Technology and the visually impaired

   Todays advances in technology have made it so that someone who is legally blind has a lot more tools with which to draw from to help them see things that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.  It would seem that it is a better time to be losing one’s sight compared to what tools were available just a few years ago.  Being declared legally blind three years ago, I have not been able to read printed material, use a computer, or use a cell phone without some kind of help.  I wanted to talk about a few things that I use on a daily basis that have literally changed my life and allowed me to continue running a business.

   One of the first pieces of equipement to enter my office that made it able for me to read mail, look at documents and blueprints, etc. was what is called a CCTV.  CCTV stands for closed circuit television.  It is a simple device that consists of a downward pointing video camera and a flat screen monitor (mine is 22″) combined with a stand.  The Kentucky Department of the Blind provided me with mine and it has been an indispensible tool.  It is easy to take for granted the ablitiy to read anything you need to read, but when you can’t this thing is so very neccesary.  I have even used it to read the cooking instructions on food containers.  Also, my eye issue makes it so I really need to have the contrast inverted on anything I am reading (ie. white text on a black background) and this device has no problem doing that.  It will also switch to a color mode if I need to look at a picture.  All in all, this tool has been an amazing help to me in the last few years.

   The next tool that helps me get things done is a program called Zoomtext.  Zoomtext is made by a company called Aisquared and it allows visually impaired and blind users to zoom the computer screen, change the contrast, hear emails and webpages spoken aloud and much more.  I, quite literally,  could not use a windows computer without this program or another like it.  Simple everyday tasks like email, web searches, creating documents, etc. are completely accessible to me with this program.  What would I do without it?

    The next thing I would like to touch on is probably my favorite.  Apple has come out with some amazing technology over the last few years that has greatly changed my life.  The two devices that I use on a regular basis are an ipad and an iphone.  I started reading on an itouch a few years ago and moved to an ipad when the 3″ screen size of the itouch made things too difficult.  I pretty much use my ipad for reading everything.  I can’t tell you how great it is that I am able to carry a relatively small device with me anywhere I go and read anything I want.  I am able to change the font size and the contrast and it has a back-lit display.  I have looked at other devices but have not found anything that works as well for me as the ipad. 

   The second Apple device that has changed my life in a big way is my iphone.  I currently have upgraded to the Iphone 4s which has allowed me to do even more things with my phone that were previously very difficult.  I use my phone to make phone calls, text, listen to music, and do simple web searchs when I need information.  Typically, I use the built in zoom function and make everything on the screen bigger so I can read it.  Sometimes when I do this, I also invert the text so that I can better see things like the tiny keyboard.  The Iphone 4s now has a wonderful feature called Siri which is somewhat of a digital assistant.  With Siri, I can receive texts, write texts, make phone calls, do web searchs for information and more all just by talking to my phone and having Siri talk back to me.  Apple also has a feature that I sometimes use called voiceover that helps to use the phone without looking at it.  For me, Siri has been sufficient to get the job done.  There are quite a few apps out that are made especially for the blind or visually impaired.   I am currently learning to use a program called zoom reader that uses the phones camera to take a picture of text, converts it using OCR and then the phone reads a label, a menu, etc.  These are a few of the things I use my phone to do when I am not using it to listen to music. 

   It is so exciting to think that this technology is going to keep getting better and better.  I fully admit to being a gadget geek and since losing so much of my sight, gadgets have become something I rely on and not just enjoy using to make life easier.  I would be a bit lost if I did not have these tools to allow me to continue to get things done the way I have for years.  I can’t wait to see what new innovations come out in the years to come to help visually impaired and blind folks keep on keeping on…..

Busy but doing well

I know I said I would only blog when I had something to say, but it has been too long and I am going to post something. We are extremely busy in the shop with multiple jobs, both residential and commercial. We are finishing off a custom kitchen and look forward to productive days to come. Pierce is an amazing help both I’m the shop and on installs. I can’t say enough about how great it is to now have two children able to drive me around. Losing your vision forces you in many ways to rely on others and having a family and friends like I do is quite a blessing. Today Beth and I were in the shop spraying paint and we work very well together. She is excellent at being my eyes and giving me the information I need to get things done. I suppose this update has become a thank you to everyone who is in my life and helps me to continue on. I am so glad that I am able to continue to do so many of the things I love to do from building cabinetry to kayaking and fishing. My vision is slowly changing for the worse and I want to live each day to its fullest.

A bit of history….

