WEBVTT
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A white cane can open
up so many possibilities
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for maintaining independence,
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but the decision to use one
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for the first time is not
always straightforward.
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In celebration of the upcoming
White Cane Safety Day,
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guests in this episode
share stories from rejection
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to eventual pride and
acceptance of the White Cane.
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I'm Ricky Enger, and
this is Hadley Presents.
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White Cane Safety Day happens
each year on October 15th,
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and it was first instituted in 1964,
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and it was created to
really raise awareness
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among drivers.
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So if a driver sees a person
with a white cane, they know
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to yield the right of
way to that pedestrian.
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And that's certainly a
laudable goal for sure.
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Since that time, celebrations
take place each year
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and they still do have that same spirit
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of raising awareness
for the general public.
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But I think another thing
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that White Cane Safety
Day celebrations do is to
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allow those who are using a white cane,
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whether they are brand new to it
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or they've been using it
for quite some time, to be
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with others like themselves.
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And it's a chance to just
normalize the idea that
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using a white cane is okay.
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And that's really what we hope to do
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with this episode as well.
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So hearing from people who
may have had some awareness
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of the cane, but certainly not
feeling like it was the right
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path for them and how something that
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typically has such a
stigma attached to it can
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then become a source of
pride and independence.
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First up, we'll hear from Larry.
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Larry, I know that you were
pretty hesitant initially.
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What ultimately led you
to decide, yeah, this,
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this cane is pretty cool.
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And then your family members,
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what was their role in your journey toward
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acceptance of the cane?
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In February of 2016, my retina detached
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and tore in multiple places.
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I've had issues with my eyes ever since.
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And I said, "No, I don't need a cane.
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Those are for blind people." She said,
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"You're really blind in the one eye
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and you're wearing a Dixie cup
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because you have no
peripheral vision there."
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And I was like, "Well, okay, yeah,
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but I can still see out of the
left eye." I mean, I was off
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and on with it for probably about a year.
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I waffled a lot on that, that
cane thing for a long time
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before I finally just said,
"I'm tired of falling."
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I would use it and I'd
walk and I wouldn't fall.
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I wouldn't use it, you
know, on a five-mile walk
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and I'd come back and my pants are ripped
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and, you know, the knees
are bleeding somewhere,
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you know, scrapes on the hands.
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And my wife would be, "What
happened?" And she's like, "No,
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you really should consider that
cane." And I was like, "No,
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I'm not, I'm not ready
for it." And then I took
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that hike at Red Rock.
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It was just a one mile out and back.
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And I saw these blobs
coming at me, you know,
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because that's how I see people
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until you get within probably a foot
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or two, you're just a blob.
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And I stepped off the trail.
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And the only thing I really remember is
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that I was flat on my back.
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I know somebody pushed
me because I didn't fall.
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My son was right there and he said, "Dad,
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you stepped off the trail
and fell." I got back
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to the trail head and I couldn't stop
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the bleeding on my left knee.
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I decided from there on,
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because I'm going to carry this on my
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knee for the rest of my life.
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I was like, "You know
what? This is just one
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of those things I'm
going to have to learn.
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I have to carry it with me
and this is what we're going
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to have to do." Once I
got that all dialed in,
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I've been good with it ever since.
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But like I say, it's
just getting used to it.
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It's adding to your routine, if you will.
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It's like you hit the door
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and it's like, okay, car
keys, keys, phone, wallet.
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I got to remember to
make sure I have my cane.
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And I've got a spot
right there by the door
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where the canes are all stacked up
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and grab the primary cane and go.
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What do you wish
somebody had said to you
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before you fell a lot
of times that might have
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sped up your decision to
ultimately get a cane?
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In my case, I'm just
bullheaded, so I'm not sure
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that anything could have been said.
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Honestly, I don't know. I just had to come
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to the decision on my own.
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But I would tell anybody
that's waffling on a cane
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or not, unfortunately, we're
not getting any younger
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and it takes a lot longer to heal.
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All the falls I've taken, I could
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and should have a couple more
broken bones on my record than
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I have because I didn't want
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to carry the cane with me and use it.
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I was concerned about
what other people said
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and I realized they can't live my life.
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I have to live my own. And it's
not an easy decision to come
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to, but once you come to it, it's fine.
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And I think the big thing
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with the cane is it's an icebreaker.
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It's a communication tool.
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I can talk to people
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because they realize, oh, this
guy doesn't see that well.
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He's totally blind. And I
inform them, no, I can see.
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I just can't define what I'm seeing.
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They're curious, but they don't
want to ask that question,
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well, why do you have
a cane if you can see?
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And then when you tell them that, hey,
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I can't read the sign across the thing.
