WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.190 --> 00:00:02.773 (gentle music) 2 00:00:04.050 --> 00:00:06.150 Welcome to "Hadley Presents." 3 00:00:06.150 --> 00:00:10.770 I'm your host, Ricky Enger, inviting you to sit back, relax, 4 00:00:10.770 --> 00:00:13.650 and enjoy a conversation with the experts. 5 00:00:13.650 --> 00:00:15.000 In this episode, 6 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:18.120 IT professional and standup comic Todd Blenkhorn 7 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:19.800 joins us to share his story. 8 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:21.450 Welcome to the show, Todd. 9 00:00:21.450 --> 00:00:22.560 Thanks for having me. 10 00:00:22.560 --> 00:00:24.627 Yeah, it's so great to have you here! 11 00:00:24.627 --> 00:00:26.400 And it's interesting, I'll just say that. 12 00:00:26.400 --> 00:00:30.870 It's interesting how you ended up on the show with us. 13 00:00:30.870 --> 00:00:33.840 I feel like everybody is connected. 14 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:37.470 We interviewed New York Times columnist Frank Bruni 15 00:00:37.470 --> 00:00:39.150 a while back. 16 00:00:39.150 --> 00:00:42.570 You had communicated with him as well 17 00:00:42.570 --> 00:00:46.710 and you ended up in his current book, 18 00:00:46.710 --> 00:00:48.000 which is really pretty cool. 19 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.650 That's how we found out about you. 20 00:00:49.650 --> 00:00:54.210 And so we figured why not? Let's have you on the show! 21 00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:56.820 Why don't we start by just having you 22 00:00:56.820 --> 00:00:59.520 tell us a bit about yourself 23 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:01.860 and what you do for your day job, 24 00:01:01.860 --> 00:01:04.620 and then maybe what you do outside that? 25 00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:07.590 Sure, my name's Todd Blenkhorn. I live in Toronto. 26 00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:09.150 I'm 45 years old. 27 00:01:09.150 --> 00:01:10.437 I work for the CNIB, 28 00:01:10.437 --> 00:01:13.440 and my title is lead enterprise application 29 00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:14.700 and accessibility support. 30 00:01:14.700 --> 00:01:18.030 Basically, I support our Salesforce system 31 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:20.520 and some accessibility stuff with outside vendors 32 00:01:20.520 --> 00:01:22.110 and internal systems. 33 00:01:22.110 --> 00:01:25.650 And then on the side, I'm a standup comedian. 34 00:01:25.650 --> 00:01:29.070 Nice! I can't wait to hear more about that. 35 00:01:29.070 --> 00:01:30.990 But before we do that, 36 00:01:30.990 --> 00:01:35.550 I was just thinking it's really an interesting thing 37 00:01:35.550 --> 00:01:40.440 that when people in the blind and low vision communities 38 00:01:40.440 --> 00:01:42.330 start connecting with each other, 39 00:01:42.330 --> 00:01:44.137 there's this icebreaker and it's like, 40 00:01:44.137 --> 00:01:45.510 "Hey, what's your eye condition?" 41 00:01:45.510 --> 00:01:49.530 And then, "Oh, I have that!" Or, "My friend has that!" 42 00:01:49.530 --> 00:01:53.760 But I think for you, it's a rarity what you have. 43 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:57.150 Can you tell us what your eye condition is 44 00:01:57.150 --> 00:01:59.910 and kind of how you got diagnosed and that kind of thing? 45 00:01:59.910 --> 00:02:01.860 I have optic neuropathy. 46 00:02:01.860 --> 00:02:03.870 Sometimes they call it ischemic optic neuropathy, 47 00:02:03.870 --> 00:02:06.540 so I don't really know the difference. (chuckles) 48 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:08.160 Which is the same thing that Frank Bruni has, 49 00:02:08.160 --> 00:02:10.050 which is how I got in touch with him. 50 00:02:10.050 --> 00:02:11.490 Yeah. So it's a bit unusual. 51 00:02:11.490 --> 00:02:14.820 It's usually a condition that people get hit with 52 00:02:14.820 --> 00:02:16.710 in their mid-50s or 60s, 53 00:02:16.710 --> 00:02:18.090 where they'll have one or two episodes 54 00:02:18.090 --> 00:02:20.430 where they lose sight in one eye 55 00:02:20.430 --> 00:02:23.250 and then possibly the second eye, 56 00:02:23.250 --> 00:02:24.990 usually in the central vision. 57 00:02:24.990 --> 00:02:27.870 But mine's different. Mine started when I was eight. 58 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:29.670 I've had maybe 20 attacks. 