My blog has moved!

For anyone who is interested in following my blog, I would like to let you know that I have moved it (to a more visually impaired friendly) location. Find me at www.beyondblindnesstogether.wordpress.com

Walking blind

As a person who is registered blind I am obviously not allowed to drive.  This could be a

good thing as I definitely have a need for speed! You would think that someone who can’t see very well would move about quite slowly but on the contrary, I am generally in a hurry! Let me drive a car and who knows what could happen! Another good thing about not being able to drive is that it keeps me fit having to walk everywhere and I am doing my bit for the environment which is something I care about.

I am very lucky that I have always been blessed with good mobility skills.  I can’t say whether this is predominately an innate ability or whether its entirely something I’ve learnt.  Generally you find that it is a mixture of both.  What I can say is that as a child I attended schools for pupils who were visually impaired where mobility training was a big part of the curriculum and this has served me well.  

Surprisingly perhaps, I have a visual memory.  I generally form a picture of places I have been and can usually remember the way after one trip. My husband is fully sighted yet I am often the person who gives directions when we are going somewhere for a second (or maybe third or fourth) time! 

As you can imagine I am very familiar with the local area where I live and many surrounding places too.  Part of this knowledge, is an image of all the various ‘hazards’ that are always found when walking about.  These include: poles, trees (darn over-hanging branches!), bins, benches, advertising signs, bicycles, cars parked on pavements and restaurant/cafe furniture. I also know where all the uneven pavements are, having nearly tripped or been jolted unexpectedly downwards several times! 

Traveling somewhere for the first time is a little different though.  If I am going to a new place on my own then much more preparation is required than would be necessary for a sighted person.  I do not have a ‘picture’ of a new place. Uncertainties regarding the accessibility are in my mind.  What kind of road crossings will there be? Are there unexpected steps or uneven pavements? These are just some of the issues for me.  

As a young person I would not have been so anxious about going somewhere new on my own.  We are more fool-hardy when we are young but experience can make us a little more cautious.  

Two episodes spring to mind which have helped to shape my cautiousness.  In my early twenties I used to attend an evening class after I finished work.  Getting there involved taking an underground train and then a 15 minute walk.  As always I was in a hurry! On one occasion I collided with a bollard.  This is not an totally unfamiliar occurrence except unfortunately I was wearing a skirt so that I ended up bent double with the bollard between my legs, my arms swinging frantically trying to stand upright again! On another occasion, rushing as usual, I literally flew down some unexpected and unseen steps. I have a remarkable sense of balance so that miraculously I did not fall to the ground but suffered with a very painful twisted ankle. 

Experience over the years has taught me what I need to look out for and be aware of.  This does not mean that I never have bumps but they are less frequent.  

Some of the uncertainty around walking in unfamiliar places can be overcome when there is a consistent implementation of mobility features.  For example auditory signals at road crossings, clear markings on pavements to indicate where crossings and steps are such as tactile bumps for crossings and lines for steps, clear visual indicators on flights of steps such as painting the edge of the top and bottom step a contrasting colour. It is very helpful if poles and bollards are not the same colour as the pavement, otherwise they can become invisible for us.  Obviously where this is already the case it would be too expensive to replace them but just adding a strip of colour around the pole can make all the difference. It has become very fashionable recently for communal spaces to be very open with no contrasting colours.  While this may look beautiful it is totally impractical for someone with low vision.  Where the same colour paving is used for both the road and the path this is potentially an accident waiting to happen.  

I hope that this has given some insight into what it is like to walk around as a person with low vision. There are now places where accessibility features are implemented very well but there is still a lot to do to raise awareness of this issue.  I think it isn’t that people don’t care but just that they are totally unaware of these things. 

The funny side!

It’s been about four years since I last posted anything to this blog so I am more than a little rusty! For starters, I eventually managed to log in after several incorrect password attempts! The next stage of course is to try to write something new.  Obviously I got there eventually otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.  However, could I find where to click to add a new post? No. You would think that a big orange box with the words ‘new post’ written in it would be fairly obvious but not to me! I looked all over the screen but could find nothing.  Eventually I called on my sister, who lives across many seas, to help me.  When she pointed out where I needed to press, I couldn’t believe I had missed it! This incident just goes to show the difficulty that low vision poses.  What is obvious to most people is not always obvious to us.

Some history

I am the first person in my family, that we know of, who was born with a visual impairment. The way my Mum told the story, she knew there was something wrong straight away. However, it took some time to convince the medical staff that all was not well. When  I was eventually referred to an ophthalmologist they diagnosed me as being completely blind, having both micro-ophthalmia (small eye) and congenital cataracts in both eyes. Their course of treatment consisted of recommending that my eyes be removed for cosmetic reasons! This conclusion would tend to undermine the story which my mother told but we won't hold that against her! As you can imagine, my parents were very upset to hear this. They both agreed though that removing my eyes was not an option and thank goodness for that.

After a few weeks, my mother noticed that when she laid me down my head would always turn towards the source of the light. It took quite some time to convince the same medical professionals that I was in fact not completely blind. Unfortunately, this still did not mean that there was any treatment available but at least there was hope.

As a child I would go to the hospital for appointments to monitor my eyes and when I was about three years old I was admitted so that they could give me a general anaesthetic to enable the doctors to ascertain how I was able to see anything at all. It turns out that there are microscopic holes or hole (not quite sure which) in my cataracts which I manage to see through. The level of sight I have is very limited, meaning that I am registered blind, but it is definitely better than having no sight at all.

I was born about forty years ago (a girl doesn't want to divulge her exact age!)  and thankfully when my daughter was born, eleven years ago, medical science and attitudes had evolved.

Where to begin?

I don't know about you but I always find it hard to know where to start. There are so many things I would like to say but which should be first? Since I decided to write this blog I haven't been able to get to sleep because all the different ideas I have are buzzing around my head! I say "when I decided" but what I should really say is when my sister finally convinced me it was a good idea and kept me up until she had helped me set it up!

Well, I think the first thing I should say is that I am very happy. This is mostly due to the fact that I have a wonderful family, most especially my amazing husband and two beautiful daughters.

I would like this blog to be a sharing of what it is like to have a visual impairment, both the challenges I face and also the amazing opportunities I have had. I hope that this information will shed some light on what it is like to be blind (at least for me anyway, I can't speak for everyone).

Starting out

First time blogging. I intend to share my thoughts and experiences of both having a visual impairment and raising a child with a similar difficulty.

Please watch this space!