Need help?

There are times when I feel that I need some help in getting around as it can be difficult when in unfamiliar places or in crowded shops and the obstacles in the street  such as placards and posts  that are difficult to see or should I say that I don’t  always see. I know where obstacles in familiar places are but not so in unfamiliar places and that is when I feel that I need help. During my mobility training, I was shown some techniques that I found to be very helpful and you may find the techniques interesting and helpful should you be a sighted person and with someone who may be a relative or a friend that have some vision loss.

First of all, I will admit that I hate it when someone grabs hold of my arm and insists on looking after me because they do not realise how difficult and uncomfortable it is for the person with a loss of vision to relax and be in control of their movements when others are holding on to their arm in an uncomfortable manner or as if their lives depend on it though I realise that some people with sight loss may prefer it that way; we are not all the same.  Most of my family and friends just tell me that their arm is there should I need it so when I do need help I just ask them to let me hold on to their arm and then I place my hand just above the elbow. I tend to hold on to their arm when we are walking together then we can talk at the same time and then I do not tend to leave them behind because I am walking faster or going in a different direction!

 If you are helping a friend or relative or even see someone who seems to be having some difficulty and you want to help, approach them slowly, introduce yourself and ask if they need any help. If your offer is accepted, ask where they want to go and if they would like to hold your arm. Stand by their side and let them hold your arms just above the elbow then start walking and they will follow slightly behind you. If you are crossing a road, make sure that you tell them if the kerb is a step up or step down and pause slightly before stepping up or down. After you have crossed the road and if you are parting company, just explain to them where they are before you leave.

 When you are going in to a shop, make sure that you explain if the door opens towards or away from you, and to the right or left. Open the door with your guiding arm and as you walk through, the person you’re guiding should hold it open, before following you through the door. There may be times when it has been necessary to walk in a single file, the person who is guiding should straighten their guiding arm and move it to the middle of their back then the person who is being guided will move in behind them while holding their hand.

Imagine that you have come to some steps, what do you do now? First, you must tell the person whom you are guiding if the steps go up or down. The person’s free hand should be on the handrail, allow them to find the bottom step and when they are ready  go up the steps with the person following you one step behind. Don’t forget to let them know when you have reached the top or they may trip over nothing. Before going down, make sure the person you’re guiding has located the handrail and the edge of the top step, let them find the first step down with their foot before moving off. Walk one step ahead, and say when you reach the bottom.

I had a problem with some steps the other day when I was out shopping with my daughter and grandsons. We had to go down some steps and because I have a loss of side vision and have to be very careful when going down some steps especially when  not familiar with them. There are steps that are either plain or they are edged in white and this helps me to see where the edge of the steps is. The steps that we came across had a black inlay; this would have been fine if it was on the edge of each step and I completely misjudged it. I lost my balance and would have fallen down the steps but my daughter quickly grabbed hold of me. After asking my daughter what had happened, she informed me that the inlay was an inch from the edge of the step; basically I received the wrong information as I failed to see the edge of the steps. They may look very attractive to fully sighted people but to someone who has sight problems they could be difficult to access even when there is a rail. I have been again to practice on these steps and I am confident now that it will not happen again.
 It would be great if you were able to help someone who had some vision loss in the proper manner and I am certain that the person with the vision loss would appreciate your help very much.

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A holiday in Coldingham that I will never forget!

I will never forget the holiday in Coldingham in the Scottish Borders as nearby was St Abbs a quaint fishing village and St Abbs Nature Reserve. St Abbs is on the east coast of Scotland serves as a centre for underwater diving due to its clear waters. We were lucky for as we arrived in the village so did two divers and they were sorting out all their equipment and not only that they practically gave us a running commentary! To the north of the village is St Abbs Head Nature Reserve with a large colony of seabirds.

 We went as near to the edge as we dare but my husband decided to take a photo of us watching the seabirds....just an excuse really so that he could stay further away from the edge.

The cliffs are inhabited by large colonies of guillemots,  kittiwakes, fulmars and razorbills, to be honest I do not know which is which but it was marvellous to see all the seabirds nesting and to be so near to them but they did make a lot of noise!

We went on a boat trip too and I am so glad that we did for the coastline was stunning and seabirds that can be found there include Kittiwakes, fulmars, quillemotes, razorbills, shags and puffins. The coastline of cliffs and narrow gullies was really beautiful and we were so amazed at the number of seabirds flying around, there were thousands!



