 | | | You Make Sure Mobility Training is Available to All Our Clients | | | | Cyndi had just started her mobility training. She was so enthusiastic about the training, ready to try anything she was asked. Cyndi is a doer, definitely not one to stand along the sidelines. “I had been doing regular volunteer work for twenty years before my last detached retina. I delivered meals on wheels for fifteen years, and so did my homeschooled children when they were younger. In fact, I was having my last detached retina while I was driving around town delivering meals! I had to stop for good after that unfortunate day.” Then came social distancing and the stay-at-home order. But, Cyndi has a timeline. She and her family are moving into Chicago. This will give Cyndi more transit options than she has in Downers Grove. So, rather than just waiting until in-person training can resume, Cyndi asked for options. Our mobility instructor offered some remote lessons. They talked about ways to practice the skills she has already learned so that they become second nature: | | | | - Cyndi stands with her back to a wall and practices swinging her cane from side to side in an arc. This is the motion she will use when walking with the cane. This exercise helps her maintain an even arc and builds up the muscles in her wrist to allow her to use the cane for longer periods.
- Cyndi was just about to start working on street crossings. So she is walking to several intersections in her neighborhood just to listen to the traffic patterns. This will build her ability to discern when it is safe to cross the street with the light. Since Cyndi also has moderate hearing loss, this is great practice for her.
- Cyndi also has night blindness, so she is practicing using the shorelining technique with her cane while blindfolded. Cyndi uses the grass line as a guide, this helps her stay on the sidewalk, identify driveways and find corners.
“My mobility instructor has been such a savior to me — so much more than just an O&M specialist. She has given me hope, and consistently provides me with ways to be more independent. I am feeling a strong need to return to volunteer work now that I am feeling empowered. I really miss talking with the clients at Meals on Wheels. I would stay and chat for a while, and really get to know them and their life. I felt such a sense of service. I am realizing I need to find a way to fulfill that in my new situation.” | | | | | | | | | | | | Angela Found a New Job and a New Purpose Angela lost her job at a local bank last fall. Rather than see this as a setback, Angela saw it as an opportunity to make a career change. And the current pandemic helped her refine her search. “This health crisis has made me think about the things that really matter to me. I pursued the human rights and social service positions because I want to do work that feels more purposeful. I am excited to see how this next chapter unfolds.” As part of her job search, she came to Second Sense to refine her skills. She updated her computer skills, focusing on increasing her knowledge of shortcut keystrokes for screen-reading software to increase her speed. She took mobility lessons to improve her route planning skills. Skills that help her travel independently to new locations. Her lessons also focused on apps — like Soundscape — that can aid in her orientation and help her determine exactly where she is in relation to where she wants to go. Angela volunteered at Second Sense during this time as a Technology Tutor to help our clients with their computer training. With her work experience, she was a great role model for clients seeking employment. Showing them that people with vision loss can find work and can succeed. “Second Sense has always been a resource that consistently offers so much hope and encouragement. I have found this especially true over the past year. It has been a blessing to have found a place where I could learn many invaluable life tools and be cheered all along my journey!” Just last week, Angela found her new purpose. She will soon begin work at the Illinois Department of Human Services. Angela is the third Technology Tutor to find employment in the past three years. And all have gone on to work helping others in need. You have played such an important part in their journey. Thank you for helping them realize their goals and giving them the opportunity to help others. | | | | Challenges Bring a Unique Perspective Our Passionate Focus Art Exhibit will be in June this year. We love this exhibit. Not because of the wonderful artwork – and it is wonderful. But because of the message it sends. Our artists refuse to be defined by their vision loss. They have a need to express themselves and to create works of beauty. Even though many can’t see the final product. It is not what most people would expect. And that is the message. Nobody expects to lose their vision. And when they do, they don’t expect how it will impact every aspect of their lives. But, our artists have found a way to adjust, to adapt, to create. We have asked our artists to share a bit of their story with you, in words, photos or video. Here are two of their stories. | | | | Sam Smith Once upon a time, when I was only five, I had a little brush with adversity. We lived in New York City, I was riding in a taxi, my mother gave me something to see. It was an X-ray of my head."That's you," was all she said. I cried that I was so ugly. Now there's more to the story, but that much just might be, the very first time I was funny. Now, the "more to the story" is: They thought my eye condition might be a brain tumor. Which led to my spending the 4th of July in the hospital. And, coincidentally, the verses above, are part of a song I wrote, on the 4th of July. | | | | | | Travelling has been one of the main contributing factors to my photography. My intuitive creativity is most inspired when I am immersed in new and different environments. All of my senses are constantly bombarded with new sensory input; a cacophony of sounds including music and language, a cornucopia of flavors, mingling odors and scents, vibrant colors, varied architecture and textures. The art, culture, history, and animated social encounters of everywhere I’ve been have considerably stimulated and enriched my intellectual and spiritual life. My photography reflects my unique perspective and perception of the sights and sounds of the kaleidoscopic, whirling world around me. I capture what is, for me and the viewer, the essence of a place whether it be a wide angle street scene or a detailed, close-up, abstraction of something in the material or natural world. www.anniehesse.com | | | | | | | | | | Second Sense
65 E Wacker Place, Suite 1010 | Chicago, Illinois 60601
312-582-2983 | cheryl.megurdichian@second-sense.org | | Follow us for more stories, resources and information about vision loss | | | | | | |