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I just kind of have an idea what it says.
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And then they understand
and they realize that, hey,
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he can't see below his waist.
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It makes it easier. The next
time they run into somebody
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with a white cane, whether it's me
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or somebody else, they'll also understand
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that guy's got a problem with his eyesight
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and that's why he has the cane.
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What a fantastic story.
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Larry starts out feeling very hesitant
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and unwilling to carry the cane.
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And ultimately, it simply
becomes a part of his routine.
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And not only does he accept it,
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but he is engaged in educating others in
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what the white cane can
do and what it's for.
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And sometimes that education
makes all the difference in
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someone's decision to use a cane.
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And then again, sometimes you
can know everything there is
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to know about using a white cane
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and still feel some resistance to doing
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so yourself.
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And that's what we're going
to hear in Dory's story.
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I was diagnosed at the age of 33,
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which is 31 years ago
with Stargardt disease.
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And so Stargardt disease is
an inherited retinal disease
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that impairs central vision.
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It's mostly concentrated in central vision
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and it is similar to macular degeneration.
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So people who are going
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through age-related macular degeneration,
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my progressive loss is very
similar, mostly in the center.
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At the time, the changes were very slow.
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I will say that my vision
has been changing always.
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It's always been changing,
but relatively slow.
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I've only had a few
significant, really noticeable,
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meaningful changes,
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and one was recently during the pandemic.
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I'm so glad that we have
a chance to talk about this
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because vision loss is not
new to you, but the cane is.
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So what was that like?
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What drove you to finally make
that decision to say, "Well,
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I think maybe I should try this"?
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It was definitely a long time coming.
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And frankly, Ricky, I like know
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so many people can relate.
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I hoped the day would
never come. I really did.
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And I know a lot of people
with central vision loss,
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and most people, frankly, don't use canes.
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I pretty much though you
can navigate the world,
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you see what's all
around you, what you lose
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is the detail in the center.
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So reading and identifying faces,
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I have no facial recognition.
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That is very difficult.
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But walking around the
world is usually something
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that you can do.
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Maybe it's not smart
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to do it without some
assistance, but you can do it.
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So I did it for a very long
time and I had no problem.
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I was encouraged to use the cane
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and I was even sometimes ashamed into
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why aren't you and you should be
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and it's not smart that you don't.
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And I though always, I knew always
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that I would know when I needed a cane.
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I knew I would know.
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And I actually also knew that
it would have to do with my
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not being able to navigate
the street safely.
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So that's what happened.
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During the pandemic, I
noticed everything was weird
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and changing and our lives
were so different and isolated.
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And I remember the day that
I noticed first in the street
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and then when I was in a supermarket
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that things were really
looking very different,
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that my vision had changed.
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So I knew it was time for the cane,
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but honestly, even though I knew
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and even though I am a
professional in this field
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and even though I give
great advice, right?
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Yep.
I don't always take it.
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So, so I was
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resistant to be sure.
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And it was for me a borderline, a boundary
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that I knew I had to cross it,
but I still didn't want to.
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And that's actually an
interesting aspect of this
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to talk about because I know that...
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In fact, there was actually a quote
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that you mentioned in your latest article
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and it's a quote from another blogger
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and she basically says, "If I
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use a cane, I'm going to look blind
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and people are going
to stare at me." And so
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can we talk about that?
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Not just the practical aspects of
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what does blindness mean exactly,
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but also that whole
stigma around disability
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that still certainly exists?
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Oh, there's no question.
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Stigma is a word that really came.
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And actually, I received
many, many notes from people
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and mentioning that this
would remove stigma,
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and I hope that that's true.
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But yes, I was absolutely
impacted by stigma
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and it so said what really
I think so many of us feel,
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and maybe we just don't
articulate so easily.
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I was, I must say, the
most surprised with all
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of my resistance, and I knew it was coming
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and I knew I had to do it.
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And so I eventually did get
on the phone and got the cane.
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So we were going out for a walk
on this path that we go out
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to enjoy just nature.
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It's beautiful here.
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And a few weeks before, a week or two
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before, we had been on the path
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and I was very uncomfortable
walking on the path.
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And I though, "Ugh, I don't see the colors
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that well anymore, and now I
can't even walk on the path
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so comfortably." And I was
realizing that little by little,
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I was shrinking down my
world of independence.
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That was the worst thing.
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So I knew I had to do it,
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and it was a place I didn't want to go.
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I didn't want to go there.
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It was an advancement into
a place I hoped to avoid.
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But once it was in my hand
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and once I understood on
that path, for example,
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the walk I had taken there a week or so
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before was so different now
with this cane in my hand.
