03:32 UTC 2009

I never had much vision at all and yet I used it to the best of my ability. 
There are many days when I sit and have pity parties for myself because I 
totally lost it about nine years ago.  But where has the self-pity gotten 
me?  Sometimes I think I'm losing my mind because although I know all the 
blindness skills--I learned them as a small child--fear rules.  It's not my 
blindness that limits me from doing anything and I know it.  It's fear that 
rules what I will or won't, can or can't do.  And yet, if I had that little 
bit of vision I'd probably still be a stay-at-home mom.
Some years ago I would have opted for that surgery if it were available, 
also.  As John said before, you'd surely be disappointed by what you saw. 
I'm glad I can't watch movies, your imagination is greatly hindered by what 
visually plays out before you.
It's hard some days.  I really miss seeing the sun but I can feel it and I 
can smell it in the hair sun-warmed children.
I'm glad there are people out there to help us get to the place where they 
are.
Barbara

If wisdom's ways you wisely seek, five things observe with care:  of whom 
you speak, to whom you speak, and how and when and where.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Frank Lordi" <timber_wolf899 at yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 6:08 PM
To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [stylist] consternation! and befuddlement!<sp>

>
> Pardon but i'm still hugely confused.     Blindness is not a sever 
> disability?    I guess that boils down to what you mean by disability.
>
>
> For me, can i function with my poor sight?  yes
> has it been a major factor in making me who i am today?  yes
> Have i adapted?  yes
>
> If a surgeon offered me a safe ethical procedure to repair all damage and 
> give me 20/20 vision, would i take it?  Good grief yes!
>
>
> --- On Thu, 3/26/09, helene ryles <dreamavdb at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: helene ryles <dreamavdb at googlemail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Does anyone want to be blind?
>> To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Date: Thursday, March 26, 2009, 11:43 AM
>> Judith and Alan:
>> Thanks for the advise. Dad was better then he was last
>> year, but there
>> is still a long way to go. I've accepted blindness.
>>
>> Yes, I think doctor's have got it wrong. I think that
>> they see
>> blindness as something to be cured from (if possible)
>> because their
>> perseption of blindness is of a severe disability which it
>> isn't. With
>> the right kind of training a blind person only has a minor
>> disability
>> not a severe one.
>>
>> Say take a child who is born with ROP who has EVERYTHING
>> done to save
>> what little vision they've got. They spend their
>> childhood struggling
>> with very severe sight loss but since the parents put such
>> a lot of
>> effort into saving that little sight, they want the child
>> to be as
>> 'normal' as possible which means no braille, no no
>> cane. That kid is
>> relying on their weakest sense. Then their retina detaches
>> itself
>> completely. They are no longer at the stage where braille
>> can be
>> learnt quite as easily. They are say in 11th grade and are
>> supposed to
>> be studying but now they have this problem of not being
>> able use
>> vision any more. Having to learn braille by touch. Having
>> to learn
>> long cane, all that on top of studying. If they fail then
>> they might
>> blame this on the sight lose, but that wouldn't be
>> true. They failed
>> because the family and their doctor clung too much on their
>> sight. So
>> once it went. Their whole way of life went too.
>>
>> If Their parents hadn't done that. Hadn't spent so
>> much time and
>> effort at the eye doctors to make the child have better
>> vision. Put
>> all that effort into learning braille, long cane, daily
>> living etc...
>> They really wouldn't have needed to fail.
>>
>> Of course a 3rd option could have been to have the best of
>> both
>> worlds. But that's another problem. The fact that so
>> few low vision
>> kids learn braille or other blind skills.
>>
>> Helene.
>>
>> On 26/03/2009, Judith Bron <jbron at optonline.net>
>> wrote:
