So this is what broken feels like, I think as I slump against an all too familiar wall of inequity dividing the labyrinth of my life. The blue sky is ever watchful above me. I glance at it hopefully. A tiny, distrustful part of me is afraid it won’t be there, even though it’s been over a year since that fateful afternoon when it first appeared literally out of nowhere. It surprises and delights me with its audaciousness. I still remember climbing on the outdoor table to reach it. It’s the same table I sit at now, wondering if I will find the strength and stomach to get back up this time, and continue onward, the way I’ve done so many times before. The problem is, this feels different. This doesn’t feel like the exhaustion between battle rounds. This feels like a shedding of something I’m yet to put my finger on. And if I weren’t quite so shamed, shattered and […]
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A Cane For Every Pair Of Shoes
If I were sighted, I think I would have been a fashion designer. I have always loved fashion, be it the various colours, textures, accessories or as a means of self-expression. Most of all, I have always loved how it makes me think, feel and respond. Family legend has it that the only way I would agree to potty train as a toddler was if I could have a pair of frilly knickers in exchange. My childhood is littered with fashion landmarks such as the beautiful, intricately patterned brown cowgirl boots I received for my eighth birthday, the wide elastic black belt with the neutral coloured peplyn top I got for my twelfth, and the frayed stretch denim shorty short shorts when I was eighteen. In adulthood, I expressed my fondness for fashion via those ridiculously high, strappy stilettos I bought when I was twenty-five. Everything from the stunning red, faux crocodile skin laptop bag I had in my thirties to […]
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Busting Disabled Toilet Myths
As a person who is blind or has low vision, I’ve never considered it my right to use the designated disabled toilet. I’ve always thought of them as amenities for people who use wheel chairs, walking frames, walking sticks, crutches, or maybe an ambulant adult with children who aren’t yet at an age to be unsupervised in public restrooms, and their isn’t a designated parent’s room around. As a cane user myself, I confess that until recently I hadn’t considered just how essential disabled toilets also are for people who use guide dogs to navigate the environment. Could you imagine trying to fit thirty kilos of blond Labrador at your feet in one of those tiny, awkward to manage, let alone move in cubicles that are so often found in public areas? It’s not exactly an equitable or dignified prospect. After all, a dog isn’t the same as a white mobility cane. A girl can’t just fold it up and put […]
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Running With The Wolf
I am acutely aware that to have my vision restored is somewhat of a phenomenon. It’s the equivalent of finding diamonds in the bottom of my breakfast cereal. I can barely believe it myself. Could I have actually outrun the wolf? How do I form the words to express something so big and unexpected to the rest of the world? It’s a world far more accustomed to people losing their vision rather than gaining it back. A world of haughty assumptions and expectations. Let me explain. I have a congenital eye condition that not only has me well within the bounds of legal blindness, but has been considered inoperable for as long as I can remember. Over the years, my vision quietly deteriorated into darkness without my permission or my comprehension, leaving a trail of questions, confusion, and chaos in its wake. So in one oh so desperately desperate effort a little over a year ago, I sought a new ophthalmologist, hoping […]
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Accessible Information – The Thin Edge Of The Wedge
Everyone has a secret stash of something. Oh come on, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. We all do it. Some stash chocolate, shoes, paper clips, or money. In my case, it happens to be accessible information. Unfortunately, there is nothing secret about my not so secret stash of chocolate. I am pretty open about my habit. I’ve been known to put the call out on social media requesting a re-stock of said secret chocolate stash. And as for shoes, I’ve declared “shoe lover” as a part of my LinkedIn headline for quite a while. Therefore, nothing secret about that either. Although, paper clips have never been of interest to me. Sure, there had been the minor obsession with stationery in my younger years, but that wasn’t practical. It’s now filed in the things I would do if I were sighted basket, along with driving, sky diving, and catching a tennis ball. Accessible Information When it comes to […]
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