59 00:02:29.670 --> 00:02:32.190 So I still have a little bit of vision left in my left eye. 60 00:02:32.190 --> 00:02:34.590 They basically don't know why I have this or what causes it, 61 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:37.830 but it's really weird, 'cause it happens seasonally 62 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:38.663 in the spring or fall. 63 00:02:38.663 --> 00:02:39.750 So they don't know what causes it 64 00:02:39.750 --> 00:02:41.250 or what the underlying condition is, 65 00:02:41.250 --> 00:02:43.440 just that I have optic neuropathy. 66 00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:46.860 And so I guess if they don't know what causes it 67 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:51.150 or what can bring on an attack and that kind of thing, 68 00:02:51.150 --> 00:02:53.160 they probably didn't know 69 00:02:53.160 --> 00:02:55.110 what your vision loss progression 70 00:02:55.110 --> 00:02:56.370 was gonna look like either. 71 00:02:56.370 --> 00:03:00.300 So when you were diagnosed as a child, 72 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:01.657 did they tell you at the time, 73 00:03:01.657 --> 00:03:02.910 "Oh hey, this is it. 74 00:03:02.910 --> 00:03:05.280 And you probably won't lose any more vision." 75 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.260 Or how much did you know at that point 76 00:03:07.260 --> 00:03:09.090 about what was gonna happen? 77 00:03:09.090 --> 00:03:10.560 They really didn't know, 78 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:13.020 because they couldn't diagnose it for years. 79 00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:14.790 Like I said, I was eight years old 80 00:03:14.790 --> 00:03:16.050 and it was sudden vision loss. 81 00:03:16.050 --> 00:03:16.980 Like I woke up one morning 82 00:03:16.980 --> 00:03:18.240 and I couldn't see out of my right eye, 83 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:19.830 almost all of my right eye. 84 00:03:19.830 --> 00:03:21.060 We went to the doctor, 85 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:24.030 they did like MRIs and CAT scans and stuff, 86 00:03:24.030 --> 00:03:26.700 but they'd warned my parents that there was a good chance 87 00:03:26.700 --> 00:03:27.750 it was a brain tumor. 88 00:03:28.590 --> 00:03:31.590 Which is awful but it ended up being a good thing, 89 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:33.000 because it put things in perspective 90 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:36.420 when it turned out to be just vision loss, right? 91 00:03:36.420 --> 00:03:38.603 So yeah, it was sudden like that. 92 00:03:38.603 --> 00:03:41.130 And it took them a long time, 93 00:03:41.130 --> 00:03:43.260 they diagnosed a whole bunch of different things, 94 00:03:43.260 --> 00:03:45.840 And so like my parents were researching something 95 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.760 called Leber's disease, which sounded horrible, 96 00:03:47.760 --> 00:03:49.200 and it turned out not to be that. 97 00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:51.423 So we had a few scares, but it's just one of those things 98 00:03:51.423 --> 00:03:53.340 that they can't really explain. 99 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:57.360 Yeah, and so you were never sure, I guess, 100 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.120 even from day to day, what was gonna happen next, 101 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:01.950 how much vision you were gonna have, 102 00:04:01.950 --> 00:04:06.950 but was it then pretty gradual as it progressed? 103 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:12.680 Or did you have, you know, major thing after major thing? 104 00:04:13.013 --> 00:04:14.250 At the beginning, it was major, 105 00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:16.650 when I had more to lose, I guess. 106 00:04:16.650 --> 00:04:18.690 Like my right eye went almost all at once 107 00:04:18.690 --> 00:04:21.270 and like a year later I lost the rest of my right eye 108 00:04:21.270 --> 00:04:22.860 and the bottom half of my left eye. 109 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:25.080 And then the attacks got smaller and smaller, 110 00:04:25.080 --> 00:04:26.460 because there's not that much there. 111 00:04:26.460 --> 00:04:27.630 And they were never sure. 112 00:04:27.630 --> 00:04:31.440 I was part of a surgical trial at the University of Kentucky 113 00:04:31.440 --> 00:04:33.990 where they actually went in behind my eye 114 00:04:33.990 --> 00:04:36.120 and they said that everything back there was really big. 115 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:39.153 So they didn't know if that caused it, or I don't know. 116 00:04:39.153 --> 00:04:41.220 I've been told a million things by a million doctors 117 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:43.341 and I think basically no one really knows. 118 00:04:43.341 --> 00:04:45.330 (both laugh) Right. 