>> > Perhaps we should be sending this thread to doctors.
>> As medical
>> > professionals they are committed to saving as much
>> sight as possible.
>> > According to this thread some of their treatments and
>> procedures are wrong.
>> > Do any of us have the right to tell them not to do
>> what they strive to do?
>> > Judith
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "James Canaday M.A. N6YR"
>> <n6yr at sunflower.com>
>> > To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing
>> List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> > Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 10:29 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [stylist] Does anyone want to be blind?
>> >
>> >
>> >> yes,
>> >> reading with my one squinty eye gave me headaches
>> too.
>> >> personally I think far far too often the educrats
>> resort to "sight saving"
>> >>
>> >> techniques when they should push braille and other
>> blindness methods and
>> >> skills.
>> >> jc
>> >>
>> >> Jim Canaday M.A.
>> >> Lawrence, KS
>> >>
>> >> At 07:06 PM 3/25/2009, you wrote:
>> >>>Jim: I can identify with that since I was glad
>> to lose the rest of my
>> >>>hearing for similar reasons. Being presurized
>> into verbal
>> >>>communication methods that I struggled with
>> with powerful migrane
>> >>>inducing hearing aids. Phew! I was glad when
>> that was over.
>> >>>
>> >>>Helene
>> >>>
>> >>>On 26/03/2009, James Canaday M.A.  N6YR
>> <n6yr at sunflower.com> wrote:
>> >>> > once I became blind I was then taught
>> braille and the audio reading
>> >>> > methods.  that made reading much much
>> more pleasurable and
>> >>> > easier!  "sight saving" meant I
>> was reading with my one squinty eye
>> >>> > peering through jewelers' loop
>> magnification lenses that came down in
>> >>> > front of my glasses lense.  I would not
>> have gone to college if I had
>> >>> > not lost my sight at age thirteen.
>> >>> > jc
>> >>> >
>> >>> > Jim Canaday M.A.
>> >>> > Lawrence, KS
>> >>> >
>> >>> > At 06:38 PM 3/25/2009, you wrote:
>> >>> >>I wasn't really thinking of people
>> already blind although I've heard
>> >>> >>of blind people saying that blindness
>> was the best thing that happened
>> >>> >>to them. Wasn't that a line at the
>> end of one of Robert's thought
>> >>> >>provokers?
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >>I was thinking more of sighted people
>> with a disorder called BIID
>> >>> >>where people want to be disabled:
>> Usually amputee's but I've heard
>> >>> >>some of them wanting to be deaf or
>> blind.
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >>Also I know of someone who was born
>> blind, regained his sight and is
>> >>> >>now losing it again due to Glycoma and
>> he says he is glad to be blind
>> >>> >>as he says he was meant to be blind.
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >>As for me, I make deafblindness part
>> of my lifestyle. It's been a
>> >>> >>concious choice for me to fully
>> embrace being a deafblind person and
>> >>> >>move on. It's not easy to begin
>> with, but once one fully adapts it's
>> >>> >>no big deal. I believe that humans are
>> a very adaptible species that
>> >>> >>can manage perfectly well minus one or
>> two senses. It's not the
>> >>> >>tragedy that people make of it.
>> It's no worse or better then being
>> >>> >>sighted. Just differance and it's
>> the differances that are hard at
>> >>> >>first, not the blindness
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >>Helene
>> >>> >>
>> >>> >>On 25/03/2009, LoriStay at aol.com
>> <LoriStay at aol.com> wrote:
>> >>> >> > Not if they aren't there
>> already.   What does wanting have to do
>> >>> >> > with
>> >>> >> > it?
>> >>> >> > Lori
>> >>> >> > In a message dated 3/24/09
>> 8:15:48 PM, timber_wolf899 at yahoo.com
>> >>> >> > writes:
>> >>> >> >
>> >>> >> >
>> >>> >> >>
>> >>> >> >> does anyone want to be
>> blind?
>> >>> >> >>
>> >>> >> >>
>> >>> >> >>
>> >>> >> >
>> >>> >> >
>> >>> >> >
>> >>> >> >
>> >>> >> > **************
>> >>> >> > Feeling the pinch at the grocery
>> store?  Make dinner for $10 or
>> >>> >> > less.
>> (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000001)
>> >>> >> >
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