I didn't mean to start an extensive off topic discussion. I meant only to mention something I was taking note of today. But as long as we are being asked for stories I may as well tell mine. In 1986 I started to get sick a lot, but I brushed it off. In late february of 1987 I became extremely sick and ended up in hospital. It turned out that I had had diabetes for a long time without knowing it and by the time I was hospitalized I was nearly dead. I was admitted just in time. I really came close to death. Then, while in hospital, I came down with a very virulent lung infection and had to be rushed to emergency surgery just barely beating death again. By the time I was released from the hospital in early April my eyesight was getting significantly worse. One of my first missions was to get a new and stronger prescription of eyeglasses. A year later the eyesight problem was becoming highly signifficant. I drove a car in the middle of March 1988 for the last time because I was scaring the bejeebers out of myself by trying to continue to drive. I am pretty sure that I had been driving around legally blind. Then on April 15, 1988 I was in hospital again about to have eye surgery. I remember saying to a nurse, "If something goes wrong with this surgery you might very well be the last pretty lady I'll ever see." Well, nothing actually went wrong with the surgery -- I was right on the verge of a drastic drop in visual acuity anyway -- but it turned out that she really was the last pretty lady I ever saw, at least the last one I could tell that about by looking. I have a policy of stamping out any hint of superstition I find in myself, but it took a good long time to stamp out the superstitious fear I developed of flirting with nurses after that.
_ _ _"The ruling class makes wars and the working class fights them." - Eugene V. Debs
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rogerbailey81 The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com Pathfinder Press: http://www.pathfinderpress.com Granma International: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim Friedman" <kimfri11@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 7:44 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: For what it's worth.Hi, Pam, All I know is what I was told. I was born two months premature and unknown to me until I was grown, I had a twin sister who didn't survive. Apparently I was so small I could fit into a cigar box. If you could see me, I'm considerably taller and not as slim. I'm glad I'm alive and I'm celebrating today because I need not be bothered by bureaucracy (It's some disability certification thing in L.A. They have to have certain language. I always thought if one was born with RLF as I was (or ROP as it's now called) that what I had was permanent (barring a miracle). All of those persnickety forms with their persnickety language requirements (is logic dead?) really gets up my nose. Hallelujah! They won't have to bother me and everything will go through. The person who called me managed to find what she needed and I won't have to hear more about this silliness (I hope). Regards, Kim.
-----Original Message-----From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Pamela Hoffard
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 12:47 PM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: For what it's worth. Bookshare friends,As I don't have a story to tell, it is very interesting to hear about your past. It helps the rest of us understand where you are coming from!
I would like to encourage the stories to keep coming: Was there an accident in your life? Were you born blind or unable to move? Then we can celebrate with you as Roger and Scott are doing! Thanks, Pam _____ From: Scott Rains <scottr@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Fri, April 15, 2011 2:36:45 PM Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: For what it's worth. Hey Roger, Your note caused me to do some calculations of my own.Today is 38 years, 4 months, 6 days since I received a letter from my ski instructor certification trainer that I had passed and would I please sign on as a teacher at his ski school.
Today is also 38 years, 5 months, 4 days since I was paralyzed. I never became a ski instructor. Glad you are celebrating this personal milestone with us. Thanks! Dr Scott Rains Benetech Fellow ________________________________________From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey [rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 9:49 AM To: Blind Democracy Discussion List Cc: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] For what it's worth. It is likely that no one here cares, but this is on my mind and there is no one else to mention it to. Today is the twenty-third anniversary of the last time I saw a human being well enough to tell what they looked like. That means that I have now spent just over forty per cent of my life being blind. _ _ _ "The ruling class makes wars and the working class fights them." - Eugene V. DebsFollow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rogerbailey81 <http://twitter.com/rogerbailey81>
The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com <http://www.themilitant.com> Pathfinder Press: http://www.pathfinderpress.com <http://www.pathfinderpress.com> Granma International:http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html <http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html>
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