advice w/blindness

[dvczerfs]

my wife lost her vision in her left eye about three years ago. she is completely blind in her left eye. to look at her, you would never know she cant see out of that eye, her eye moves w/ the other and it functions normaly she just cant see out of it. if there is anyone w/ a spouse with the same problem, if i could get some advice. when we re in public, take wdw for example, i walk on her left side, that way if she runs into me thats fine. im usualy 3 inches in front of her so she can see me w/ her right eye. when we are in shops, she will move slowly and move her head before moving to avoid banging into someone. with all this of course there are time she will bump into someone, she says im sorry but i can tell she realy feels bad. (wont say anything to me) and of course there are people in this world that act like she took a running dive at them from 20 yards away just to bump into them.i warn her her of sudden steps,ramps. in rest. we try to sit that she can see the person serving us coming to the table, if not i will say "here she comes". i was just wandering is there anything else i can do or she can do in public to make her life easier? any tips would be helpful. thanks

 

[I Love Pluto]

Maybe she could carry a cane on her left side to use as a barrier in crowds? She wouldn't be walking with it, simply holding it out just a few inches from her left side. This way, maybe the nastier people would realize that she does have a disability.

Hang in there! Invisible disabilities are very difficult, and you shouldn't have to explain it to every nasty person you meet. I hope this helps.

 

[Earstou]

I don't deal with vision problems, but I have balance problems. My biggest problem is walking in crowds, because I can't "dodge" away from other people and I frequently get hit or hit others.
I now use a walking cane in very crowded situations to help avoid this. People tend to steer clear of me when they see the cane, so I would second the above recommendation to use a cane.

 

[mechurchlady]

This ties in with the aspie and autisms kids. When people know someone has limitations then they are more apt to be nicer or make room for that person in the case of a blind person. Since we were kids we have been exposed in some way to the person with the white tipped cane. People see the cane and instinctively know the person has some vision problems. There are a lot of rude people out there and it is not uncommon to run into a person who plows through crowds and has an attitude that everyone is to move out of their way, In some areas of the world it is every person for themselves in public places. (note that I did not mention NYC, lol)

She should get the cane so she can become more independent of you. It will let people know she is not a pushy person who shoving their way through crowds or touchy feely.

 

[carj]

Maybe she could carry a cane on her left side to use as a barrier in crowds? She wouldn't be walking with it, simply holding it out just a few inches from her left side. This way, maybe the nastier people would realize that she does have a disability.

Hang in there! Invisible disabilities are very difficult, and you shouldn't have to explain it to every nasty person you meet. I hope this helps.

A cane can be a great tool for those with some vision loss as an identification. I would suggest that she really should receive SOME training on cane travel though by a certified orientation and mobility specialist. This person can also help her with other aspects of safe travel.

You can find a certified O&M instructor through your state department of rehabilitative services, division of blind service. Or, if you can't seem to figure out where to find one, call your state school for the blind and they can help you find someone.

 

[BETTYDISNEY]

I have been blind in my right eye since I was about 21 years old. I have retinitis pigmentosa and I was lucky because it only affected one of my eyes. Through the years your other eyes seems to somehow compensate a lot for the blind eye. It's very lucky that she has you to help her out. How is the vision in her other eye?