Long white cane

It was several months after falling down the stairs at home before I resumed my mobility training and was eager to get on with it. Before I started on my long cane training, I did a refresher’s course which was proved to be very useful and did help to improve my confidence. It was now the turn of the long cane, the first four sessions were held at a Community Hall. The purpose of the long white cane is to allow the user to detect obstacles at ground level that could be hazardous such as kerbs, steps, cars parking on a path even though it is against the law while allowing users to use their remaining vision to look ahead and to look from one side to the other and to look down just occasionally. One of the symptoms of my eye disease is a loss of peripheral vision which is often called "tunnel vision"; this suggests what a good mobility tool the long white cane could be for people who have sight problems and who have lost some or all their peripheral vision.

 First I practised walking with the cane in the hall and then had a go on the stairs; I was okay on the stairs/steps. As you will already know there are different types of stairs, some have handrails; there are some with landings and some with turns. When a handrail is present I have to put the hand that is nearest on the handrail, my other hand works the cane. I rest the tip of the cane on the second step in front of me and as I go down the stairs the cane tip slides forward and drops down to the next step. When it stops dropping and maybe slides a bit on the ground then I know that I am two steps from the bottom. When going up I do the same basic thing except the cane won’t do the slide and drop thing. I hold the cane, gently keeping it upright and then lightly press the cane against the step and slide it up to the next step keeping the cane ahead of me by two steps. When the cane reaches the top it has no step to press against so I will know that I have two steps left before I reach the top. To find out how wide the stairs are, I move the cane across from one side to the other and this will also tell me if there are any objects on the stairs.

Later, I practised walking along a pavement which I found very troublesome because of the poor condition of the pavements, my long cane kept finding the holes and getting trapped, then there was a car parked half way on to the pavement. On approaching a corner I was told to pay attention to what clues was available, as it was a route that I would use regularly and it was essential for me to have a clue. After sorting that out I learned how to get round the corner. Before crossing the road, I had to listen for any traffic coming and determine which way they were travelling, I found this hard at first but with practice found that I was able to distinguish which way the traffic was travelling. If I could hear traffic coming and I was standing close to the kerb, drivers will most likely think I am trying to cross the road and will probably stop and shout to me that it’s okay to cross over. I have been told to say thank you and then wave them on. When standing at the kerb if I could not hear any traffic coming or see any traffic with the limited vision that I have got then I would cross the road otherwise I step back and wait a bit longer. We practised crossing the road and then it was time to return home and this was when the problems started!  I was facing the sun and could not see a thing, unfortunately the glare from the sun makes my eyes run and then everything became blurred and I could not see where I was going making me feel disorientated.  I was told to try and keep going which I did because I knew that my rehabilitation worker would stay near me and eventually I was in the shade. It left me feeling a bit insecure and lacking confidence but I intend to persevere with the training but I did wonder what I had let myself in for! 

When walking along with the long white cane it would sometimes get trapped in a hole or a rough area which result in me getting a jab in my abdomen. I avoided this by holding the cane a little to the right of my body; I found it easier and was told that as long as I was comfortable, it would be satisfactory. After a couple of sessions though, I started to enjoy working with the long cane but I still had my reservations.  Would the long cane be a hindrance when in busy places, would people move out of the way and let me pass or would they trip over my cane, they may not see me coming probably because they are busy talking on their mobile phone or they may be looking in a shop window and suddenly turn and trip over my cane.

The long white cane that I am using has a roller tip which maintains contact with the ground as I walk along, this will indicate changes in the surface such as when I am walking on the pavement and I accidently walk on to the grass verge, I will immediately notice the change in texture and then realise that I have walked on to the grass verge.

After several sessions with the long white cane I found that I was becoming more confident and I was beginning to enjoy walking out with the long white cane. I never thought that I would ever say that!  The long white cane is a very useful and effective mobility tool and though I resisted at first to learn how to use the long white cane, I am so pleased that my rehabilitation worker quietly explained to me the advantages of the long white cane. There were some problems, I found that there were times when I had difficulty in distinguishing between the green grass and dark or mid-grey pavements which was mainly because I could not distinguish between the two colours and so would sometimes end up walking on the grass, however I was shown how to overcome this problem.

