27 articles
Hi, it’s me again! Knocking on varsity doors. This time I’m playing reporter as well as live case study. As an elderly Blindy, most of my travel these days is somewhat limited, so I don’t do much ‘out there’ stuff. There are tons of DIY manuals on the matter for the ‘use it or lose it’ theorists, bu
I remember when I first looked through a kaleidoscope; it was a magical thing that you pointed towards the light, rotated the end piece and all the shapes and colours exploded. I reckon my brain's going a bit like that.
Over the years I've found that writing about the informal aspects of being a part- or full-time 'Blindy' is an odd way to pass the time. It often presents 'challenges' (what we used to call 'problems').
Continuing on my ‘journey to blindness’ theme from May’s issue, I reckon it’s important to learn about the stuff that makes the trip comfortable and reject the nasty bits, where possible. First to go would be vision test charts – they make me feel uneasy, hanging there like silent judges waiting to
You need to consider copping an attitude when someone tells you you're going blind; I didn't have one at the time, but ‘needs must’, as they say. Despite a love of language, a spade is still a spade for me, especially when it comes to my medical doings. I don't deal well with the Latin or the verbal
Whoopee, it’s party time! Some folks enjoy them, personally I don't! But it’s a giving time and one must make an effort. Having done so, I hope a few fellow white caners gain something from my recollections.
The 'dark side' always adds a bit of spice to things in movies and books; the bogey man's been with us forever in a fairly harmless way and for my part he's mostly welcome, except when it comes to health issues.
In pre-blindy days, life was pretty comfortable; I was a reasonably successful auctioneer/antique dealer in the family business in Dunedin, strolling towards retirement. The diagnosis of likely blindness from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) changed things: suddenly future plans and living arrangements nee
For years now, some personal style services have been swallowed up by the Starbucks theory that sameness is best. With the growing trend towards franchised providers, I've nursed the fear that this form of cold comfort contact would spread to the professions, especially ophthalmology, which is my ma
It’s amazing really, how, if one of your senses starts to conk out another one seems to pick up the slack. Medically, of course, it’s a fallacy that if you start to lose your sight your hearing becomes more acute, you simply use and value the alternatives more in compensation. Blind people don't app
One of the oddest things about New Zealand is the incredible enthusiasm most people have for 'getting away'. Given the size of the country, it’s pretty tough to get really far away from whatever moves