It was the summer of 2008 and the wind felt great in my face as I rode my brand new Harley on the back roads of Kentucky.  I was very satisfied with my life.  My business was doing well, everyone in my family was healthy, and the future looked very promising.  In a nutshell I knew I was a blessed man.  We were in the middle of building cabinets for my chiropractors 6,000 sq. ft. house in a nearby town.  I was really enjoying building custom pieces for just about every room in the house and we were getting towards the end of the project.  Countertops were now in process in the shop and with my low back giving me a liitle pain, I decided it was a good day for a motorcyle ride and an adjustment.   About two miles down the road, a truck pulled in front of me and sent me flying sans helmet 30 feet after hitting a mail box with my leg.  I miraculously walked away (hobbled away) from this experience and little did I know that totalling a brand new Harley would not be the most drastic thing to happen to me in the next few months.

In the months after the motorcycle accident,  life seemed to get back to normal.  The economy was starting to affect my business but we were able to keep projects in the shop.  It was around this time that I noticed my eyesight was not what it had been in past years.  I was having trouble reading and even driving.  I told myself that, at 39, this was supposed to happen and I even welcomed the thought of wearing glasses that might make me look more sophisticated and intelligent.  It was March of 2009, one week after my fortieth birthday, that I made my way to the eye doctor thinking I was going to get glasses and go back to normal life.  After going through all the tests and hearing small comments from the doctor that made me nervous, he informed me that I was legally blind, glasses would not help me, there was no treatment,  it was only going to get worse, and that I should seek another profession.  I left in shock and unsure of my future.  The explanation from the doctor was that I have a rare condition called rod-cone degeneration which causes me to have very bad night vision and now blurry vision.  I really can’t see faces any more, I don’t know what my kids look like now, reading printed text is out of the question, and the sun has become my enemy.

The following weeks were spent on a roller coaster of fear and uncertainty and peace that God would not leave me alone and in the dark.  The love and graciousness of friends and family allowed for a time to adjust to the idea of being legally blind and think about what life would look like with this new reality.  After a second doctors opinion, which concurred with the first in all regards except finding a new profession, I was encouraged to continue to do what I loved until I couldn’t possibly do it any more.  I returned to the shop convinced that although I could not do every aspect of my profession, I could do many tasks that I love to do.   It was about this time I contacted the Kentucky Office for the Blind and was provided with some tools that changed my life.  I now am able to read my mail and any other printed material using a CCTV.    I am able to measure again in the shop using a talking tape measure.  Special software allows me to do everything on the computer that I used to do plus a cabinet design program allows me to design and print realistic pictures of potential projects for customers.   All in all, I found that I can still do most things in the shop.  I have to rely on others now to do my finish work, driving and other tasks that require good vision, but designing, building and overall running the company is still within my abilities.    It might take me a bit longer and some help, but the end product ends up being very beautiful.

Life is about adapting

I never have had an excuse to say things like “It is too hard” or “I am just gonna give up”.  I grew up with parents who had polio when they were young.  This left them with some pretty big disadvantages in life, but they did not allow those disadvantages to stop them from doing pretty much anything that they wanted to do.  My father just retired from teaching at the college level.  He types with his mouth and drives with his feet.  My mother walks with crutches, is blind and does pretty much everything a house wife needs to do.  She retired a few years ago from a secretarial position that she held for many years.  Up until now, I have only had little bumps in the road to cause me to rethink my life and how to handle obstacles.  Becoming legally blind, about two years ago,  was by far the biggest bump I have hit as of yet, but the lessons learned from my parents are the same.  If I had to say it in one sentence I think it would be:  Adapt to your problems and rely on God for your needs.  Adaptation has meant reading with special equipment, using specialized computer programs, using a talking tape measure, learning to do tasks in the shop more by feel, learning to rely on others when I can’t see the details, and more.  God provides me the hope and strength to keep on doing the things I need to do.  He really doesn’t give us anything  that we can’t handle with His help.  I am learning what all of that means more and more each day.   Truthfully, the only other option I can see is to allow our circumstances to control us and give up.  The statements may seem cliché, but they are true nonetheless.  Life is short.  Live each day to the fullest.  Everyone has something in life that they need to adapt to at some point.  The choice is ours.  Keep pressing forward or sit down and give up.  Don’t give up.

The first entry

Hello and welcome to my first step in the world of blogging.  I have wanted to do this for some time now and today is the day to get started.  My plan is to share things from both my personal life and happenings in my cabinet making business.  It is my desire that this would be a place where people who know me can go to get a glimpse into what is going on with me while hopefully being encouraged that if God can do amazing things in my life then He certainly can do it in their own.  I especially desire to encourage anyone who is dealing with some kind of difficulty in life, whether it be blindness related (my personal difficulty) or not.  I will endeavoour to only post when I have something worth posting.  I don’t think you want to know what I had for dinner or how long it took for me to brush my teeth.  Again, welcome and I sincerely hope that my journey both is enjoyable reading and encouraging.