Going to a restaurant

There have been some problems that were reasonably easy to sort out such as when having a meal. My husband, Ronald would point things out to me such as my glass of water, he would pass the condiments over to me and anything else that I would need rather than allow me to reach for them, as I was liable to knock things over. I found that it was better to have a plain coloured tablecloth such as a mid- green one on the table rather than a colourful patterned or multi-coloured one. For tumblers or glasses, I found that it would be better if they were coloured or had a strong coloured pattern on them though  this was no guarantee that I would not knock anything over because of my loss of side-vision. One Christmas when Ronald and I went to our daughter, Anthea’s home for Christmas dinner, instead of giving me a wine glass, Anthea gave me an attractive cup to drink out of during our lovely meal and I was very comfortable with that and did not knock it over.

When I go to a restaurant with family, I need someone to read out the menu to me as the printing is far too small for me to read and sitting at a table I would have to know where everything is otherwise I will end up knocking things over. I went for a meal at a restaurant once where it was silver service and I thought that I would be fine here but that was only until I felt something hot on my back; it was hot gravy! I know beforehand that I am going to find it difficult to join in with conversations around the dinner table and though hearing aids help to a certain extent and lip-reading helps to fill in the gaps it is still a struggle if you cannot see their faces to lip-read because of the low light that these places seem to have now.  There is another problem; some people speak very quietly so I cannot hear them mainly because of the background noise. The last time that I went out for a meal was with my daughter, Anthea and eleven year old grandaughter. As soon as we entered the premises, my grandaughter dashed off to look for a table that was placed in an ideal place suitable for me! I must point out that this was during the day....not at night! I enjoyed the meal and companionship.

A walk along the Chesterfield canal

Tapton Lock

It was a beautiful warm day when I went for a walk with my daughter and grandchildren along Chesterfield canal and I remembered to take my camera with me.

We were delighted to see this narrowboat

and this signpost

I had a few problems taking photos of all this green stuff and would ask my daughter if I had the canal on the photo. She would look over my shoulder at the screen on my camera and say "Left a bit" or "Right a bit" or "Down a bit" or "Up a bit" or when she is satisfied "That's ok"!

Finally, we came to this bridge and decided to cross over to the other side. I have always wanted to go on this bridge to take some photos ever since it was built. You can see in the background the Crooked Spire of Chesterfield.

You will see the Crooked Spire more clearly here.

A posting by my daughter

This article is by my daughter....

I love going out with my mum as we get to talk about anything and everything, and put the world to rights while my children are at school.  We went to town the other day and after doing a bit of shopping, my mum and I went to a café to have some refreshments. The subject that my mum brought up that day was something that we have never really talked about before; she asked me what it was like to lead someone who has sight problems.  You see that is what I have been doing; I have been leading my mum around town so that we could have a natter while walking.  When mum goes on her own she uses her long white cane and is quite capable of making her way around town but she gets fed up of the people who do not look where they are going because they are too busy talking and not looking where they are going.  It can be boring shopping on your own so sometimes we go together. The reason that my mum holds my arm just above the elbow when we are together is so that we can chat while we are walking.  The problem that I have got is that I talk a lot, so I put her off when she is concentrating on where she is going when she is using her long white cane. It's much easier for us both if I lead instead then we get to chat while walking.

 We went to the library café and we were talking about the last time I was there and mum brought up the subject of the difficulties of leading the blind and wanted to know what it was like helping to lead someone who has sight problems.  You see mum realised that it was not just about taking someone’s arm and setting off.

 Years ago, mum arranged some collections in town for the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society and I was asked to take a blind person to the place where they had to stand. I was a young teenager then and even though I had grown up with mum who was registered blind I really didn't know what to do. If I remember accurately the gentleman had a guide dog with him, so I thought that he would be fine following me. We were based in the library in town and I was helping by taking people to their designated area where they would stand with their collecting tins. After going about 25 yards I met my first obstacle, which was a barrier that we had to walk round. My first mistake was not asking in the first place how I could help him; the second mistake was taking the gentleman's arm and trying to lead him through the barrier. It went terribly wrong and he ended up banging into the barrier at least three times. This was something that I would never forget for the rest of my life. It taught me a very valuable lesson which was to learn how to lead a blind person properly.

Thankfully, over the years I have learnt a lot more and can say from experience that having the responsibility to lead a blind person is something that must never be taken lightly. You see, in the past twenty years since that terrible blunder of mine, I have learnt a lot and now feel confident when I lead my mum. Yes, I still make mistakes but I put that down to being a sighted person and do not know what it is like to be blind.
When I walk with my mum, I do not take her arm she takes mine and holds it just above the elbow, apparently this is the correct way. If you take their arm you will be walking slightly behind the blind person instead of being in front and leading them. The main thing that I spoke to my mum about was that in being the person leading, I am constantly doing risk assessments while walking; it doesn't matter how many times you have been down the same road it changes from day to day

  I talked about a walk that we went on a couple of weeks ago when we decided to take my children for a walk along the Chesterfield canal. As well as leading my mum, I would have to watch my two youngest children as well. We got to the canal and I told my mum to wait as there was a car parked on the road that we had to cross with the engine running and I was wondering if we had time to cross.