119 00:04:45.330 --> 00:04:49.830 So things did progress and at some point, 120 00:04:49.830 --> 00:04:52.380 you actually began traveling with a cane 121 00:04:52.380 --> 00:04:57.060 and then after that, you transitioned to a guide dog. 122 00:04:57.060 --> 00:04:59.550 How did all of those transitions come about? 123 00:04:59.550 --> 00:05:01.297 Did somebody have to convince you, 124 00:05:01.297 --> 00:05:03.540 "Hey, look, you're not traveling safely. 125 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:04.373 You got to do this." 126 00:05:04.373 --> 00:05:07.440 Or was it more a decision that you made yourself 127 00:05:07.440 --> 00:05:08.940 based on things that happened 128 00:05:08.940 --> 00:05:11.370 or, you know, how did all that come about? 129 00:05:11.370 --> 00:05:12.203 Well, I was always really resistant to 130 00:05:12.203 --> 00:05:13.350 using a cane, 131 00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:14.970 which I don't think is uncommon. 132 00:05:14.970 --> 00:05:18.810 But when I had kids, so when my youngest son was born, 133 00:05:18.810 --> 00:05:21.690 I had another attack when he was eight months old. 134 00:05:21.690 --> 00:05:24.720 And at that point I knew, like I couldn't travel safely. 135 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:26.490 I couldn't take my kids out safely. 136 00:05:26.490 --> 00:05:28.470 Like they were a baby and three years old. 137 00:05:28.470 --> 00:05:31.110 And obviously, at that point, you gotta suck it up 138 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:32.640 and got to be safe for them, right? 139 00:05:32.640 --> 00:05:34.020 So I started with that, 140 00:05:34.020 --> 00:05:36.720 and then I'd been using a cane for a while. 141 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:38.220 My family and everything had always encouraged me 142 00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:39.647 to get a dog, so I looked into it 143 00:05:39.647 --> 00:05:41.610 and it seemed like a good fit. 144 00:05:41.610 --> 00:05:44.490 So I got one and the independence was just... 145 00:05:44.490 --> 00:05:45.323 I really like it. 146 00:05:45.323 --> 00:05:47.237 It took me a long time to get used to having a dog, 147 00:05:47.237 --> 00:05:48.540 but it still has challenges, 148 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:50.640 but I like it a lot better than a cane. 149 00:05:50.640 --> 00:05:51.473 Yeah. I think that's really common 150 00:05:51.473 --> 00:05:52.306 for a lot of people. 151 00:05:53.370 --> 00:05:57.840 And especially for people who maybe still have some vision, 152 00:05:57.840 --> 00:05:59.407 there's always that feeling of, 153 00:05:59.407 --> 00:06:00.720 "It's hard to trust the dog, 154 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:03.180 'cause I can see just enough to get in trouble, 155 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:05.820 and I think I know what I'm doing, but I really don't." 156 00:06:05.820 --> 00:06:08.280 Did you ever have any instances like that 157 00:06:08.280 --> 00:06:11.310 or were you pretty much like, "Okay, I'm all-in now." 158 00:06:11.310 --> 00:06:12.170 No, that's kind of the hardest thing 159 00:06:12.170 --> 00:06:15.240 is if you can see a bit, like I can, 160 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:16.620 it's almost unconscious, right? 161 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:18.450 Like you kind of override the dog 162 00:06:18.450 --> 00:06:19.440 when he is trying to do something 163 00:06:19.440 --> 00:06:21.244 and the dog's always right. 164 00:06:21.244 --> 00:06:22.777 (both laugh) Yes. 165 00:06:22.777 --> 00:06:24.240 If he tries to go one way and I correct him 166 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:26.430 and then I trip over something 167 00:06:26.430 --> 00:06:28.168 and you start to realize, "Yeah, maybe he's right." 168 00:06:28.168 --> 00:06:31.170 So it's a trust thing, but it takes a while. 169 00:06:31.170 --> 00:06:35.400 So given that you have experienced 170 00:06:35.400 --> 00:06:39.360 kind of a gradual shift in vision loss, I guess, 171 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.847 and you've had, you know, some periods where, 172 00:06:42.847 --> 00:06:46.530 "Oh, it's gradual," and then some where you lose a lot. 173 00:06:46.530 --> 00:06:48.960 But you had, I guess, the baseline, 174 00:06:48.960 --> 00:06:51.990 which is you appeared to be fully sighted. 175 00:06:51.990 --> 00:06:55.530 And then you had a period where, you know, 176 00:06:55.530 --> 00:06:56.490 you've lost some vision 177 00:06:56.490 --> 00:06:59.160 but maybe you're not traveling with any mobility device. 178 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:01.830 And then you are traveling with one, 179 00:07:01.830 --> 00:07:04.650 but you still have some vision and that gradually decreases. 