The Adventures of the Newly Blind/Low Vision/Visually Impaired Girl (BLOVI)
As promised, in this week’s blog I will describe all the cool stuff I now use as a person with low vision. But first………
My WTF of the week is why people feel the need to lecture me on the grieving process or on my need to have training on the “Adjustment to Blindness”. Apparently I am not feeling or acting as sad or depressed as I should be as a person who traumatically lost vision, or acting as helpless as I should be. Do I have sad days? Of course. But those are private and I move through them. As far as adjustment I am adapting every day. Could it be that I am actually an emotionally healthy person who is highly resourceful and has a network of support, and that people just can not wrap their heads around it. None of us react to change in the same way. I do not fit neatly into a box----I am not the rule, but the exception. Those people waiting for me to have a breakdown can keep holding your breath. I appreciate your concern and I forgive you for not recognizing that people are resilient and can adapt to change.
This week I can not get enough of my new phone for the visually impaired—the Samsung Haven. I learned quickly my Blackberry was useless. Of course, Verizon was the last company to have an ADA phone for the blind. But it was there when I needed it. And the geniuses at Verizon had a written manual with the phone. Explain how the blind are supposed to learn about their phone. All the menus have voice. It tells me who is calling, so I do not have to have person specific ringtones. It also reads text messages and tells me what I am typing so I can text (if I actually was into texting) and save contacts. I feel normal again and have rejoined society.
I have or am in the process of getting some really cool stuff to make my life easier, thanks to the Commission for the Blind. If you are legally blind, they will hook you up. One of the first things that happened was my independent living visit. Armed with large felt letters, sticky raised bumps, and safety pins, Gwen showed me tricks to be able to use all my appliances and identify what was in the fridge, cabinets and closets. Who knew that ten bucks of goodies from Hobby Lobby could have a profound impact on my life? Downside was that I liked people bringing us food and doing the laundry. She also brought nifty kitchen gadgets, which were lost on me. I did not have a meat thermometer before the accident, now I have one that talks. My dad, who likes to cook, was salivating and kept commenting that the stuff was also handy for older folks.
I also got a digital player for the blind which was new on the market. But most impressive was the massive yellow tape player. That’s right; I am referring to the cassette tapes of my youth. Those wonderful things that melted in your car, got stuck in the player and had you trying in vain to role the tape back in or replace the casing so that you did not have to buy INXS’s The Swing for the fourth tine. Not to mention the superior sound quality. Well, nothing has changed. And thanks to those who chose titles for me such as The Autobiography of Helen Keller.
Then came the really cool technology. ZoomText allowed me to be able to use the computer again. It does two things, makes the text super large and reads to you. Admittedly the first thing my assistant and I did was type dirty words and phrases and make the reader read them giggling like school girls. You can change the voices and also slow them down and speed them up. My favorite is the male British accent, but only for saying inappropriate things. They have really improved the voices—nothing like in the movie War Games or on Radiohead’s Ok Computer. You can also control the size that everything is blown up. Navigating on the Web is a new adventure. I suggest not looking at the Craig’s List Casual Relationship ads ---Why oh why did someone show me this?
I also have a machine called the Acrobat that has a screen and a camera that makes everything bigger and also changes the colors. Low vision people like me read best with white text on a black background (who knew?). Now I can read my mail and letters and documents. I also used it to blow up my hands to see my nails so I could paint them. We also put some of the smaller stuffed animals under it. I am always looking for unconventional ways to use the equipment.
Soon I will be receiving a new Laptop with a 19” screen, a 26” monitor for my docking station and a hand held camera called a Pebble that is a mobile version of my Acrobat. When you need large text, screen size matters, I am also getting a huge keyboard with large letters so I can go back to my super fast four finger hunt and peck method while I finally take a course to learn the keyboard. I may be the most excited about the bar code reader. It tells you all the details of anything with a bar code. And if the product is not in there you can record your voice describing the ingredients and cooking instructions. I have decided to record me saying “Do not eat this junk and back away from it or you have to work out for 5 hours.”
But the pièce de résistance is my telescopic spectacles. Imagine wearing mini telescopes attached to glasses sitting way out on your nose. The low vision specialist said they were for working on the computer or watching TV and that I should not wear them out. No problem there. But then I saw Dr. McDreamy Shepard wearing something like them on Grey’s Anatomy. So now I can look like an important surgeon who has just performed microsurgery on the brain or attached an arm.
Seriously, all these wonderful goodies have allowed me to do the same things I did before. I am truly blessed to have them. So, please support The South Carolina Commission for the Blind, for obtaining the technology, tools and information I needed to adapt to my new reality.
Next week I will be talking about how the blind get no better customer service.
Keep moving forward.
