FINDING YOUR WAY IN THE DARK BY FIONA CUMMINGS

Thanks to Carrie I’m writing a short blog combining everything well, almost everything that I get asked about with regards to life as a person without vision.

So many of my friends still daily hurt themselves. Don’t get me wrong as do I, just now it’s less frequent. You do learn. For example, my lovely friend joked as she bent over and hurt herself on a shelf. She said she did it twice on the same day. On each eye so now, she looks like she has eyeshadow on. But the truth is, it’s not funny. It makes us feel so sad and sometimes alone. Why do we have to suffer in such a way, it’s bad enough not being able to see and who understands us? Well I, do and this is why I hope to give you a few tips.

 

Firstly, and this takes some getting used to. When you need to bend over, do it slowly. Still after twenty years I forget and bend like a sighted person. Bang.

Right into whatever is in front of me.

 

 When I remember, I firstly put my hand out to see how much space I have. Then I bend really slowly so if I do misjudge, it won’t hurt. Sometimes you manage to bend ok but then forget that there is also a shelf higher above and you have missed it on the way down, but oh, boy, on the way up? It almost knocks you back down again, so when straightening back up, again, do it slowly.

 

I have said this many times but every day we have new readers. Never leave a door half open. Always wide open or totally closed. Then you have so much less chance in walking into it or stubbing your toe.

 

In our house our sitting room and staircase have those awful duel light switches. Where you can turn on the light at each side of the room or downstairs at the bottom of your stairs and at the top. If you can make it so you don’t have those in your room that would help. As normally when a light is on, the thick bit of the switch is at the top and the pushed in bit is at the bottom. This is when the light is on. When the light is off, the thick bit is at the bottom and thin pushed in part of the switch is at the top. But on the duel switches, nothing makes sense as it could be switched on at one end but the other off. Or down stairs on and up off. Gosh, I hope that makes sense to you?

 

Learn to ski. Not with skis or snow, just around your house. So, don’t lift your feet up as you would outside. Then you won’t stand on your dog toy or child’s toy. If you have ever stood on your child’s Lego, you will know what I mean. It hurts. It cuts.

 

Never leave your dishwasher open whilst you go to put a dish away. Just close it enough not to stick out enough to trip over it. I don’t know any person who is blind who hasn’t gone flying over a dishwasher lid. I don’t know why they can’t make them like a washing machine door so it opens sideways? Then at least if you walk into it, the right way, it will just close you wouldn’t be hurt.

 

Try to buy one of those work top savers. They are great, before cooking, put all your utensils out on there and leave them there in between use so you know where everything is, put all of your ingredients on for example your sink top so they are all together. It makes it so much easier.

 

When you are putting things in your fridge, the things that have a short lifetime, keep them near the front of your fridge so you don’t forget them. If you put them to the back, not being able to see means you will forget they are there.

 

Make your freezer into sections. Veg in one drawer, bread etc in another, fish in one compartment and meat in another. Vegetarian food in one and vegan in another in our case at home. We have a fantastic tall freezer it’s seven drawers tall so this makes life so much easier, of course you have to know what you have firstly to be able to pick your drawers, but if you have the app Seeing a.i., it will help you and you do get used to what things feel like, weigh or sound like.

 

When ironing, always put your hot iron in the same place on your board facing away from you whilst you put away a shirt for example. How to find your iron again? If you put it to your left for example, you know that is where it will be. Go below the height of the board, feel for the wire, in most cases, the wire will lead you to the back of the handle of your iron.

 

Pouring boiling water in your cup? Before you start to pour, place the spout against the top of your cup then when you are sure you have it in place, start to pour. You can hear when you are at the top as the sound changes. Try to listen for this next time.

 

You also can buy a water boiler. This is where you place your cup under a tap and you can walk away the tap does it all for you. No more burned fingers.

 

Never leave wires sticking out from the walls. Tuck them in. and if you are lucky enough to have a huge open plan house, and have wood floors use the odd rug for a sign when to turn. Or a large plant pot near a doorway. A strong-smelling air freshener also near a door way so you can learn to smell when you are there.

 

I could write forever on this subject. I’m sure my future blogs will return to some tips and if you have any, let me know and I shall pass them onto our Bloggets.