Interesting senior sight today...older lady with a white cane

[Zoigal]

(which i had always thought meant blindness or exceedingly poor sight) came out of
a pharmacy. Headed for a car parked close by, got in and drove away. Perhaps she had super corrective
driving lenses or maybe a super homing device that will take her home. :)......z

[Jamastiene]

1. Maybe she just has fashion sense and liked it.

:shrug:

That would have been interesting to see.

[donco]

2. Kinda like the brail on the atm drive ups. nt

[demosincebirth]

6. You must be kidding...?

[fishnfla]

3. white cane with red tip=visually impaired

may still be able to drive with restrictions=daylight hours or within x amt of miles from home

[Zoigal]

4. That's what i assumed. Probably a restricted license.

But it was still unusual enough to give pause.....z

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. From a blog... relates to our present "healthcare reformlessness"

http://asyourworldchanges.wordpress.com/tag/white-cane/ More at link

Disabled? Sorry, *NO* insurance for you!
August 19, 2009

In line with current U.S. rumblings about our massively messed up health care system, here is my personal diatribe against insurance profiteering, and appeal for attention toward disability services. I don’t usually post negative stuff or rants, but we’re all angry and my story of disability resilience is part of the record submitted in support for a public option. Other Vision Losers may find comparable experiences and those not yet disabled may gain some insight about life becoming disabled in early retirement before Medicare in these dark ages of private insurance.

Note: there are many local geographic references, with some Prescott AZ Resources for Visually Impaired.
Background

I have myopic macular degeneration, a lifelong progressive deterioration from birth or growth spurt causing elongated eyeballs and correctable near-sightedness until too much retinal atrophy. My last sliver of good vision left in 2005 taking driving, print reading, face recognition, and surrounding detail into a swirling world of haze. Glaucoma onset at age 60 now costs about $800/year in standard meds that control eye pressure. I have had no other treatments since 1998 with cataract removal following extensive surgery for retinal detachment in 1993. I currently have 3 retinal exams per year with the usual tests.


I am single, not a veteran, did not seek employment after job termination in 2005, preceding my eligibility for employment-based disability benefits by about 6 months. I easily qualified for social security disability at age 63 when I was using COBRA health insurance at about $7000/year.


I have basically provided my own rehab and general disability support, easily totaling over $15,000 out of pocket. Following legal blindness in 2006 I retrained myself in computer use and began seeking orientation and mobility training (OMT) for navigating with a white canes and crossing streets. After applying to AZ social services, I waited over a year for this critical safety and independence training with only one trainer in the county, who quit from low pay. Eventually, after crying at a local low vision information group, a school special educator gained state certification and provided a few lessons and a $35 cane. I am truly grateful for the trainer who kept me moving forward when I was becoming home bound. Second Sight local rehab and People Who Care provided low vision overviews but covering information I had already learned myself.