180 00:07:04.650 --> 00:07:07.260 And I think going through that, 181 00:07:07.260 --> 00:07:10.410 you've had a lot of chance to observe 182 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:13.440 just how people behave towards you. 183 00:07:13.440 --> 00:07:17.790 So what kinds of things did you notice from, say, 184 00:07:17.790 --> 00:07:21.030 I guess your baseline everybody thinks you're sighted, 185 00:07:21.030 --> 00:07:24.540 to then what started to change as your vision did? 186 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:26.040 Yeah, it's funny. 187 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.890 It's kind of a both situations are difficult, right? 188 00:07:28.890 --> 00:07:30.990 Like when I was walking around without a cane 189 00:07:30.990 --> 00:07:32.580 and didn't seem to be visually impaired, 190 00:07:32.580 --> 00:07:34.080 I had very little peripheral vision. 191 00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:36.630 So I'd walk into people or trip over stuff 192 00:07:36.630 --> 00:07:38.370 or just do kind of dumb things, 193 00:07:38.370 --> 00:07:42.050 or I was young, didn't think anything was wrong with me. 194 00:07:42.050 --> 00:07:43.110 If I bump into somebody, 195 00:07:43.110 --> 00:07:45.420 then I've had people get mad at me or whatever, 196 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:47.400 or I've knocked stuff off over and just kind of dumb. 197 00:07:47.400 --> 00:07:49.860 Like one time when I was a teenager 198 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:53.198 back when you could smoke everywhere, I was at the movies, 199 00:07:53.198 --> 00:07:56.790 and we were on the balcony, on a mezzanine, 200 00:07:56.790 --> 00:07:59.747 and I tripped over an ashtray and I knocked it. 201 00:07:59.747 --> 00:08:00.580 Oh no! 202 00:08:00.580 --> 00:08:01.413 Yeah, it went over the railing 203 00:08:01.413 --> 00:08:02.888 and onto the concession stand below. 204 00:08:02.888 --> 00:08:04.554 (both laugh) So I mean, stuff like that, 205 00:08:04.554 --> 00:08:06.870 I don't look like I'm blind and I do something like that. 206 00:08:06.870 --> 00:08:08.850 So that's hard, but it's different 207 00:08:08.850 --> 00:08:09.930 once you start using a cane, 208 00:08:09.930 --> 00:08:12.923 everyone can see you're blind and that's hard too, right? 209 00:08:12.923 --> 00:08:14.610 Because you do get treated differently, 210 00:08:14.610 --> 00:08:15.660 people talk to you differently, 211 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:18.960 or people talk to my wife instead of me, or I don't know. 212 00:08:18.960 --> 00:08:20.370 I've had people try and give me directions 213 00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:22.410 when I'm like in the middle of Young St. in Toronto, 214 00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:25.023 which is a six-lane, like super busy street. 215 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:27.697 And someone will talk to me in the middle of the road. 216 00:08:27.697 --> 00:08:29.847 Like I don't know, people mean well, but... 217 00:08:29.847 --> 00:08:32.640 And you wonder how do they know where you, 218 00:08:32.640 --> 00:08:34.260 how do you know where I'm going? 219 00:08:34.260 --> 00:08:36.276 I don't think you do. (both laughing) 220 00:08:36.276 --> 00:08:37.320 Yeah, and I'm in the middle of traffic. 221 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:38.490 Just let me go, it's fine. 222 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:39.323 And I think you do have to laugh at 223 00:08:39.323 --> 00:08:40.156 things like that, 224 00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:48.500 because otherwise it can really start to feel overwhelming. 225 00:08:49.260 --> 00:08:53.490 So humor really is important, you know, for all of us. 226 00:08:53.490 --> 00:08:55.080 It's good that we can laugh at ourselves, 227 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:59.370 it's good that we can laugh with people, and so on. 228 00:08:59.370 --> 00:09:02.490 And so I guess we all do that to some degree, 229 00:09:02.490 --> 00:09:06.067 but you actually took it a step further and you decided, 230 00:09:06.067 --> 00:09:07.530 "Hey, you know what? 231 00:09:07.530 --> 00:09:10.290 I'm pretty funny and I'm gonna do standup." 232 00:09:10.290 --> 00:09:12.153 How did that come about? 