Cane in the …

Here I go again, off on a trip.  As soon as the ticket was booked, I became anxious. I felt that feeling of having my feet nailed to the floor.  The good news is that I’m nearly packed, the day before the trip, unlike last time.  I must get used to getting out of my comfort zone.  Especially since my wife keeps telling me she doesn’t think I’ll be able to live alone, should anything happen to her.  I don’t suspect I need to worry but just in case I’m pushing myself as I can.

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately has been about dealing with a visual field cut in other countries.  I once saw this video of a man, with some sort of low vision, navigating in daily life with a little wand, I’d say it’s about the size of a conductor’s wand at the symphony.  I think it may have had a stripe around it near the end.  I think it may have taken place in England.  It seemed like the folks around know this was an indication of his vision loss.   

When I had my stroke there was no mention of me getting a cane or anything to help me. I ran into a lot of things and got off balance trying to navigate AND not run into people or things.  I picked up a cane and it comes in handy to let people know I have a vision issue.  I don’t like having a cane, it makes me feel disabled.  But living in the city, it gets crowded, and I feel a need to warn people.  I love the idea of the wand; I think it would help with the “feeling disabled” part of low vision. 

I’m curious if other folks in other countries have some sort of indicator which signifies being visually impaired?  I’d love to hear from you, please feel free to comment below!