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And I didn't have to worry
about holding onto someone
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or walking behind someone so I
could see what was happening.
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I just had to walk with this cane
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and accept the information
it was giving me.
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In the next half mile, I
would say, I was amazed at
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what a difference it made for
me so quickly, so quickly.
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The confidence and the
security, the sense of security
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that it gave me back
lifted all of the stigma
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and the concerns about
what people would think.
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And it didn't matter anymore
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because I found something that was
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so empowering again for me.
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And it really, it changed
a lot in a very short time.
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I have no regrets.
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It sits at my front door,
open and ready to go.
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I don't go anywhere without it.
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I think that we all have
to get to these places
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in our own time and our own way,
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and no one can push you
when you're not ready to go.
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All of that stigma and resistance
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and fear, sadness even,
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it dissipated from me very quickly.
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And what I've gotten back is
so much more powerful than
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what I was afraid I was going to lose.
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Wow. What an impactful
statement that is.
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What I gained was so
much more powerful than
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what I thought I was going to lose.
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But Dori, like many people,
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did not start out feeling
like the cane was going
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to be a good fit for her.
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There were reasons both in
terms of how she viewed herself
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and how she thought others
were going to perceive her that
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00:13:59.693 --> 00:14:03.993
just added to that overall resistance.
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And I think that just
illustrates so well that
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this decision is not strictly one
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of practicality, right?
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So there's a lot of emotional
things involved as well.
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And you may have friends,
you may have family
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who are pushing you to do this,
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but until you're ready
to explore it yourself,
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it's just not going to happen.
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And once you do decide to take that step,
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so moving from thinking about it to
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00:14:34.353 --> 00:14:37.733
more seriously considering
what does it feel like
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to have one of these things in my hand?
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I'm not saying I'm going
to use it all the time,
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but I at least want to
know this part of it.
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Then it's time to find a professional
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who can show you the ropes, so to speak.
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How do you hold it? Where can
you use it? Who is it for?
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Can only certain people have one?
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So orientation and mobility
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or O&M specialists are
the group of professionals
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who are best equipped to
make that first introduction.
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And now we'll hear from Elijah Haynes,
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who is himself an O&M specialist on
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how he introduces the cane
to people for the first time.
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My name is Elijah Haynes
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and I'm up here in Anchorage, Alaska,
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working at the Alaska Center
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for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
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And I am a certified orientation
and mobility specialist
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and a certified low
vision therapist as well.
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And I do the rural outreach travel here at
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the center as well.
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So yeah, enjoying exploring
Alaska and getting around it
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and definitely teaching
cane traveling in all
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sorts of conditions.
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Lots of snow sometimes you can imagine,
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and here in town as well.
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00:15:53.774 --> 00:15:57.315
A big misconception is that
a cane is only for people
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who have no light perception
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or are totally blind, people might say.
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And not realizing that most
cane users have some vision left
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and a wide variety of vision.
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Some people might need it
just in certain conditions
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00:16:11.075 --> 00:16:13.015
and in certain environments.
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It can be a useful tool
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00:16:14.835 --> 00:16:18.315
for a lot more people than I
think people first initially
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think when they think of maybe the
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00:16:19.755 --> 00:16:22.015
stereotype of a long white cane.
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00:16:22.015 --> 00:16:27.015
I just try to introduce it
in slow steps for people.
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00:16:27.415 --> 00:16:29.675
People initially say
they don't want a cane.
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00:16:29.675 --> 00:16:31.595
I at least hand it to them
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00:16:31.595 --> 00:16:33.955
so they can feel it,
feel the weight of it.
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00:16:33.955 --> 00:16:36.355
It's always a lot lighter than they think.
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00:16:36.355 --> 00:16:38.895
They can feel the different tips on it
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00:16:38.895 --> 00:16:41.195
and they can walk a few steps with it.
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00:16:41.195 --> 00:16:42.435
And if they hand it back to me
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00:16:42.435 --> 00:16:44.835
and say, "No, thanks, that's
all right." At least they've
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00:16:44.835 --> 00:16:47.955
tried it and so they know a
little bit more about it than
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00:16:47.955 --> 00:16:49.635
when they first came to me.
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00:16:50.735 --> 00:16:55.655
I think just that it's normal
to be uncertain about it.
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00:16:55.655 --> 00:16:58.535
And if you're worried about
the stigma of carrying a cane
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00:16:58.535 --> 00:17:00.016
and what people are going to think
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00:17:00.016 --> 00:17:02.016
or wondering how exactly you're going
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00:17:02.016 --> 00:17:04.436
to use it, that's all normal.
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00:17:04.436 --> 00:17:07.976
You're not doing it wrong,
you're not adjusting badly
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00:17:07.976 --> 00:17:11.276
or you're not a bad blind
person or whatever it is.
