Jo came over last week to take me out for my next session. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the birds were singing. I have to admit to being quite excited as she rang the doorbell, anticipating that I would again pick up more skills that would serve to help me independently go out. Jo had to park on our street as my husband had 'selfishly' left his car across the top of the drive. I therefore confidently walked up our lane with my white stick swishing back and forwards, locating the shoreline every three or four steps, only to hit something hard in front of me… This was a great opportunity for Jo to teach me how to navigate her car!
So, firstly she showed me how to ‘pop up’, which means holding the white stick against the object and also upright to check the height. Jo then taught me to feel round the car using the back of my hand. She highlighted that I need to turn my rings round so the gemstones don’t scratch. It struck me that with this training it is the little things that make a difference; I definitely wouldn’t have thought of doing that. I managed to navigate round the car and locate the shoreline at the side of the road to continue my march up the lane.
My next lesson was called 'in-step' which means you swipe the stick to the opposite side of where your foot is as you walk, meaning you are checking the path ahead before you step into it. Jo said to me, people find this tricky sometimes, a bit like patting your head and tummy at the same time. Not to brag, but this came naturally to me and I didn’t struggle at all.
As we walked, of course Jo was full of stories of other people she has trained over the years and I loved hearing them. It is really fascinating and inspiring to hear the challenges some people have overcome. Jo told me about a young mum who had Albinism which means she is blind because she has a reduced amount of melanin. The new mum needed to get out and about but of course had the added complication of taking her baby with her. Jo taught her how to use the white cane and pull the buggy behind her at the same time, which brings a whole new meaning to multitasking doesn’t it!
Jo also told me about an incredible guy called Daniel Kish who has mastered echolocation. This is where you use sound and listen hard to hear where it is bouncing off objects around you, which enables you to move. Daniel has become so skilled at this, he is able to cycle independently. Jo recommended I consider buying a Sunu band, which has been designed to help take advantage of echolocation. You wear the band on your wrist and it vibrates as you approach objects. Apparently blind people use this to navigate crowds as it finds the gaps between the people. It is also very effective at finding doorways into shops, cinemas etc.
As we walked further down the lane, it came time to cross over. Jo taught me how to do this by ensuring I learnt how to ‘square off’. This basically means making sure you’re lined up against the curb on a straight bit of road, allowing you to cross to the other side in a straight line. She explained, if you try and do this on a bend, not only is it dangerous as cars may struggle to see you, but also trying to walk across a road here is much trickier and might mean you could become disorientated and end up in the wrong place.
As you may know by now, I have taken on a challenge, starting 10th May, to walk 5k a day for five days with my white cane. I have taken on this challenge to raise money for the school and orphanage in India that the company I work for run. India has been ravished by Covid and it is having a terrible impact on our school. The cost of medicine and food has more than doubled and the staff and children are suffering from sickness. Here is a link to my GoFundme page if you would like to learn more: gf.me/u/zrizt2
I will be able to fit in one more session with Jo before the walks start and we are going to focus on pavements as we haven’t tackled this yet. I have to admit, a friend of mine did give it a go with me but it ended in complete disaster. Unfortunately, I kept getting lost up driveways and found it very hard to identify when the road met the pavement. My poor friend was of course extremely focused on keeping me safe and wasn’t ever so familiar with the area. There was a moment where we both collapsed in laughter as I became annoyed with myself, having got lost again down a driveway and she declared “Liz, full disclosure, I've got to admit, I don’t know where we are!”. Talk about a lost cause!
Anyway, if tons of blind people can do it, so can I. But it did remind me to not be too cocky and also gave me even more respect for the job Jo does in teaching blind people essential skills. I have to remember, Jo did say it would take six months to learn how to walk to the shops and navigate the route, and I have only had a few sessions 😊.
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