Beth “BLOVI” Medlock
As promised, in this week’s blog I will describe all the cool stuff I now use as a person with low vision. But first………
My WTF of the week is why people feel the need to lecture me on the grieving process or on my need to have training on the “Adjustment to Blindness”. Apparently I am not feeling or acting as sad or depressed as I should be as a person who traumatically lost vision, or acting as helpless as I should be. Do I have sad days? Of course. But those are private and I move through them. As far as adjustment I am adapting every day. Could it be that I am actually an emotionally healthy person who is highly resourceful and has a network of support, and that people just can not wrap their heads around it. None of us react to change in the same way. I do not fit neatly into a box----I am not the rule, but the exception. Those people waiting for me to have a breakdown can keep holding your breath. I appreciate your concern and I forgive you for not recognizing that people are resilient and can adapt to change.
This week I can not get enough of my new phone for the visually impaired—the Samsung Haven. I learned quickly my Blackberry was useless. Of course, Verizon was the last company to have an ADA phone for the blind. But it was there when I needed it. And the geniuses at Verizon had a written manual with the phone. Explain how the blind are supposed to learn about their phone. All the menus have voice. It tells me who is calling, so I do not have to have person specific ringtones. It also reads text messages and tells me what I am typing so I can text (if I actually was into texting) and save contacts. I feel normal again and have rejoined society.
I have or am in the process of getting some really cool stuff to make my life easier, thanks to the Commission for the Blind. If you are legally blind, they will hook you up. One of the first things that happened was my independent living visit. Armed with large felt letters, sticky raised bumps, and safety pins, Gwen showed me tricks to be able to use all my appliances and identify what was in the fridge, cabinets and closets. Who knew that ten bucks of goodies from Hobby Lobby could have a profound impact on my life? Downside was that I liked people bringing us food and doing the laundry. She also brought nifty kitchen gadgets, which were lost on me. I did not have a meat thermometer before the accident, now I have one that talks. My dad, who likes to cook, was salivating and kept commenting that the stuff was also handy for older folks.
I also got a digital player for the blind which was new on the market. But most impressive was the massive yellow tape player. That’s right; I am referring to the cassette tapes of my youth. Those wonderful things that melted in your car, got stuck in the player and had you trying in vain to role the tape back in or replace the casing so that you did not have to buy INXS’s The Swing for the fourth tine. Not to mention the superior sound quality. Well, nothing has changed. And thanks to those who chose titles for me such as The Autobiography of Helen Keller.
Then came the really cool technology. ZoomText allowed me to be able to use the computer again. It does two things, makes the text super large and reads to you. Admittedly the first thing my assistant and I did was type dirty words and phrases and make the reader read them giggling like school girls. You can change the voices and also slow them down and speed them up. My favorite is the male British accent, but only for saying inappropriate things. They have really improved the voices—nothing like in the movie War Games or on Radiohead’s Ok Computer. You can also control the size that everything is blown up. Navigating on the Web is a new adventure. I suggest not looking at the Craig’s List Casual Relationship ads ---Why oh why did someone show me this?
I also have a machine called the Acrobat that has a screen and a camera that makes everything bigger and also changes the colors. Low vision people like me read best with white text on a black background (who knew?). Now I can read my mail and letters and documents. I also used it to blow up my hands to see my nails so I could paint them. We also put some of the smaller stuffed animals under it. I am always looking for unconventional ways to use the equipment.
Soon I will be receiving a new Laptop with a 19” screen, a 26” monitor for my docking station and a hand held camera called a Pebble that is a mobile version of my Acrobat. When you need large text, screen size matters, I am also getting a huge keyboard with large letters so I can go back to my super fast four finger hunt and peck method while I finally take a course to learn the keyboard. I may be the most excited about the bar code reader. It tells you all the details of anything with a bar code. And if the product is not in there you can record your voice describing the ingredients and cooking instructions. I have decided to record me saying “Do not eat this junk and back away from it or you have to work out for 5 hours.”
But the pièce de résistance is my telescopic spectacles. Imagine wearing mini telescopes attached to glasses sitting way out on your nose. The low vision specialist said they were for working on the computer or watching TV and that I should not wear them out. No problem there. But then I saw Dr. McDreamy Shepard wearing something like them on Grey’s Anatomy. So now I can look like an important surgeon who has just performed microsurgery on the brain or attached an arm.
Seriously, all these wonderful goodies have allowed me to do the same things I did before. I am truly blessed to have them. So, please support The South Carolina Commission for the Blind, for obtaining the technology, tools and information I needed to adapt to my new reality.
Next week I will be talking about how the blind get no better customer service.
Keep moving forward.
Beth “BLOVI” Medlock
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