Special to The Star-Herald
I recently received a telephone call from a lady in a world I didn’t know existed. She said that a friend suggested the contact. The lady works for the State of Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired. I need that world. Years ago, I learned that I am diabetic, as was my father before me. He controlled his diabetes with a pill, and I thought I could do the same—if I ever really needed to. After all, I was busy at the time.
Before long I had to borrow my husband’s glasses to use with mine to read the dials on my stove. OK, I thought, I need new glasses. My optometrist took a quick look into my eyes and arranged an immediate visit to an ophthalmologist. He rearranged his busy schedule and started a program of laser surgery on my eyes.
I am thankful that the doctor saved some of my vision. However, I am now legally blind in one eye. I am so impaired in the other that, without aids, I can only listen to television and read nothing smaller than newspaper headlines. For safety’s sake I gave up my driver’s license.
Incidentally, the moral of that story is: Do Not Neglect Diabetes.
I accepted changes to accommodate my problem. My husband enlarged my recipes with a copier, and I made notes with a felt tipped pen. I wrote large numbers on my measuring cups. I found an Alice in Wonderland sized wrist watch, and my grandson (bless him) brought me a magnifying machine that looks like a television.
Still, my problem restricted my life. I became so frustrated with my sewing machine that I stopped making pillows and bedding for doll cribs my husband makes. Only with patience could I use my magnifying machine to read a newspaper. I find it difficult to follow books on tape, so my husband reads to me. When I sign my name someone has to hold their fingers where I am to write.
The lady from the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired visited. She had things and ideas I can use. A lot of people are visually impaired, and a lot of thought has been applied to the problem.
In short, my new friend had a world of help for me. She provided me with guides just the right size to fit such common problems as writing signatures, checks, letter envelopes, and full pages.
She had color coded measuring cup sets. Each size is a different color. Hey, great idea. Someone was thinking. It dawned on me that I have half a dozen different sets of the things. Hey, I wasn’t thinking. If I had mated a cup from each of my sets I would have six sets of color-coded measuring cups. Well, better late than never.
In addition to my standard three inch cooking timer with half inch numbers, I now have an eight inch timer with inch and a half numbers. It has a ringer to match its size. It is fun to set the thing and have it go off beside an unsuspecting friend. Sometimes I doze in my wheel chair when I’m making cookies. Now I wake up on time every time.
Everyone knows what time it is in my living room. It looks like my friend stole a Big Ben clock face for me. I’m glad the thing doesn’t have a chime to match its size.
I now have a calendar with numbers I can see. Each day square is big enough for the number, notes for hair dresser and doctor appointments, and a grocery list. The whole thing nearly papers the wall. How nice.
The numbers on my telephone match the calendar. My phone might look funny, but I punch the right numbers.
You would have to see binocular glasses to believe them. Like binoculars, two sets of lenses adjust to focus at different distances. I adjust them to my television set and I can see facial features. I adjust them to the bird feeder, and I can tell one bird from another. Of course, there are too many kinds of little brown sparrows to distinguish.
I was not a believer when I heard about needle threaders and self-threading needles—regular and for sewing machines. That is just too good to be true—right? Well—wrong. I have some, and they work. I’m sewing again.
My new magnifier is far better than old models. A hand-sized recipe fills the twelve by fifteen inch screen. While this is not as good as young eyes, it is a splendid and appreciated help.
I guess I’ve lived in The County too long to accept a talking watch as real. The thing is as small as a regular watch, and whenever I punch the button it tells me the time. I’m not kidding. There are also talking clocks if you don’t want to wear your watch to bed—but you have to find the button to punch.
These are only a few of the items and ideas in a catalog my friend has for we visually impaired friends.
I am thankful for this help. If you have a visually impaired friend, please read this article to him or her. The Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired telephone number is 207-760-6347 or 1-800-635-0357. Friends work there. For more information on issues related to aging, contact the Aroostook Agency on Aging at 764-3396 or 1-800-439-1789. Friends also work there.
