The Visually Impaired Person Tag

In this post I want to share my answers to the questions in the Visually impaired person tag. You can watch the video below or read on to view my answers. Here is a small glimpse of what life is like when you have low vision.

What medical condition caused you to be blind or visually impaired?

I have Retinopathy of Prematurity. The blood vessels in my eyes did not develop correctly and as a result my retinas had issues. The retina in my right eye completely detached leaving me completely blind in that eye. Doctors managed to save the retina in my left eye and I am thankful to God to have some limited vision in that eye.

In 3 words, describe your vision?

Three words that describe my vision are variable, unfocussed and blurry. My ability to see changes depending on lighting. I am unable to see details and things seem out of focus to me. I get blurry vision when I am in very bright lighting especially white lights and very bright sunlight

3. What is the hardest thing to do being blind or visually impaired?

The hardest thing is dealing with all of the misconceptions that still exist regarding the blind and visually impaired community. I hope to bring awareness and break down those misconceptions. I also find it frustrating when people address the person accompanying a blind or visually impaired person and disregard the other person because they are visually impaired or blind.

4. What is the best part about being blind or visually impaired?

I would say that it is about being part of a supportive community where people can relate to each other and also living life a little differently.

5. What question do you get asked most about or because of your vision?

I get a lot of questions about my glasses because they are very thick.

6. Do you have a cane, a guide dog or neither?

I use a white cane when I am out on my own.

7. What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is losing,| going to lose, or has lost their vision?

I would say learn as much as you can and asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

8. What is one piece of advice you would you give to a sighted person about interacting with a person who is blind or visually impaired?

Address the blind or visually impaired person directly when they are with a companion.

9.Why did you join YouTube?

I want to share my experiences to hopefully be an encouragement to others.

10. Name 3 people to do this tag.

I put this out there to anyone reading this who is blind or has low vision to share their story.

Reflections: Thanking God for 35 Years

This is a photo of me. I am wearing a short sleeve black shirt with a long coral skirt. I have a black headband with a flower on it. Text on image reads Thank you God for 35 years

I have been doing some reflecting as I complete my 35th year on this earth. When I stop to think about it I realize what a journey it has been. I am so thankful to God for how far he has brought me. I would not be here without his love and grace.

Early years

I was born 3 months early weighing 1 pound and 6 ounces. I almost died 3 times as a newborn. As a result of my premature birth I have an eye condition called Retinopathy of prematurity. Blood vessels in my eyes did not develop correctly and my retina detached in my right eye leaving me completely blind in that eye. Doctors managed to save the retina in my left eye and I have some limited vision in that eye. I have had several eye operations during my younger years but I thank God for the vision I have left.

God’s faithfulness and grace

I was raised in church from birth and I got saved at a young age at a Christian camp. My journey to truly understanding the gospel was in fact a long one. I was saved young but I still was not completely sure of my salvation. It was in 2019 that I truly understood salvation was a gift I could not earn and that I just had to receive it. It was April 25, 2019. I am thankful to God for saving me and forgiving me of my sin.

Through the years

I found myself feeling a little behind in life at this age when I started to compare myself to others but I must not go down that road. I must instead stop and thank God for all he has done for me. I am thankful to be healthy, I am thankful for my family and I am thankful for all the experiences I have had through the years. This has made me who I am today. I am thankful that God has helped me to grow closer to him as each year goes by and that really is the most important thing at the end of it all.

The years ahead

I will trust God with the years ahead and leave it in his hands. I hope to keep working hard on my blog and poetry and videos as I hope to be self-employed in the future. I hope to keep God first in my life. I know God will be by my side each day.

Pushing on, Stretching out Practicing Discipline and Being Thankful (A Chronic Voice May 2021 Linkup)

This month I am taking part in the May Linkup for people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. This linkup is hosted by Sheryl, founder of the blog A Chronic Voice. She provides 5 writing prompts to use to share updates on life in general but also may include the aspect of disability. When you have a chronic illness or disability it will make an appearance in every part of life. Here are my responses to this month’s prompts.