233 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:15.600 First of all, how did you have... 234 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:18.480 I think that takes a lot of courage to do that. 235 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.097 And then how did you decide, 236 00:09:21.097 --> 00:09:25.508 "Okay, this is the kind of material I'm gonna focus on." 237 00:09:25.508 --> 00:09:27.480 Yeah, I've always loved standup 238 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:29.460 from when I was a little kid. When I grew up, 239 00:09:29.460 --> 00:09:31.560 we didn't have air conditioning in the house, 240 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:33.090 so in the summer, my brother and I 241 00:09:33.090 --> 00:09:34.650 would sleep in our basement on the floor, 242 00:09:34.650 --> 00:09:37.130 and we'd watch "An Evening at the Improv" back then. 243 00:09:37.130 --> 00:09:39.420 So I remember the very first time I saw Norm McDonald. 244 00:09:39.420 --> 00:09:40.950 He was my comedy hero. 245 00:09:40.950 --> 00:09:44.550 Sometimes my brother and I would sneak up and watch "SNL." 246 00:09:44.550 --> 00:09:45.660 So I've always liked it 247 00:09:45.660 --> 00:09:47.190 and I've always thought I wanted to try it, 248 00:09:47.190 --> 00:09:51.237 but I never had the guts to do it. 249 00:09:51.237 --> 00:09:53.309 But then when I got to the point where I lost all my sight, 250 00:09:53.309 --> 00:09:55.080 we were in a different city from where I grew up 251 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:56.310 and I just kinda thought, 252 00:09:56.310 --> 00:09:57.352 "Well, what the hell?" 253 00:09:57.352 --> 00:10:00.139 I'm in my 40s now; I might as well just give it a shot. 254 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:01.443 If I don't do it now, I'll always regret it." 255 00:10:01.443 --> 00:10:04.577 So I took a class and it went really well, 256 00:10:04.577 --> 00:10:06.210 so I stuck with it. 257 00:10:06.210 --> 00:10:07.043 Wow, okay. 258 00:10:07.043 --> 00:10:09.390 So there was a class that you were able to take 259 00:10:09.390 --> 00:10:11.160 that talks about... 260 00:10:11.160 --> 00:10:15.540 What kinds of things did you learn in that? 261 00:10:15.540 --> 00:10:20.190 Like how to compose a joke that wouldn't be too long 262 00:10:20.190 --> 00:10:21.630 or too short or whatever, 263 00:10:21.630 --> 00:10:23.670 or maybe how do you behave on stage? 264 00:10:23.670 --> 00:10:24.840 Like what did they cover? 265 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:25.920 The biggest thing is editing. 266 00:10:25.920 --> 00:10:28.614 So I took a course at Second City in Toronto 267 00:10:28.614 --> 00:10:31.200 and got to do a performance at the John Candy Theater, 268 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:32.550 which was pretty amazing. 269 00:10:32.550 --> 00:10:34.260 But yeah, that's basically, it's just classes 270 00:10:34.260 --> 00:10:36.540 with just people who haven't done this before 271 00:10:36.540 --> 00:10:38.670 and a professional comedian. 272 00:10:38.670 --> 00:10:40.560 And the biggest thing is, 273 00:10:40.560 --> 00:10:42.930 they can't teach you how to be funny, obviously, 274 00:10:42.930 --> 00:10:44.700 but editing, everyone tries to write 275 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:47.220 these really long storytelling jokes when they start. 276 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.110 Everyone does it, every single person I've met, 277 00:10:49.110 --> 00:10:50.880 and you can't do it for years. 278 00:10:50.880 --> 00:10:52.740 It takes a long time to get to that point. 279 00:10:52.740 --> 00:10:55.290 So that's basically the biggest thing they do, 280 00:10:55.290 --> 00:10:57.120 is teach you how to take an idea 281 00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:58.800 and get the funny part out of it 282 00:10:58.800 --> 00:11:00.691 and make it short and kind of punchy. 283 00:11:00.691 --> 00:11:02.730 (audience laughs) 284 00:11:02.730 --> 00:11:06.959 So I do call myself Blind or Todd sometimes. 285 00:11:06.959 --> 00:11:09.031 (audience laughs) 286 00:11:09.031 --> 00:11:10.168 Depends on the circumstances. 287 00:11:10.168 --> 00:11:11.002 If I'm in a meeting, 288 00:11:11.002 --> 00:11:12.330 like going into a conference call at work, 289 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:15.234 I don't say "I'm Blind," I say, "It's Todd." 290 00:11:15.234 --> 00:11:16.500 (audience laughs) 291 00:11:16.500 --> 00:11:17.730 Obviously, I am super charismatic, 292 00:11:17.730 --> 00:11:19.463 so everybody knows the word, right? 293 00:11:21.420 --> 00:11:23.880 To be honest, I'm not sure if I can call myself blind. 294 00:11:23.880 --> 00:11:26.160 Like they change these terminologies all the time. 295 00:11:26.160 --> 00:11:27.463 So calling myself blind, 296 00:11:27.463 --> 00:11:29.515 I might be oppressing myself, right? 297 00:11:29.515 --> 00:11:30.840 (audience laughs) 298 00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.873 I can start a hashtag or some sort of walk. 299 00:11:35.516 --> 00:11:37.440 What? We're in Canada, we're lucky to have great healthcare. 