[nfb-talk] About myself for David and anyone else interested.

[dmgina]

Hi there,
I tried to join the lions club here in town, but I had to say no when it 
came to transportation.
I couldn't afford the cab fare.
I didn't know how to make a commitment and then have a driver say they 
couldn't take me.
I knew that I could help the club, but I had to think of us first.
They told me all of the things they would be willing to help me get, after I 
did the paper work, but I said I wanted to help the group.
Not just get help.
But that is ok.
I know something will come up for me this next year that I could do from 
home.
I even got a fold up chair cane that I could take with me so that I didn't 
have to stand all of the time.
I was going to ring the bells with the club.
Just like the salvation  does.
But that didn't work out.
No one called to see how they could help me.
But my heart was in the rite direction.
At first the chapter that I was going to join did their meetings in the 
afternoon.
I knew that I could get transportation to help me out.
That would have been round trip three dollars.
I knew that I could handle that one.
But they said after the first of the year the meetings would be held at 
night.
I knew then the transportation didn't run after five.
Once again, I knew that I wasn't going to pay cab fare.
I am so pleased that you could help the lady.
What a special story.

--Dar
www.mypowermall.com/biz/home/5779
Every Saint has a past
Every Sinner has a future

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
To: "'NFB Talk Mailing List'" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2007 4:32 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] About myself for David and anyone else interested.