After we had crossed the road I noted straight away that the entrance to the walkway had bars that were situated very close together and we had to walk in single file to get through.  I sent my eldest child through first and then the other two followed.  My mum stood behind me and put her right hand on my right shoulder and then together with me leading the way we walked through. Thankfully it was a success and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The next thing I did before we set off again was to have a quick scan of the area to see where steps might be, where my children were and if the ground is flat, bumpy or sloped; I had to see how wide the path was. I arranged it so that my mum was on the inside of the path and the children were in front then off we went, having a steady walk so that we could enjoy the beautiful scenery. It also gave my mum time to see as much as possible with the small amount of vision that she has and to take some photos. In situations like this it's a lot harder than going shopping as there are a lot more potential dangers. Most of us have dangers drilled into us when we are younger so we automatically move when something is in our way. When you are leading a blind person, the most important thing is to remember that you have to be much more aware of what is around you and if you have enough space for both of you to get round. The problem that I faced the most by the canal was bushes and nettles, as they have stems that come out of nowhere and can easily be walked into. It's not like you can expect a blind person to swerve round a bush or automatically duck under a branch.

It can be quite draining when walking for a while which is why we always stop through our day to sit down so we often go to a cafe and this time we went to the café in the park so that the children could go to the play area while mum and I had a coffee. It gives both of us a chance to relax and just talk about where we have been and where we are going to next. I ask my mum and my mum asks me and I would never dream of saying no to my mum as I love the time that we spend together and wouldn't change that for the world.

I nearly had a guide dog!

A Guide Dog Mobility Instructor visited me at home and we did a short handle walk, the handle being a shorter version of the handle used on a guide dog harness. I held one end while the instructor held the other, we started walking with the instructor walking slightly ahead of me winding from one side to the other until we reached the end of our road then we stopped at the kerb, this was followed by more tests. They needed to find out what sort of person I was and to obtain information that would help them to decide what sort of dog would be suitable for me. Eventually, I received a letter informing me that I had been put on the waiting list for a Guide Dog. The hunt was now on to find a dog with the appropriate physical and temperamental characteristics to match my special needs

About nine months later, I received a phone call from Guide Dogs informing me that they believe they have found a potential guide dog for me and arrangements were made for the Guide Dog Instructor to bring the dog to my home to see if we would be a successful match.  I will call him “K”, he was black, a cross Labrador and golden retriever and he was a lovely and a handsome dog. I liked him and knew that he was the one for me and now it was time for us all to go for a walk. This was the first time that I walked with a guide dog, I really could not concentrate as I was  so excited and thrilled to meet the chosen dog and there was so many things that I had to think about.  We took “K” home to meet my husband, Ronald. The Guide dog instructor told me that “K” would be anxious and possibly nervous because he did not really understand what was happening. She described to me how he may react and you know that is exactly what he did but after a few minutes he introduced himself to my husband who returned the favour and then” K” came and sat next to me. He was so lovely and I knew that he was the dog for me but it was not until the next day that I was told that he would be my guide dog.

The training was due to start on 18^th October 2010 but before then during a visit to the surgery my world collapsed because I was told that I needed to go into the hospital for an operation. I told my guide dog trainer and she explained that I would have to give up “K”, I knew this because I was told that it would be at least three months before I would be fit again; life can be so cruel.

An appointment was made for me to see a consultant on 28^th October 2010 and it was confirmed that I would need an operation which was arranged for 21^st December but luck was on my side because the following Monday, I was told that they had a cancellation and did I want it. I went to the hospital for an assessment on 3^rd November and had the operation on the 4^th of November, I was well looked after and the nursing staff and medical staff were made aware of my disabilities and I returned home the following Monday and about four months later I informed Guide Dogs that I was fit again; a few weeks later I was back on the waiting list.

 I am still waiting for the call to say that they have found a dog for me, I do not mind waiting but I cannot deny that I am really looking forward to the next stage of my training.

Talking Buses

Guide Dogs are campaigning  to get audio and visual announcements on the buses to help everyone, not just blind or partially blind people. They want buses  to have a visual display  and an announcement  with details  of the next stop and final destination so that everyone knows where they are along a route and where to get off. If you would like more information click on the link below.

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/news/stephen-fry-is-on-the-bus-but-cheryl-coles-a-girl-whos-not-aloud/