Pushing

There are several things that I am pushing myself to do and I have started working on some this month and I am starting some soon. I am pushing myself to learn new things.

I hope to resume my journey to learning braille. I know the basics but I want to improve and I need a review. I know half of the alphabet but the second half has been more challenging for me to memorize.

I am also pushing myself to learn Greek. I am using the Textus Receptus to learn. I use a screen reader or an audio Bible to study as I am visually impaired so this has been an adjustment for me in learning a new language but I am becoming more familiar with words the more I listen. I have also found some lessons on youTube that are helpful. I will be posting more about this in an upcoming post.

I am pushing myself to exercise more. I have fallen into a rut the past few months and have not been exercising at all. I want to begin walking at home again.

Stretching

I am stretching out when it comes to my blog and poetry. I hope to be able to be a full time blogger in the future. I have made two YouTube channels, one for my poetry and one to go along with this blog. I am very shy so this is a stretch for me but it is time for me to just do it. I hope to improve my poetry site and start a mailing list and grow my audience all around. It may be a stretch for me but sometimes you just have to aim for big dreams.

Here are my YouTube channels if you want to check them out.

Discipline

I want to be healthy and step away from the candy. I have already explained that I want to exercise more but I also want to eat healthier. I have recently been eating too much candy and I must stop.

I also want to have a daily schedule that will give me set times to study braille and Greek as well as to work on my poetry and on this blog and on YouTube and all that goes along with that. I have a lot to keep track of and I need to stay disciplined to get it all done.

My Christian faith is very important to me and I want to be disciplined in this area as well in reading my Bible and praying and spending time with God. I set time apart in the morning before I do anything else and at the end of the day.

Text on image says I can and I will in bold letters

Preserving

Well I am preserving my sound mind by staying close to God and keeping myself busy and also by loom knitting. I am used to being at home most of the time but sometimes it can get frustrating. I would like to go for walks but my neighborhood does not have accessible areas which is to say that you need a car to get around and I do not feel safe walking on my own.

Thanking

I am thankful that I am in good health and my family is in good health. I am thankful to have a home to be in even if I do not get out much. I am thankful to be able to blog and reach others with my story.

Some extra thoughts

I hope that your May went well. Feel free to share your answers to these prompts in the comments below. Thank you for reading.

Reflections: Take Life one step at a Time

Image shows mountains under a sunny and slightly cloudy sky and a silhouette of a person walking along the path. Text on image reads take life one step at a time — Photo (not including the text) is by StockSnap via Pixabay

Planning is a wise thing but sometimes we can take planning too far. We want to have everything set for the next 10 or 20 years. The thing about life is that it has its curve balls. When we think too far ahead it can make us begin to worry about what can go wrong.

It is good to think ahead and have an over all plan but it is also important to be flexible.

I have learned that it is easier to trust God and take life one step at a time. It is good to have a safety net whether that is food or money but God should be the main safety net.

Matthew 6:25-33 KJV — Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

So take life one step at a time and trust God to help you along the way.

Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2021 Theme Reveal

A to Z challenge theme reveal — Image Source: A to Z Challenge

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is a challenge to blog each day in April except on Sundays. The challenge is to use each letter of the alphabet per day. Day 1 you would blog about something related to letter A and go on from there. The extra Challenge is to pick 1 theme to base your posts on.

The theme I have chosen is life with low vision. I will give you a glimpse into what it is like to live with low vision. I think there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the blind and visually impaired community. I hope that my posts can help to educate others. I want to give a disclaimer that every person in the blindness community is different and these are my experiences and should not be generalized. This said, I think we can all learn from each other and every experience counts.

I want to add that my regular blogging schedule will be resuming again in May. My next post will be on April 1st to begin the challenge.

I hope that you will follow along and if you have a blog that you will join in.