To be honest, any journey that I take can be dangerous, for roads and streets can be hostile to anyone with sight loss. Pavements and road works have to be navigated, and there are the cars parking on the pavements just to name a few. On one occasion, I was out walking using my long white cane near my home when I heard a voice saying “Excuse me please”. I was not certain where the sound was coming from but soon realised that it was coming from behind when a girl, aged about eight, on her cycle literally flew past me. I was so pleased that I did not stop and turn around or she could have knocked me over.

Guide Dog

I decided to apply for some mobility help as I felt that there was a need for a change which was to gain some independent and dignity. I asked my husband Ronald and daughters what their thoughts were regarding the possibility of applying for a guide dog and they were delighted with the suggestion.  I got in touch with the "Guide dogs Association for the Blind" and after several meetings with their representatives, found that yes, a guide dog was an option. At first, it was suggested that I had some training with the long cane but I refused without any hesitation with that option, it really did not appeal to me but later I changed my mind and started my training about a month later. I knew that I should be more independent and less dependent on other people for help but to go out without having to wait for someone to come along when available was very nice.  I have been very lucky to have a friend who often went into town shopping with me.

About two months into my training, I fell down the stairs at our home and I certainly would not recommend that anyone should try it for I was in pain for months and lost a lot of missed mobility training. I really do not know why I fell, did I miss a step or did I misjudge the stairs, I really do not know. I asked my elder daughter to put a message on the private family website for me and this is what she put:

“Just wanted to let everyone know that, although she will be fine, we have just spent the day at A & E with Mum. This morning Mum decided to try for a career change as a stunt woman. She has fallen down the stairs at home - full length from top to bottom, doing a somersault on the way down. She knew she had hurt her back so stayed very still until the ambulance arrived to take her to hospital. She has been incredibly lucky and not broken anything, although she is incredibly sore and bruised. She was looked after very well and fitted with a neck brace, until she was x-rayed. Unfortunately she enjoyed it in A & E so much that when they discharged her and she was leaving she promptly fainted so had to be re-admitted for a couple of hours until she felt she was ready to go home. She is back at home this evening and Dad is looking after her. Joking apart, it could have been a lot worse if she had not acted on instinct during the fall and stayed still until the ambulance arrived - Mum asked me to let you all know. Get well soon Mum XX “

It was several months before I resumed my mobility training and was eager to get on with it. I started on my long cane training but first I did a refresher’s course which was to prove very useful and did help to improve my confidence, then it was the turn of the long cane. Will talk about this next week.

My hobbies

My hobbies are photography, family history, music and computers. I had my first camera, a folding Brownie camera way back in 1952 and I still have it and will not part with it for sentimental reasons, it was a present from my mother and father.

 At present, I have a Canon Power Shot SX 200 which I believe to be a great little camera and I have been able to take some great images, well I think so! One summer, Ronald and I went to the New Forest with Rosie, my sister and her husband, Paul. We all had our cameras with us and took lots of images. One lovely afternoon at Keyhaven, we were sitting on a bench watching some gulls flying around when I told Rosie that I wished that I could take some shots of the gulls but explained that I was not quick enough. Paul called over that he had some cold chips in his bag and that he would throw them in to the air so that I could take some shots of the gulls. My first attempt was a failure because I was not aiming my camera in the same direction as Paul was throwing the chips so we decided to have another go making sure that we both knew what we had to do. This time, I held my camera up and using the wide angle took some shots of the gulls and because of the great fixture “trimming” on my camera, with a few clicks I was able to produce some lovely close-ups.

 From this photo, I was able to obtain the following photo.

 The first time that I became interested in family history was when I was looking at some old photographs, birth, marriage and death certificates and decided that I wanted to know more about my ancestors especially my mother who died when I was thirteen years old and did not know much about her family. For a number of years I have been tracing my family history, visiting archives, libraries, and asking for help from many organisations devoted to family history. It was difficult trying to find my way around the increasing number of resources on the internet but I had a lot of help from other researchers especially Rosie.  I found that using the internet for research was very popular probably because when exchanging information with fellow researchers it was much quicker and more efficient using my computer. I have exchanged information with researched from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Channel Islands, USA, Ireland and England to mention just a few. My husband and I have been to different Archives and Record Offices, to different Churches so that we could look at the headstones and sometimes we had strangers helping us. We had lots of fun and enjoyed meeting other people who had similar interests and enjoyed talking to some of the vicars who were very helpful. We got wet many times and ended up with muddy shoes but we still had a great time. I have found lots of information regarding my family and my husband's family, and as it is an on-going project I am hoping that other family members will carry on with the work.

