Wow! The dog days of summer have arrived. Where does the time go?

Everyone in the north is all to aware of how many precious weekends there are between May long weekend and Labour Day. My summer has been filled with travel, music festivals, visitors from afar and visits to loved ones that are away. I have focused this column on my experiences adjusting to blindness. I do not place much emphasis on another major challenge I must navigate. As a heart transplant patient, I must take medication that suppresses my immune system. I am incredibly careful navigating the world during the high-risk flu season. I let down my guard and unfortunately got a summer cold. It would be a minor inconvenience for the average person, however for me it took six weeks to recover.

The transplant also brought with it kidney damage and as a result I work hard to maintain a healthy hemoglobin and iron level. Ladies, I am sure you understand the ramifications of low hemoglobin and iron. As a result, much of July was spent lazing on the couch by necessity, not choice. I was completely exhausted.

Life does go on. My semi-annual orientation and mobility trainer was in town the first week of July. There was no way I would cancel. Growing my independence through mobility is a top priority. I had two hours a day of training for four days.

On day one of training my goal was to find a safe way to travel from my home near Finch Elementary School to the walking trail along the railway tracks between the West Bypass Road and 100th Street. We took the whole two hours to navigate to the trail head and back. I learned a safe route and some strategies to stay on the right path. I was feeling confident that I could make it there and back on day two of training. I was exhausted at the end of the session. Day 2 arrived with high wind warnings and cool temperatures. My trainer called and gave me the option to cancel. No way would I waste the opportunity. I dressed warm and off we went. Wind is the fog of the blind. Dressing warm muffles, the sensation of the sun which I use to align my direction. Day two brought many more challenges. The wind changed the direction of the traffic sound which disoriented me. My trainer was not offering any feedback or help unless I was in

danger as we agreed upon. I made many mistakes, second guessed myself and back tracked to known landmarks to reorient myself. At one street crossing I totally messed up and turned myself right around and became disoriented. It was a good mistake to make with a certified trainer present to explain what happened and how to orient in the future. It took me one hour to get to the trail head. I found many challenges. The return trip was twenty minutes with no missteps. My take-away was that I need to continue practicing with sighted safety help until I grow the confidence and skill to do it independently.

I have always been a very adaptive person and often can skip steps in the learning process. Skipping steps is not an option as I learn to orient and navigate as a blind person. I do not like bothering people to walk with me as I learn to build this skill. I would much prefer to walk and talk, which is a much different experience. The social walking does not help me build independent skills. This is my goal moving forward.

What did I do on days 3 and four? Well, I learned to navigate Goodlife gym. Maybe I will see you there in the fall!

Edwina Nearhood is a long time Fort St. John resident sharing her vision loss journey. Please remember, every person’s vision loss experience is as unique as they are.