[bksvol-discuss] Re: OT sighted volunteers

  • From: Charles Wadman <cewadman@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:18:54 -0800

Here's my story:

I met a guy in the army (11th Airborne Division) who became a good friend. Introduced me to the girl who became my wife, best man at my wedding, etc. He was making a jump one day, slipped in the doorway of the plane, and was hit in the head by the trailing edge of the doorway. He woke up in the hospital and appeared to be OK.

Many years later while he stayed in New York and I had moved to California he mentioned in one of his letters that he was going blind and was learning braille. He had a tumor pressing on the optic nerve (presumably a result of that plane accident), but removal of the tumor did not improve his vision. He's still blind.

I decided to learn braille so that I could continue writing to him and to provide some long-range moral support. I've since lost contact with him, but the braille continues on inexorably.

I believe that I first heard of Bookshare in a newspaper article. It was a natural fit with my braille interests so I volunteered.

This is probably the longest posting I've ever made. I apologize for the length, but you did ask, Allison.

Regards,
Charlie

At 07:51 PM 2/17/2005 -0500, you wrote:
I'm just wondering, for the sighted volunteers, how did you guys get mixed up in
this crazy Bookshare crowd? What lead you to wanna become part? Do you
know someone blind, did you hear about it through some volunteer
organization, did you just type in "whiny bookish blind people into Google
one day?"

Seriously though, I am curious.  I'm wondering how this info
enters the sighted book-reading sphere and what compels someone to put in
the work.  Also, how has it worked for you as an education tool about
blindness?  How would one convince other sighted folks that they should
volunteer too?Most of my sighted friends and family would be like,
"Bookshare what?"  "You want me to do what?"

Curiously,
Allison


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