300 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:38.760 The eye doctors are great here. 301 00:11:38.760 --> 00:11:40.020 You know, he says, "I've seen this a lot. 302 00:11:40.020 --> 00:11:43.179 We know exactly what to do. Here's this metal pole. 303 00:11:43.179 --> 00:11:45.360 (audience laughs) 304 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:46.410 Tap it in front of yourself 305 00:11:46.410 --> 00:11:48.017 and we'll see you in like a year." 306 00:11:48.017 --> 00:11:50.490 (audience laughs) 307 00:11:50.490 --> 00:11:54.570 I guess you have a lot of material to pull from, 308 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:56.100 you know, from your daily life. 309 00:11:56.100 --> 00:12:00.270 I feel like we can all, you know, anybody with vision loss 310 00:12:00.270 --> 00:12:03.300 has at least one story where something happened 311 00:12:03.300 --> 00:12:05.820 that was just completely ridiculous, 312 00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:09.210 and, you know, kind of goes into your archives 313 00:12:09.210 --> 00:12:10.717 of things that you're like, 314 00:12:10.717 --> 00:12:13.560 "You wouldn't believe what this person said or did" 315 00:12:13.560 --> 00:12:14.460 or whatever. 316 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:17.490 Do you have one that really stands out for you? 317 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:21.510 Just a story that is super funny or that you had to laugh at 318 00:12:21.510 --> 00:12:22.950 'cause it was so ridiculous? 319 00:12:22.950 --> 00:12:23.970 Yeah, for sure. 320 00:12:23.970 --> 00:12:26.820 And you're right, I kind of feel like having vision loss, 321 00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:29.160 I feel it's almost a superpower when it comes to this, 322 00:12:29.160 --> 00:12:31.290 because we do all have those stories. 323 00:12:31.290 --> 00:12:33.720 The one I always think of that I think is funny is, 324 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.030 I used to work at a hospital, 325 00:12:36.030 --> 00:12:38.010 I did the data and reporting and stuff 326 00:12:38.010 --> 00:12:39.840 in the surgical department. 327 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:41.460 So I worked with all these heads-of-service, 328 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:42.420 all these surgeons. 329 00:12:42.420 --> 00:12:44.280 And one time after a meeting, 330 00:12:44.280 --> 00:12:45.390 I was walking out of the hospital 331 00:12:45.390 --> 00:12:49.623 with the chief of neurosurgery, like a brain surgeon. 332 00:12:49.623 --> 00:12:51.390 And I had my cane and we were walking out the door 333 00:12:51.390 --> 00:12:52.380 and it was raining out, 334 00:12:52.380 --> 00:12:53.790 and he said, "Oh, it's really raining, Todd. 335 00:12:53.790 --> 00:12:55.385 I hope you're not parked too far." 336 00:12:55.385 --> 00:13:00.070 (laughs) And what did you say? 337 00:13:00.070 --> 00:13:01.983 (laughs) "I'm not driving." 338 00:13:01.983 --> 00:13:05.407 He's a brain surgeon, I don't know. Weird stuff like that. 339 00:13:05.407 --> 00:13:06.750 It's just people aren't used 340 00:13:06.750 --> 00:13:08.310 to being around blind people, right? 341 00:13:08.310 --> 00:13:11.148 So, I don't know, that's probably what it is, (laughs) 342 00:13:11.148 --> 00:13:11.981 but it's funny. 343 00:13:11.981 --> 00:13:15.360 Yeah, and people just don't know what to say. 344 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.920 And, you now, sometimes they will be really afraid 345 00:13:19.920 --> 00:13:23.130 to say anything and afraid to say the wrong thing, 346 00:13:23.130 --> 00:13:26.497 or sometimes they just think, you know, 347 00:13:26.497 --> 00:13:28.290 "Well, I will just open my mouth 348 00:13:28.290 --> 00:13:29.640 and let's see what comes out." 349 00:13:29.640 --> 00:13:33.300 So yeah, we get lots of funny stuff. 350 00:13:33.300 --> 00:13:38.250 But it's not always about the laughs, I guess. 351 00:13:38.250 --> 00:13:42.990 I mean, as cool as it is to be able to laugh at ourselves 352 00:13:42.990 --> 00:13:46.470 and take things a little less seriously, 353 00:13:46.470 --> 00:13:49.650 there are some things about vision loss 354 00:13:49.650 --> 00:13:54.650 that are hard to talk about and, you know, they are serious. 355 00:13:54.660 --> 00:13:59.070 I feel when we make jokes, 356 00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:02.350 they are a way to talk about the important things 357 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:04.770 in kind of a safe way. 358 00:14:04.770 --> 00:14:07.890 But sometimes, you do have to go a little deeper 359 00:14:07.890 --> 00:14:10.020 and talk about the serious stuff. 360 00:14:10.020 --> 00:14:14.670 Do you think there are things about vision loss 361 00:14:14.670 --> 00:14:17.580 that really don't get a lot of attention and should? 