[Blind-rollers] My Experiences

[Treva Olivero]

Hi Everyone!
I'm so excited to be on this list! I just joined yesterday, and I have
learned a lot from all of your experiences. I'm from Richmond Indiana,
which is a small city in the eastern part of the state. 

I use a manual chair because I have had very negative experiences with a
power chair. 

I am in a wheelchair due to a bone disease and a right leg above the
knee amputation. I am legally blind. I can see objects, but I can't
always tell what they are. 

I started using a cane about 5 years ago. Before that, I didn't think it
could be done. When I went to an NFB convention, someone told me how
this can be accomplished. I get a 61 inch cane so it is long enough to
make an arc across the front of my chair. I use both hands to push
myself. I put the cane in my left hand and use my fingers to swing it
back and forth. It takes practice to do this, and it's hard to describe
what I do, but it works for me. I try to get a cane with a pretty skinny
top so that I can hold it while I'm holding onto the handrims of my
chair. Another tactic that I use is to push myself and then make the
arc. The hardest part is going up hills and being inside crowded places.
If I am familiar with the hill/ramp and don't foresee obstacles, I
sometimes need both hands so I hold the cane with my chin and just go.
It takes a lot of creativity. 

My experience with the power chair was that I had difficulty getting
through doorways, and I frequently crashed. I also didn't use a cane at
the time, so I didn't always know where the curb cuts were located. I
stopped using the power chair when I got stuck in a pile of snow at an
intersection and could hardly get out. Someone came and helped me, but
my chair just spun in the snow. Now I don't think I'd want a power chair
because I go out with friends a lot and use taxis, which in Richmond are
not lift equipped. I wonder how those of you who use power chairs deal
with the lack of portability. 

I was also not successful in using a one arm drive chair when I tried it
out. It was extremely difficult for me to maneuver. 

I think it's awful that so many of you have had difficulty getting a
wheelchair due to your blindness. I have never been questioned, even
when I got the power chair. 

Treva