For a blind senior

It must be awfully difficult for one who has lost their vision later in life, especially so for the one who has lost it as a senior. No, I am not there as yet, but I often think of the one who has lost sight in their latter years.

There is so much for them to learn. So much for them to adjust to and so much for them to accept. It is really not easy for a blind senior, but you know what? Technology is pounding the trail and hopefully blind seniors will be beneficiaries of this marvelous trend.

Much is being done to help blind seniors adjust. No, it is definitely not impossible, just something else for society to deal with and find solutions to. For, blind or not, we will all become seniors one day in the future.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day. Come by and visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

My internal rules

I don’t think my internal rules are really that much different from those of a sighted person but there may be a few exceptions. So, here goes.

When I need to bend down, I make sure that I am out of reach of the end of a table or counter. This way, I avoid hitting my head or face when I go to stand up.

All doors to closets and cupboards are always closed so that I do not bump into an unsuspecting open door. However, doors to rooms, kitchen, and bathrooms, are always left open.

All plates containing food and cups and glasses containing liquid are placed well away from the edges of counters and tables.

Chairs are always tucked in so as to avoid falling over them.

The lids to my toilet bowls are always in the down position so as to avoid anything falling in.

Handles of pots and pans when placed on the stove are positioned well away from me.

Of course, I have many other internal rules but this is a start for now.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and tell others about my internal rules. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

What you don’t see...

Some may finish off this sentence with: "you don’t miss," and in the case of many blind persons, it is very true. However, for me, it is not always the case. Sometimes I play a game with myself and say to myself that what I don’t see I don’t miss and I relate this to a dirty kitchen or a dirty bathroom. Sometimes this works but sometimes not.

Having had good functional vision before, it is sometimes difficult not to miss what I could have seen. Especially so when I am watching TV and yearn to know what is going on during those quiet times if I don’t have descriptive video to help me out. Then again, if newscasters are describing horrible crime scenes during the news cast, I certainly do not miss not being able to see that. I miss seeing activities in those crowded malls. Tables loaded with food at buffets, ice skaters in a rink, Christmas scenes, blue skies and green oceans, but most of all, flickering candles and a Church all dressed up for the Nativity at Christmas.

What you don’t see can definitely work both ways. You can either avoid those terrible scenes of disaster or you can miss out on pure beauty.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my thoughts with others.
Visit www.rnib.org to learn more.