362 00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:18.870 Oh, for sure, and you're right, 363 00:14:18.870 --> 00:14:20.760 I think that one of the reasons I started this 364 00:14:20.760 --> 00:14:23.783 was because there is, when there's something that's painful 365 00:14:23.783 --> 00:14:27.180 and you can have fun with that sometimes. 366 00:14:27.180 --> 00:14:30.150 But I think the thing we don't talk about enough, 367 00:14:30.150 --> 00:14:31.440 and it might not be everybody, 368 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:34.590 but with my vision loss being so gradual, 369 00:14:34.590 --> 00:14:36.090 we never really talked about anxiety 370 00:14:36.090 --> 00:14:38.430 and mental health challenges around that. 371 00:14:38.430 --> 00:14:40.950 It's not part of primary care and it probably should be. 372 00:14:40.950 --> 00:14:41.783 Like I know with myself, 373 00:14:41.783 --> 00:14:44.790 I started having panic attacks when I had kids. 374 00:14:44.790 --> 00:14:47.820 My son, the first one I had, we were at a playground 375 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:50.280 and my wife had my younger son at a different part, 376 00:14:50.280 --> 00:14:52.830 he was just a baby, and my three-year-old son at the time 377 00:14:52.830 --> 00:14:55.800 fell and knocked the wind out of himself. 378 00:14:55.800 --> 00:14:56.863 So he was hurt and he was scared 379 00:14:56.863 --> 00:14:58.680 and he was like 10 feet in front of me 380 00:14:58.680 --> 00:15:00.060 and I didn't know he was there. 381 00:15:00.060 --> 00:15:01.407 So, I mean, stuff like that, 382 00:15:01.407 --> 00:15:03.630 you wouldn't even think of a situation like that. 383 00:15:03.630 --> 00:15:05.850 But it caused a panic attack 384 00:15:05.850 --> 00:15:08.670 and I've had panic attacks ever since then. 385 00:15:08.670 --> 00:15:11.190 So I think the mental health aspect of it 386 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:12.510 maybe isn't talked about enough 387 00:15:12.510 --> 00:15:13.867 and it's kind of easy to think, 388 00:15:13.867 --> 00:15:16.710 "Well, I'm doing fine with this," when you're probably not. 389 00:15:16.710 --> 00:15:21.030 And are there things that have helped you? 390 00:15:21.030 --> 00:15:24.330 Knowing that you have panic attacks now, 391 00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:26.520 are there things that have helped you, 392 00:15:26.520 --> 00:15:30.780 in addition to just being able to laugh at things? 393 00:15:30.780 --> 00:15:34.800 Are there things that you do like for either relaxation 394 00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:35.910 or things that, you know, 395 00:15:35.910 --> 00:15:37.860 connecting with other people that have helped? 396 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:39.000 Anything like that? 397 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:40.740 Yeah, I would say, I'm lucky that my wife 398 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:41.760 is incredibly supportive. 399 00:15:41.760 --> 00:15:45.300 My kids are just normal, so they're really good. 400 00:15:45.300 --> 00:15:47.610 I've done counseling about it, 401 00:15:47.610 --> 00:15:49.950 which is another kind of issue 402 00:15:49.950 --> 00:15:51.840 I think that isn't recognized, 403 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:54.210 is even getting counseling or mental health support. 404 00:15:54.210 --> 00:15:55.770 I've been to a few counselors 405 00:15:55.770 --> 00:15:57.030 who've not known how to help me 406 00:15:57.030 --> 00:15:58.650 because they don't know how to deal with someone 407 00:15:58.650 --> 00:16:01.560 who has a disability that's progressing. 408 00:16:01.560 --> 00:16:03.540 But you think that would be kind of an important thing 409 00:16:03.540 --> 00:16:05.970 for counselors to know, but... 410 00:16:05.970 --> 00:16:08.160 Yeah, and how much of a challenge is that 411 00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:10.800 when you are reaching out for help 412 00:16:10.800 --> 00:16:14.700 and yet you're sort of having to educate 413 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:16.980 that mental health professional 414 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.170 about how to deal with someone with a disability, 415 00:16:19.170 --> 00:16:21.792 even though you are overwhelmed yourself? 416 00:16:21.792 --> 00:16:23.047 Yeah, it makes it really difficult. 417 00:16:23.047 --> 00:16:25.401 So I don't know if there's something 418 00:16:25.401 --> 00:16:26.850 that should be maybe dealt with, but... 419 00:16:26.850 --> 00:16:31.850 So when is your next standup? How long are you... 420 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:36.930 Are you doing tours? How are you approaching that? 421 00:16:36.930 --> 00:16:38.400 I've been really lucky, actually. 