I Can Do It, But How?

One day when my oldest daughter was in eighth grade, she came home after school telling me about an english assignment. They were instructed to write about what a blind person could do. Of course, she had the inside story as I was visually impaired with almost constant deteriorating eyesight. Eight graders and most children believe you can’t do anything for yourself with partial or no vision.

There are as many vision problems as there are makes and models of cars. It’s no wonder people can’t figure out what a visually impaired or blind person can accomplish, let alone how they do so. Most people either believe they can do nothing or they’re the “super-blind” with special powers and abilities. The truth is, they can live independently through learning techniques by responding to non-visual stimuli in their environment. Emotionally, though, my coping mechanism was to not focus on what I could no longer do the same as a sighted person, but focus on what I could still do (visually, tactically, or any other method).

For fun I thought I’d list some tongue-and-cheek things I can do. This list, by no means, is comprehensive so you can breathe now.

1. I CAN walk independently.
In familiar environments, I walk without using a cane. How many of you use a cane to make coffee in the mornings, go to the restroom at night, or find your glasses when you wake up? That’s right…you don’t. I must admit leaving the bathroom light on allows enough glow to walk automatically during the night. Repetition combined with shadows, feeling of objects in close proximity helps with the rest. Using a cane to explore new areas allows even greater independence. Most of the time I walk using a sighted guide since I’m around people a great deal anyway. I’m thankful for the ability to walk, and can do so at whatever pace the person leading trots.

2. I CAN dress myself.
Several techniques exist to match clothes as well as phone apps to identify colors. I prefer memory. Choosing basic color combinations makes getting dressed much safer, although I memorize the feel and style of the majority of my clothes. As long as I don’t buy too many new things at once, I’m good. Matching accessories get a little more complex, but I still use my memory for the most part. For special events, I request a family member to inspect me. LOL.

3. I CAN cook.
Judging size of containers to put leftovers in became the first thing I couldn’t do, so guess what became the kid’s chore? Don’t you do that when you can’t do something? Not reading recipes made things more challenging. I had to use my memory or ask someone to read it for me. If no one could be around, I had them read it in a tape recorder for me to listen to later. When frying, using a splatter screen became a must. Timing hamburger frying from start to finish let me cook it independently, until I could actually tell it was done by feel. I hate to admit it, but this endeavor took an entire two years. Guess I’m not a fast learner after all.

4. I CAN take care of a baby.
With lots of organization, attentiveness, and the other senses God gave me, I fed, clothed, and bathed my own child. I used safety pins to keep matching outfits together. I won’t tell you how many bibs I went through when dropping unknown heaping mounds of baby food. Like any good wife, I let daddy change most of the dirty diapers…saved on baby wipes that way. I will confess my baby might have worn a few clothes bearing stains without my knowledge.

5. I CAN do my own laundry.
I’m grateful for my good memory and the use of glue and tape which I use to mark knobs on my washer, dryer, and other appliances. When it comes to sorting, I can tell shades of clothing to sort into lights and darks. In case of mistakes, I always wash in cold. If red clothing is new, it is set aside and washed separately. Family members are on their own to treat stains when noticed. Yes, I fold and put away clothes but won’t discuss how long, but many I know leave them in a basket in the laundry room to make me feel superior.

Anyone want to guess what else I can do before the next post can leave it in the comments below?

To be continued…

© 2015, Jena Fellers. All rights reserved.