Problems with prescriptions

In a nutshell, it is a huge problem. I am unable to read them for myself and I still have to depend on sighted assistance to have them read to me. If there is no one around or if the doctor has not explained them to me, then I am in trouble.

I have a terrific family doctor who tells me what she is doing, that is, what type of prescription she is writing out for me. But I do not always get the same pharmacist who tells me exactly what the prescription is, and what it contains. Maybe there is some type of gadget out there that will help me to read prescriptions; hopefully someone will read this and let me know.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to share my blogs with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

Bird watching with Dad

Almost everything that I did with my dad was fun, exciting, and interesting and bird watching was no different.

When my vision was not nearly enough to see the birds, dad did my bird watching for me as I sat beside him. He would describe each bird to me as they passed within visual distance and I had so much fun trying to visualize them. I had no trouble entering into a world of my own. A world where dad's calm and gentle voice did the narration; he described everything to me and did not leave out any details. He even added his own sense of dry humor to it all.

Our bird watching usually took place in the public gardens, in the savanna, and on the beach. Then when I was able to see the birds for myself, Dad continued his commentaries but was always happy whenever I could describe what I saw to him. The most memorable moments for me were being able to see the bright colors of the birds and trying to track their flight. Ah yes! Bird watching with Dad will forever remain in my memory bank.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility consultant, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and tell others about my story. Visit www.sterlingcreations.ca to learn more about me.

Vision was instantaneous

This is what happened when I received my very first cornea transplant so many years ago. Vision was instantaneous!

On a very cool spring day at the Montreal General Hospital, or should I say that it was a day at the tail end of winter but very much like a spring day, Dr. Joel Rosen performed a corneal transplant to my right eye. The memory is still so fresh in my mind. The Montreal Canadiens hockey team was well on their way to yet another Stanley Cup and I was just dying for Dr. Rosen to finish his magic.

The surgery lasted for about two hours and at the end of it all DR Joel pronounced that it was successful. I was then wheeled back to my room and after having drank a glass of milk to wash down 12 pills to ward against infection and rejection, I was left to lie quietly. There I was with a patch over my right eye but there were a few tiny holes in the patch and this is how I discovered that vision was instantaneous. Lo and behold! I could see the daylight, see the bars at the side of my bed, and even see the color of my pajamas! Yes, color, color! I could see and I was off to the races! The rest is history and stories for other days.

I drifted into sleep not too long after my discovery and dreamed dreams of happier times: times of discovery, exploration, and adventure.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my story with others. Come by anytime and visit me at www.donnajodhan.com.

Ocean versus swimming pool

As a blind swimmer, much of the sighted world may think that my preference would be for a swimming pool. Right? Wrong! My preference is for the ocean. True it is that a swimming pool has walls and I'd be much better at finding my way around. Probably so but the ocean is still my preference.

Oceans have currents and swimming pools do not but my preference is still for the ocean. Oceans have sand that many people do not like the feel of on their skin and swimming pools do not. But my preference is still for the ocean, and why? In an ocean I can swim freely without having to be concerned about bumping into walls. I feel less inhibited in the ocean and I believe that swimming in the ocean is healthier for you.

I love the feel of the rise and fall of the water in the ocean as opposed to the water in a swimming pool. I love to feel the gentle movement of the current as it nudges me along. I don't this in a swimming pool and I can ride the waves in the ocean. Not possible in a swimming pool. Some may argue that a swimming pool may be safer for a blind person to swim in, but I may disagree.

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

Remembering my dogs

They are always close to me, through the power of my memory bank. They were my most avid listeners, they never turned their backs on me, and I shall always remember them.

Oh, how I still remember the sounds of their voices. Yella, a fat female Lab with a loud but firm voice. Tiger, a male Lab with a voice that resonated authority. Lion, a male retriever with a voice that was filled with a bit of timidity and yet a bit of bravery.

Each dog had his/her own unique personality, but at the end of the day I am very sure they each knew that I was blind. They never complained whenever I failed to notice them lying in the way. As a matter of fact, they often tried to scramble out of my way if they felt that I was coming towards them. That was Yella's trademark. They were patient, eager, and always willing to play games with me. They ran with me on the beach, walked with me in the gardens, and let me give them frequent baths. We frolicked in the waves, ran around the house, and they were my first in line customers whenever I played restaurant as a kid. Ah yes! Those were my dogs and they will forever be remembered.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and tell others about my dogs. Come by any time and visit me at www.donnajodhan.com where you can enjoy my detective audio mysteries.

At the post office

Always a line up! It never fails but that's okay. I always have to laugh to myself each time I visit the post office to mail my letters or parcels. I have been going there for years and you would think that the post master should know me by now. He seems to, but it is always the same.

I am not mad by any means, simply entertained. He sometimes shouts at me because he feels that I am unable to hear him. Maybe he feels that because I cannot see him then I am also unable to hear very well. He is nice apart from this but then comes more. He is constantly telling me that I will have to pay too much to send my parcel via air mail; I should send it via surface mail and each time I have to explain gently to him that my preference is to send it via air mail.

Then, instead of asking me the questions, he almost always asks whoever is accompanying me. I of course speak up for myself but he still continues to ask whoever is with me. Entertaining? It sure is because I know that he means well in his own way.

I'm Donna j. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my story. Come by and visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

No packing at the supermarket

At the best of times, the supermarket where I shop is super busy but I almost always run into problems whenever they are unable to help me pack. It is a problem for me because it takes me longer than the average person to pack my groceries after they have been cashed. This is only logical because for a blind person, it takes longer to perform tasks such as these.