> Dear Helene,
>
> You did not bore me.  In fact you have inspired me.
> Listening to all of the barriers you have overcome to get to where you are
> now is both sobering and inspiring.
> I was very lucky that I always had my parents supporting me and 
> encouraging
> me.
> I have faced depression myself and in my family.  My mother had at least 3
> nervous breakdowns in my childhood.  She had some many medical problems it
> would read like a medical encyclopedia.  She was so addicted to 
> prescription
> drugs, because of pain and her many medical conditions it is not to be
> believed.  She died 3 times in her life and was brought back.  Once after
> nearly 20 minutes.  She even had a out of body experience and said she saw
> herself laying dead in the bed with doctors working over her.  She even 
> said
> that she heard a voice calling her and a blinding bright light that she 
> was
> drawn toward.
> After she recovered she said that she was not afraid of dieing anymore. 
> She
> became more religious after that and so did my father.
> Later, the both of them began to minister to people in prison and in the
> hospital.
> Her depression seemed to go away after that near death experience.
> I know I still get depressed from time to time, usually over money matters
> or relationships, but it passes.  I have found that what works for me is
> looking around for some one else to help.  I find it hard to be depressed
> and feel sorry for myself when I am engaged with trying to help someone 
> else
> that I think has it worst than I do.
> Two weeks ago, my Lion's Club had a Xmas Party for Blind children and I 
> met
> one of the families as I was serving as the greeter and person getting the
> families to sign in.
> The mother of this family, Stacy,  spoke to me and I asked if there was
> anything that we, the lions or the NFB could do to help the family beyond
> the Xmas Party.
> She told me her story.
> She was married twice and both husbands had died.  One by car accident and
> the second one by taking his own life after finding out one of his 
> daughters
> had a incurable medical condition and his wife had cancer.
> The mother had her own problems too.  She had cancer and had to have a 
> full
> hysterectomy and just had both breast removed.
> Now the oldest girl is legally blind and is losing her ability to even 
> walk
> and will soon be confined to a wheelchair.  She will die with in a few
> years.
> Her younger sister, has just now been found to have the same terminal
> condition too and is near legal blindness too.  .
> The mother and children are living with her parents and they have a two
> story house and will need to have a lift installed to be able to get the
> wheelchairs up and down as the older child has already fallen down the
> stairs twice.  She is only 14 years old now.
> The lift will cost about $20,000 dollars and the motorized wheelchairs 
> will
> cost nearly $30,000 dollars each plus the house will need ramps and wider
> doors installed and a wheelchair lift equipped vehicle will also be needed
> at some point.
>
> I was left a gasp.  I could only tell her that I would do whatever I 
> could.
> I sent an e-mail to a media contact I have with our local Channel 5 TV 
> news.
> He said that he would contact her and see what he could do after checking
> her story out.
> He did.  He did a whole piece on her plight and situation and got a bank
> account set up for donations to help.
> A nurse with a Plastic surgeon saw her story and asked the doctor she 
> worked
> for if he could help.  Infact, she got the whole staff to donate their 
> time
> and services and got a hospital to donate the place and materials to do a
> full reconstruction surgery on Stacy so she will feel her body is whole
> again.
> The operation would have cost $60,000 Dollars normally.
> The bank account has already taken in over $10,000 from people who saw her
> story on TV and we think more will come in now that the doctor has come
> forward to help the mother.
> Sometimes, we do not realize the power we have to make a difference in
> people's lives.  Some times we will never know how much of an effect we 
> have
> had.  We just must be hopeful and try to do what we can, where we can
> because none of us knows how long we will be here.  It all starts with 
> just
> one person making a difference and then another and another.  Before you
> know it the World has changed.
>
> Thinking of you.  I can not help think of another lady who was born not 
> far
> from where I was in the State of Alabama.  She was born totally deaf and
> blind.  She was Helen Keller.  Her own story is inspiring enough, but she
> did something else that is still making a difference today.  She attended 
> a
> gentleman's business club and asked them to become the Knights of the 
> Blind.
> Wal la   The International Lion's Clubs were born and took up Helen's 
> cause.
> Today the Lion's Clubs have over one and a half million members World 
> wide.
> All of them just trying to make a difference.  I think that I will always
> think of her every time I think of you., and I will care.
> Well, I have some work I have to do now, but I enjoyed getting your post.
> I wish you the best in the coming year and look forward to talking with 
> you
> again soon.  Go forth and make your own difference.
>
> Your friend across the pond,
>
> David Evans, NFBF
> Palm Beach County Chapter  President
> !
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of helene ryles
> Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2007 10:34 AM
> To: nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfb-talk] About myself for David and anyone else interested.
>
> Hi David,
>
>  No you didn't bore me. I hope you can say the same after I've finished,
> but you did ask about my background. So here goes:
>
>  I am 37.  I was born prematurely with thyroid defficency, mild Asperger
> syndrome and mild deafness which deteriated gradually.  I am now 
> profoundly
> deaf. I was born in Newzealand, spent 2 years in Australia and moved to
> europe at the age of 3.  My folks travelled a lot in France and England. 
> (My
> mum is french and my dad is English).They didn't settle down until I 
> started
> school.  I went to a special school.    It was basically just a dumping
> ground for all the kids, for what ever reason weren't doing too well in
> mainstream.  I education was also suplimented at home as my dad was a
> teacher.  When my dad realised that I wasn't going to take any exams I was
> moved back to mainstream education.  I was bullied so much in the first 
> high
> school that I had to leave. I then moved to a Partial hearing Unit. I made
> friends with the other deaf kids but we were taught using the oral only
> aproach which I am totally against as I was hoping to learn sign language.
>
>  I started losing my sight at  age 17.  I was at Doncaster Deaf college. I
> more or less went to pieces. Especially since nobody could find anything
> physically wrong with my sight and it's still a mystery as to how and why 
> it
> happened. This isn't the first time I suffered from Depression. I also 
> went
> through a really bad patch when I went to mainstream school. I kept 
> fighting
> with the other kids and started self harming there. Anyway life was hell, 
> I
> left the deaf college, went to a couple of blind colleges, went to a unit
> for deaf with mental health problems,  and still managed to be awarded a
>   deaf achievers award while training for my first guide dog Bruce. My 
> life
> is very much like a game of snakes and ladders, I'll climb, I even manage 
> to
> get a few volentary jobs, and then depression strikes again and I loose
> everything. Deafblindness is no big deal compaired to Depression.
>
>  I also tended to move around a lot.  I left home because mum and I
> completely failed to get on. She struggled with depression as long as I 
> knew
> her although she tried to deny it while I was growing up.  After getting
> seperated from Dad we were very poor as she could never get  a job. She 
> died
> of cancer 3 years ago.
>
>  I eventually ended up in Peterbough. I had a volentary job working as a
> masseur at the local day centre mainly for people with learning
> difficulties. I also went to pottery classes and ended up doing a couple 
> of
> charity treks for Guide dog's for the blind.  I raised the first 2k and a
> bit without too much bother. Then I fell in love with one of the staff and
> almost imediately enrolled in another charity trek across the Sinai 
> dessert
> this time.  I think this is where things started to go downhill.  When I
> started suffering from depression the dr's just put me on drugs. I ended 
> up
> also taking canabis, meeting my ex flatmates and moving in with them where 
> I
> spent most of my time getting stoned out of my tree.
>
>  It took my guide dog Jilli to get me out of that fix. By that stage my
> self worth had plumitted to zero. I wouldn't have got out of the mess I 
> was
> in to save myself but I would do it for Jilli. Although if I'd stayed on
> that path I
>  would have lost Jilli sooner or later. So I made myself intentionally
> homeless.  My friend did point out that if I told the housing people that
> I'd left due to domestic violence, which was true as well, I would have 
> had
> a flat sooner. I didn't want to. Infact I once denied anything the sort 
> was
> happening to the social workers. I just told them we weren't 'compatable'.
> Which was quite dumb when you think of it but I've done a lot of stupid
> things in my time.
>
>  Since then I'm still living in Birmingham, UK in the flat I was 
> eventually
> given. Although I nearly left when this drug dealer moved in and became a
> total nightmare.  Still it's an ill wind as they say. My long cane 
> tecnique
> improved no end after having to negociate the obsticle course that was 
> once
> my path. (I couldn't use Jilli as he was leaving food about and I wouldn't
> be too surprised if it was poisoned).  He's in prison now thank god. I 
> also
> did a course in ceramics, attempted a degree in Ceramics at Wolverhampton
> Uni. I also became vegan, got lots of rescue animals (too many at one 
> stage
> but the number is deminishing). I am now completely drug free apart from 
> the
> thyroxine which I've always needed. But they don't really count. I've
> stopped self harming now too.
>
>  I've been involved with the Animal Rights movement for a while now.
>  (NOT ALF/PETA style though). I started reading NFB last year.  After RNIB
> I find their ideas very refressing. It has already started to help as 
> before
> I used to depend too much on the residual vision I have. Which is a good 
> job
> as last summer I started having problems with light sensitivity.  My sight
> has started fluctuating again.
>
>  I hope I havent bored too many people.  Thanks David for your offer of
> help.
>
>  Helene and Jilli.
>
>
>
>
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