422 00:16:38.400 --> 00:16:39.570 I've been getting a good reception, 423 00:16:39.570 --> 00:16:43.110 so there's a bunch of people who put on shows in Toronto 424 00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:44.760 that have been inviting me on. 425 00:16:44.760 --> 00:16:47.280 I'm doing, actually, a whole bunch, probably seven or eight 426 00:16:47.280 --> 00:16:48.240 in the next few weeks. 427 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:49.710 I'm doing a "Star Wars" theme one next week, 428 00:16:49.710 --> 00:16:51.420 that'll be interesting, on May the 4th. 429 00:16:51.420 --> 00:16:53.760 So we'll see how that goes. (laughs) 430 00:16:53.760 --> 00:16:56.001 Yeah. Well, may the 4th be with you! 431 00:16:56.001 --> 00:16:57.780 (both chuckle) That's right. 432 00:16:57.780 --> 00:16:58.830 That's fantastic. 433 00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:02.220 If people want to either know more 434 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:04.770 about what's going on in your world 435 00:17:04.770 --> 00:17:08.040 or eventually catch maybe some comedy clips, 436 00:17:08.040 --> 00:17:10.410 is there a place that they can go to check that out? 437 00:17:10.410 --> 00:17:13.020 Yeah, sure, just my name, Todd Blenkhorn, 438 00:17:13.020 --> 00:17:17.520 B-L-E-N-K-H-O-R-N, on YouTube or Facebook or Instagram. 439 00:17:17.520 --> 00:17:20.100 Fantastic, well, this has been super fun 440 00:17:20.100 --> 00:17:22.380 and certainly illuminating 441 00:17:22.380 --> 00:17:26.040 and I admire you for what you're doing 442 00:17:26.040 --> 00:17:29.407 in terms of actually getting out there and say, 443 00:17:29.407 --> 00:17:33.120 "Hey, you know, I've always wanted to do standup, 444 00:17:33.120 --> 00:17:34.890 so what's the harm in it?" 445 00:17:34.890 --> 00:17:37.140 And I think that's amazing. 446 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:40.230 Anything else you want to leave us with before we wrap up? 447 00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:41.700 No, I just appreciate you having me on here. 448 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:42.942 It's been a lot of fun. 449 00:17:42.942 --> 00:17:43.775 (audience laughs) 450 00:17:43.775 --> 00:17:45.570 So I actually ended up getting a guide dog. 451 00:17:45.570 --> 00:17:48.450 And people are crazy with dogs, 452 00:17:48.450 --> 00:17:50.640 but they are out of their minds when it comes to guide dogs. 453 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:52.560 I don't get it. (audience laughs) 454 00:17:52.560 --> 00:17:54.540 I was honestly, this isn't a joke, 455 00:17:54.540 --> 00:17:56.550 I was sitting in a coffee shop with my guide dog 456 00:17:56.550 --> 00:17:58.117 and a person came over and said, 457 00:17:58.117 --> 00:18:00.039 "Can I give your dog a cheese danish?" 458 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:01.264 (audience laughing) 459 00:18:01.264 --> 00:18:03.725 And I didn't even know how to answer that. 460 00:18:03.725 --> 00:18:06.558 He's already had a cheese danish. 461 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:11.340 He's doing Keto, he can't have carbs. 462 00:18:11.340 --> 00:18:13.313 That's the stupidest question in the world. 463 00:18:15.804 --> 00:18:17.730 Like everyone knows the rules around guide dogs, 464 00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:20.370 you just don't acknowledge them, act like they don't exist. 465 00:18:20.370 --> 00:18:21.840 Every day someone will pet my dog 466 00:18:21.840 --> 00:18:23.377 and they always say the same thing, 467 00:18:23.377 --> 00:18:25.853 "I know I'm not supposed to, I can't help it." 468 00:18:25.853 --> 00:18:28.410 So what I like to do is when they bend down to pet my dog, 469 00:18:28.410 --> 00:18:29.910 I punch them as hard as I can, 470 00:18:31.290 --> 00:18:33.416 which I know I'm not supposed to do, 471 00:18:33.416 --> 00:18:36.480 but I just can't help it. (audience laughing) 472 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:38.780 It's been great. Thank you so much, Todd. 473 00:18:38.780 --> 00:18:39.613 (gentle music) 474 00:18:39.613 --> 00:18:41.130 Got something to say? 475 00:18:41.130 --> 00:18:44.220 Share your thoughts about this episode of "Hadley Presents" 476 00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:46.800 or make suggestions for future episodes. 477 00:18:46.800 --> 00:18:48.420 We'd love to hear from you. 478 00:18:48.420 --> 00:18:52.710 Send us an email at podcast@hadley.edu, 479 00:18:52.710 --> 00:18:57.710 that's P-O-D-C-A-S-T@hadley.edu, 480 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:01.593 or leave us a message at 847-784-2870. 481 00:19:04.350 --> 00:19:05.493 Thanks for listening!