On the whole, my supermarket is great but I have been to some places where there are no packing services available. My best friend has told me that what I should do is this: Simply take all of my goods and put them back into the shopping buggy. Then go off to the side and take my time to pack it in my own way.

This should work, but knowing me, I am always so nervous whenever I have to hurry my tasks.

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

Pencils and styluses

I still remember the very first day when my mom and my granny took me to a school for blind kids; this was going to be my primary school for the first few years of my life. I remembered taking a small school bag that contained, among other things, pencils and an exercise book. Then came the first surprise of my life! The teacher gently told me that at this school I was not going to use pencils and an exercise book. I would be using something called a stylus and pocket slate.

Needless to say that I was confused, upset, and could not understand why. If my brothers used them then why was I not going to be allowed to do the same? Then sometime not too long after, it all came together in my little mind. I could not use pencils and exercise books like my brothers Robert and Jeffrey; I could not see to write so I now had to enter the world of touch techniques to help me read and write. I must say that I took it all in with interest and my great curiosity and affinity for learning soon took over.

Each day I could not wait to rush home to tell Mom and Granny about my adventures and then Dad would listen intently but still he continued to help me keep my feet in the sighted world. You see, he spent endless hours teaching me to count, read, and spell and he even described the printed letters to me.

These three marvelous persons were my teachers and sure helped me to have the best of both worlds.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to come visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

The cane and the dog

I once asked my friend Cindy to enlighten me about the differences between a dog and a cane. In other words, the advantages and disadvantages. I am primarily a cane user and Cindy is presently a guide dog user and has in the past used a cane. Here are Cindy's perspectives.

If you are a cane user you have to find obstacles with your cane but if you are a guide dog user then your dog will almost always find those obstacles for you and lead you away from them. This certainly helps when there are possible hanging obstacles in the way as one's cane cannot find these but a guide dog can see them and avoid them.

I have found that in some instances, a person with a guide dog gets assistance more quickly than does a person with a cane. A person with a guide dog is more easily noticed than a person with a cane.

For me, I opt for my cane as I find it easier to travel with it and I am more used to it. I have been blind all of my life and I probably would have difficulty trusting my guide dog to tell me where to go and where not to go when picking my way around.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit me at www.donnajodhan.com to listen to some of my Detective DJ audio mysteries.

My mission to educate

This, for me, will probably be an ongoing mission, maybe for a lifetime. It is my mission because I honestly feel that it is the only way to help society better understand the world of a blind person. There is no way that we, as blind persons, should or could ever expect a sighted person to fully understand our perspectives, our attitudes, and our experiences. It's called put yourself in our shoes or walk a mile in our shoes.

I do not believe that the world owes me anything; it is what my parents brought me up to believe and I'd gladly use this to help others. So, what am I saying for today? In order to bridge the gaps, break down the barriers, and narrow the field, I need to keep on educating others.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to go out there and spread the word. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.

The University of London, England experience

For me, if I am getting ready to pursue any type of distance learning program, I take quite a bit of time to choose the distance learning school that best suits my needs and there is one very important factor that is a must for me. That is, to ensure that the distance learning program in question is accessible. In short, that I can have easy access to the program's website, the web content, the texts, and anything else that is in electronic format.

This is why I chose the University of London, England, to pursue my present Law Degree. Not only did they provide all of this, but their staff is tops! They surely get it when it comes to providing materials in accessible format and no questions asked. Even when I had some difficulties setting up the processes for taking exams here in Canada. The goodly staff at the U of London was right there to help sort out the challenges and put a good light on things for me. So a huge bouquet of thanks to the U of London's special needs office and their staff.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to come and visit me anytime at www.donnajodhan.com.

The Apple experience

Whenever I encounter a company who really gets it, and I mean gets it, I am always happy to share my experience. This time it is Apple, and call me biased but Apple is really out there and ahead of the game when it comes to awareness of what a blind person's needs are.

Not too long ago, my friend and I had to visit a busy Apple store to get some help with my IPhone. Lo and behold! As soon as the customer rep saw my IPhone the first thing that she asked was: "Where can we find an overlay like what you have on your IPhone to help other blind customers?" I was told that several blind customers frequently visit this particular store and that they would probably be quite interested in the overlay that I have on my IPhone.

The overlay in question consists of Braille dots that have been strategically placed on the screen of my IPhone. I told them where they could find such overlays at www.atguys.com. They are another company that is totally customer service oriented.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit me any time at www.sterlingcreations.ca.

Those feisty eye drops

Many people have difficulty putting in their eye drops, but for me as a blind person it has never been much trouble. When I had enough vision to do it properly it was no problem and now, with precious little vision, it is still not a problem for me.

So how do I do it? First, I shake my bottle well. Next I remove the cover, then sit in an easy chair and then put my head back. I make sure that I am nice and comfortable before bringing the bottle up to my face and then I gently push my upper lid upwards. Next I carefully position the opening of the bottle over my opened eye and then ever so gently, I squeeze and presto! The eye drop comes into my eye and I feel it going in.

Sometimes the eye drop is a bit feisty in that it may refuse to go in and I feel it trickling down my cheek but this does not happen too often. Just my experience with eye drops and you can just go out there and share my words with others.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and encouraging you to visit www.nfb.org to learn more.