There is nothing I like better than to sit in a comfortable chair and listen to music particularly from the musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber. A group of us went to see “The Sound of Music” starring Connie Fisher in London, I really enjoyed it though the light conditions made it difficult for me at times otherwise it was fantastic. I have no particular favourite singer, as there are so many that I enjoy listening to such as Russell Watson, Susan Boyle, Lesley Garrett, Katharine Jenkins and Elaine Page. I do intend to have the music on too loud so have started to wear headphone that I find to be so much better.

I do not know what I would do without my computer; I enjoy surfing the web, researching my family tree, being the administrator of our private family web site and doing my blog on Blogger. There is so much that you can do and it is a lovely way to keep in touch with family and friends.

Blind v Deaf

I have often been asked the question “Which do you think is the worse – to be deaf or to be blind?” I find, however that comparing the effect of my handicaps to be rather futile. If one answers, “It is worse to be deaf,” blind people tend to become offended, and if one answers blindness, then deaf people become very defensive. I have found that over the years the sum of my two handicaps creates a greater handicap than either the problem of partial sight or partial hearing does alone.

It must be hard for hearing people to imagine what it is like to be deaf or blind but when hearing and sighted people consider their friends and relatives with these two handicaps, they should try to understand what that person might have done if they had not been so handicapped. For instance, the friend might have been a good pilot or a professional footballer or cricketer.  On the other hand, they have to appreciate that the individual may well have gained tremendous practical skills or insights because of their handicaps. 

Helen Keller, the well-known American deaf/blind graduate, authoress and legend was asked which of her two disabilities was the worse and this was her reply;

"I am just as deaf as I am blind. The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus – the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir, and keeps us in the intellectual company of man. "

  Here is another quote;

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."

Helen Keller

What is retinitis pigmentosa?

When I joined the BRPS in 1981, I was able to find out more about retinitis pigmentosa.  First of all I was told that retinitis pigmentosa does not describe one disease but a group of hereditary diseases of the retina. The first symptom to appear is difficulty seeing in low light conditions such as outdoors at dusk or in a dimly-lit room and is referred to as night-blindness. This is followed by the narrowing of the field vision which is called “Tunnel vision”.  This information indicated that my field vision was actually narrowing hence why I was bumping into things and not because of clumsiness as first thought. I found it difficult to understand at first because when I am looking around I do not see any objects standing in my way, in other words my brain is being told that there is nothing there but when I do actually bump into them or knock something over, I often end up with lots of bruises as if I have been in a fight!  I cannot see people standing by my side or when young children stand in front of me because I have lost my side vision; it always worries me when there are small children around me.  Furthermore, I can see no point in worrying about objects being in my way until I bump into them because until I do, they do not exist. I regularly check my vision field and I am aware that it is getting worse.

So, now we know that I bump into people because I fail to see them standing near or coming towards me due to a loss of side vision, meaning the area surrounding my visual field; I miss objects above, below and to both sides. The combination of hearing and sight loss also makes it difficult for me to realise when someone is approaching me from the side and often from the front. Imagine what it is like in a supermarket when shoppers with their trolleys are approaching you in all directions then you will realise how difficult it is for me to cope with this. Some people even leave their trolley unattended in the middle of the gangway and that is when I nearly always accidentally bump into them because I do not see them. There I am apologising while the owner gives me a disapproving look until they see my white stick then it is all smiles and they are apologising too! To solve this I push the trolley and whoever is with me hold the trolley at the front and guide it along. As I have got a computer, I decided to try  shopping  online but I was having some difficulty browsing through the items and it took me so long that I decided it was not for me. My daughter, Anthea told me that if I emailed my shopping list to her, she would order them for me and that has proved successful. I miss going round the supermarket but do visit occasionally with my daughter, Sharon. The good news is that since I have been using my long white cane, I have not bumped into anything because the purpose of the long white cane is to detect any obstacles at ground level and to the waist that may be a danger to the user. I know what my Rehabilitation Worker will say if she ever reads this because she knew only too well about my apathy towards the long white cane; she will smile to herself and say “I like it”.