Blindness Not a Death Sentence

By Daniel Taverne

When my vision became severely impaired, I wanted to know why. Why have I been singled out to suffer this way; unable to drive myself any where, unable to read anything , unable to do my job, unable to pay the mortgage and so on.

Sure I asked why, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Of course I knew then that asking this question was a complete waste of time, but, I was angry, frustrated, and it seemed that life was singling me out.

How did I deal with everything? At first I denied I was loosing my vision. Then, I would tell myself I’d get my vision back. I even kept my brick laying tools in the trunk of my car which sat motionless in the driveway for a year before I admitted even to the possibility that my visual condition was permanent. I wasted a lot of time (altogether about two years) wallowing in a quagmire of denial, frustration, doubt and despair

Slowly though, I began looking into services designed to assist people like myself, but I felt reservations about saying I was “legally” blind because the term sounded pretty lame to me. That said, labeling myself legally blind almost insists that others will do one of two things. That they’ll pity me or they’ll think I’m trying to “get over” on the system. At least that’s what I used to think. So, for sometime, I simply existed. Sure I went to family functions like birthday parties and holiday get togethers, and I continued to eat and watch television, but sadly, I didn’t do anything fulfilling.

During that time, many people tried talking to me about my situation, but I stubbornly wouldn’t listen because (in many cases) following their advice meant admitting to others, as well as myself, some unpleasant realities that I thought I was destined to endure; the most feared of which was losing my independence.

Finally, someone made me realize I could be doing so much more, and I decided to start living again. Eventually, I came to understand that being alive isn’t necessarily living if I am not taking an active role in my own happiness. Take it from me, if you are visually impaired, and feel lost, don’t despair, blindness isn’t a death sentence.

If you need help coming to terms with your visual impairment, there are many organizations in every state that will be glad to assist and counsel you if you let them. For loads of information about blindness, visit the National Federation of the Blind web site at www.fob.org.