Today, I thought I would go over some information regarding blindness. You always hear about discrimination against the disabled and yes, it's there and it's prevalent, but I also think much of it is just pure ignorance. My mom and I both believe that teaching people what to do or say around a person who is blind is much more helpful than getting angry and making a fool of yourself and the person at the same time.
So let's start off with some basics. These are VERY common questions, that we have been asked all of our knowing days.
1) Do you know sign language?
Uh, that would be a negative ghost rider. Most people who are blind read Braille, which is a series of dots. It is not a language, it is a code, and quite a fun one if you ever care to learn it. If you are sighted and you learn Braille, you would learn it visually, not tactually like a person with blindness.
2) Your hearing must be fantastic!
Actually, no. Mom's hearing is just like all of ours, she just uses it differently than we do. In the past few years, she has lost a great deal of hearing and has had to get hearing aides. It has been a very difficult adjustment for her. Can you imagine, being blind and losing hearing, your most valuable asset next to your sense of smell? It's been rough for her. I would also like to add that this has been a very difficult adjustment for me, because the woman refuses to wear the darn hearing aides and she can't hear sh!t! Someone talk to her puleeze!
3) Do you want to feel my face and see what I look like?
Absolutely not!!!! Seriously folks, do you really want a person feeling all over your face with their grubby hands? Blind people don't do that, I don't care what the movies tell you! Watch the movie Ray. Jamie Foxx did an amazing job portraying Ray Charles. He was right, they feel your arm, can listen to you breathe, listen to your voice, smell you, hear the way you walk; from that information they can gather all the data they need to know about you. How tall you are, if you're overweight or a twig, if you have bathed recently, if you're dressed up or casual, etc. They don't need to feel your face to know this stuff. Then later they will find a sighted person and get the full load of information on you and from that they will create an image of what they believe you look like to them. I, of course, resemble a fairy princess. ;o)
4) Where's your stick? Or Do you have a blind dog?
Let me first begin with the stick question. This is my personal pet peeve. It is called a cane. It does two things 1) it is to let you, the sighted person, know that they are blind and 2) it helps them navigate their surroundings. When they are holding a cane they can also hold onto your arm, but that is a choice for them. Not all people with blindness will accept help from others. It is a personal decision. Some individuals are quite scared of walking with a sighted person because not all, or should I say, not many do it correctly and it could cause the person to get hurt. If you are with a blind person, ask them what they would prefer. My mother personally chooses to walk on my left side. She holds my upper arm and as I walk that puts her a step behind me. She then can tell if she needs to step up or down. Some blind people do count steps but not all. It's really not a very reliable method. Stairs, yes, steps, not so much.
Now let's discuss this dog issue. First, it is not a blind dog. Come on now! If the dog was blind too, what good would it do? It is a seeing eye dog or a guide dog. Not all blind people have them. It is a personal choice. There is a lot of care, maintenance and training that a person must go through for a guide dog. It is a big decision and commitment. My mom has never had a guide dog, because she always had a desk job and felt it would not be fair for the dog to just sit under the desk all day. Also, the dogs must be trained to go where the person wants them to go, dogs don't just know to take them to the bus stop, or to the bathroom. They must be taught those things.
I will stop our lesson in blindness today, but I hope some of this information has been helpful to you. Remember there are no stupid questions....ok, really there are, but that's just between us.
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Since this blog is meant to share some of our daily activities, which we find mundane at times, but others tend to love, here is my first tale for your enjoyment.....Today, I had to take mom to the doctor to have blood work done. In this particular facility, the lab is it's own office. You go fill out the sign in sheet and wait your turn. I rarely go back with mom to have her labs drawn. I figure, let someone else take her for a little bit, she loves talking to everyone, so this is a perfect outing for her.
The lady calls her name I take mom to the nice, seemingly, innocent soul, and mom immediately begins to try and ask her for her left arm. The woman is a little slow on the uptake, if you catch my drift. Eventually, she figures out why mom needs her arm. I just like watching the show sometimes. It can be quite comical if you have seen it enough times. Anyways, 10 minutes later here comes mom. I gather her up and as we are waiting on the elevator she says, "They wanted a urine sample. The lady was going to come get you and I had to stop her and say, 'I don't want her in here for that.' Did she really think I needed you to hold a pee cup for me?"
Now friends, I love my mother, really, I do, but I am not going to hold a cup between her legs while she pees. There is a line. Blind or not, we all have lines we just don't cross. This being one of them.
Have a fantastic day!
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