BLINDNESS - Day 3. Stairs, sewing, radio, and "fingers knock things over"

[underpants]

Days 1 & 2
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101676290

So I put on my Sleep Shades at 8:15 and entered my third day of "blindness".

When I take them off, about every 2 hours, I have to keep my eyes shut for about 20 seconds - I can see the blackness literally shrink down to the center as light (a hazy yellowish white) slowly comes through my eyelids and my eyes adjust.


I walked up and down two flights of stairs - 11 steps each. Interior doors flush with the wall open towards you - interior doors recessed in the frame open away from you. See Triangle Shirtwaist fire 1911 about exterior doors.

You "couch" a cane when you are not using it.

Braille was not formally adopted in the US until about 1910 after the "War of the Dots". The "W" in Braille is an English speaking addition as Louis Braille was French and there is no W in the French alphabet in the 1860's. England still has another literacy system only used there called "Moon type" that had a revival of interest in the 1990's.

I sewed a button to some cloth today - self threading needle (still not easy), tied the knot, sewed, and safety stitched it. No blood. A pencil eraser is used to anchor during threading and can be used to protect the fingers.

Oh- "fingers knock things over" I learned Monday. When trying find a cup of coffee I had set on a table I was advised to make a fist (thumb tucked in) and slide my hand (wrist down) across the table until I touched something. Fingers knock things over.

During segregation there were two Virginia schools for the Blind. White kids went to boarding school in Staunton (the school is still there) and the black kids went to a boarding school in Hampton (closed in 2008). Newly bought material started in Staunton and eventually got to Hampton, or not. We have a volunteer who went to the school in Staunton from K-12 but lived there so he didn't have to live at the school. My cooking classmate graduated from the Hampton school in 1987.

The Virginia Voice is a radio service provided to read the local newspaper for the blind and vision impaired. Richmond, Roanoke, Tidewater, and (I think) No. Va have dedicated frequencies. Volunteers come in every day to read the entire local newspaper. You have to have a radio specific to the area (can't pick up the freq on a car stereo) and they aren't transportable - the Richmond radios only get the Richmond news reading etc.. Every state in the US has at least one such service. Two switches- on/off and volume for simpler use by the elderly.

[Squinch]

1. This is pretty fascinating. I'll be looking for your posts on this project. Thank you.

[johnd83]

2. Have you seen the new implants?

One just got FDA acceptance:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/health/fda-approves-technology-to-give-limited-vision-to-blind-people.html

These things are pretty crude now but in a few years they may give functional sight to some blind people. There is another technology that uses implants in the back of the brain to bypass damaged optic nerves but I haven't seen it except for in early research. I sincerely hope that these technologies will be like cochlear implants that are starting to cure deafness in many people. I can't imagine trying to navigate the world without vision.

[Scuba]

3. Very interesting. Thanks for the reports.

[pscot]

4. Great series

You've got me hooked.

[awoke_in_2003]

5. off to the greatest. nt

[Mnemosyne]

6. K&R nt

[kcass1954]

7. This is so interesting. I'm glad I found your post today.

[regnaD kciN]

8. Is there anything more ridiculous than segregated schools for blind people…?

[underpants]

9. Hatred is blind

indeed