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00:17:11.276 --> 00:17:14.296
That's totally normal to have that dilemma
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00:17:14.296 --> 00:17:15.736
and struggle with that.
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00:17:15.736 --> 00:17:19.036
I think just to realize that
we've, as a society, really,
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00:17:19.036 --> 00:17:22.116
we've, we've stigmatized the cane so much
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00:17:22.116 --> 00:17:23.816
and other mobility devices that
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00:17:23.816 --> 00:17:27.116
that's a very real thing to grapple with.
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00:17:27.116 --> 00:17:29.076
I would say that if someone's still
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00:17:29.996 --> 00:17:32.536
uncertain about whether they
should use a cane they already
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00:17:32.536 --> 00:17:35.816
have or, or get a cane, hear more stories.
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00:17:35.816 --> 00:17:37.316
It's not always smooth.
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00:17:37.316 --> 00:17:38.676
But if you talk to more
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00:17:38.676 --> 00:17:42.256
and more people, it starts
to normalize cane use.
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00:17:42.256 --> 00:17:44.636
You start to realize
even if you feel like it,
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00:17:44.636 --> 00:17:46.836
you definitely are not the only one
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00:17:46.836 --> 00:17:48.696
that has been in this situation
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00:17:48.696 --> 00:17:50.976
and learn how, how other people adjusted.
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00:17:50.976 --> 00:17:52.316
How do they explain to friends
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00:17:52.316 --> 00:17:55.216
and family when they were
suddenly walking with a cane?
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00:17:55.216 --> 00:17:57.996
How did they deal with those
awkward interactions of,
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00:17:57.996 --> 00:18:01.937
of passersby on the street
every cane user has, you know?
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00:18:01.937 --> 00:18:04.357
And I think the more people can learn and,
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00:18:04.357 --> 00:18:06.057
and listen to those stories,
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00:18:06.057 --> 00:18:07.877
the more they can picture themselves
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00:18:07.877 --> 00:18:09.737
as a successful cane user.
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00:18:11.037 --> 00:18:12.917
That is so well said, Elijah,
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00:18:12.917 --> 00:18:17.157
and it's what we hope to do
with this podcast as well.
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00:18:17.157 --> 00:18:22.097
The more we can normalize having
a cane, so removing some of
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00:18:22.097 --> 00:18:26.577
that stigma and removing
some of that feeling that
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00:18:26.577 --> 00:18:28.997
you're the only person who has ever gone
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00:18:28.997 --> 00:18:30.997
through this trepidation
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00:18:30.997 --> 00:18:35.477
or reluctance to do
something that may ultimately
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00:18:35.477 --> 00:18:40.437
work out well for you, it
helps to hear from others
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00:18:40.437 --> 00:18:43.797
who have had that very same struggle.
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00:18:43.797 --> 00:18:45.677
If you're listening now
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00:18:45.677 --> 00:18:48.877
and you're thinking that you are ready
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00:18:48.877 --> 00:18:52.617
to learn a bit more about the white cane,
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00:18:52.617 --> 00:18:54.897
Hadley has a forthcoming series
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00:18:54.897 --> 00:18:58.657
of workshops talking about the
cane, so stay tuned for that.
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00:18:58.657 --> 00:19:01.277
But in the meantime, you
can check out the show notes
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00:19:01.277 --> 00:19:05.117
for some resources on the
types of canes there are,
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00:19:05.117 --> 00:19:08.018
the types of tips there
are, where you might go
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00:19:08.018 --> 00:19:11.598
to either purchase or
receive a cane for free,
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00:19:11.598 --> 00:19:14.578
and how to go about finding an orientation
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and mobility specialist
to get you started.
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Thank you so much for listening,
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00:19:19.098 --> 00:19:20.598
and we hope you've learned something
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00:19:20.598 --> 00:19:22.978
that makes you feel like
celebrating the white cane.
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00:19:25.058 --> 00:19:26.818
Got something to say?
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00:19:26.818 --> 00:19:30.238
Share your thoughts about this
episode of Hadley Presents
397
00:19:30.238 --> 00:19:32.838
or make suggestions for future episodes.
398
00:19:32.838 --> 00:19:34.598
We'd love to hear from you.
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00:19:34.598 --> 00:19:39.518
Send us an email at
podcast@hadleyhelps.org.
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00:19:39.518 --> 00:19:44.496
That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T at HadleyHelps.org,
401
00:19:46.103 --> 00:19:47.638
or leave us a message at
402
00:19:47.638 --> 00:19:52.000
847-784-2870.
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00:19:52.938 --> 00:19:53.778
Thanks for listening.