Just Take
One Day At a Time
Hi, My name is
Barb. It's really Barbara,
but my Mother only called me that
when she
was mad at me. I would like to
tell you
a little about myself and maybe
I could help just one other person.
It all started five
years ago this coming October,
I had a life just like everyone
else. I drove a car,
loved to go shopping, played with my
Grandkids,
took them out to eat, had lots of
friends and
neighbors and they were all
very
friendly and talked to me.
One day I was
having trouble seeing so
I thought that my glasses needed to
be changed.
Well I went to my family eye Doctor
and he was not very happy with
what
he saw. He sent me to another
eye Doctor they ran a bunch of tests
on my eyes,
put drops in them and did everything
except take
them out! This Dr. told me that
he wanted another
Doctor to see me. Well let me tell you
by then I was sick of the whole thing and very scared.
But my loving husband of 32 years
told
me to stay cool and they would find
out what
was wrong. So that is what I did.
We made an
appointment with this new Doctor
and I went to him within a
week. He did a lot
of tests and told us that he would
call us within
the next two days. The morning
of the second
day, I was home alone and the phone
rang,
it was my Doctor. The news was
not very
good,he told me that I had Retinitis
Pigmentosa,
that is where the retina dies and it
doesn't
send the message to the brain.
So there
for you do not know what you are
looking at.
After he explained that
to me, he told me that I would have a
year to
eighteen months with sight.
Nothing that he said
meant anything to me. I just
didn't believe him.
Well my husband called him back and
confirmed
every thing that he had said to me.
I really didn't
have much time to think about it
My eyes were getting bad and I just
wanted
to see my kids and Grandkids as much
as possible.
I lost all of my
eye sight within five months.
By December of that year I could see very little and
I was too scared to do
anything.
All I did was sit in one spot and cry.
My husband tried and three
of my four kids tried to help me but
I didn't
want any help. All I wanted to do was die.
I stayed that way
until April 19th, and my
husband Chuck had enough I wouldn't
do anything
for myself and I even thought of
suicide but I knew
deep down that wasn't the
answer.
So Chuck took me to the commission
for
the blind in Kalamazoo,
Michigan.
I was one unhappy camper,
I let the whole world know that I
didn't want to be there.
Well to make a long
story short, I stayed there for twenty-six weeks, learned how to use a cane and
most of all how to take care of
myself without
depending on other people all the
time. I did
very well, I learned to walk by
myself and
to cross roads alone. I was
told that I was one of
the best students they had in a long
time.
So the day I was to come home I was
really
excited and couldn't wait to get
back.
That was the
hardest thing. I don't know if my
neighbors are afraid of me or if they just don't
know what to say. But now
very few
talk to me. They will ask Chuck
how
I am and I'll bright there.
Or they just talk to him.
It still hurts when this happens but
life is
too short to worry about it any
more.
If they can't accept me for the way I
am,
then I guess I don't need to talk to
them.
A few of them are talking to
me,
but not very many.
I guess the part I
don't understand is, I'm the
same person that I was before I lost
my sight.
The only difference is now I can't
see.
I guess really it's their loss,
because I haven't
changed,if anything I have
become a better person.
I'm trying very
hard to be a more patient person,
but I have alot of work to do on
that.
My family has never given up on me
once,
throughout this whole thing. I
am very
grateful to all of them for making me
do the
things that I did not want to do but
I did,
and now I am a much happier
person.
Before I go any further, I would
like
to thank some very loving
people
who got me through this
Chuck, my
husband, Larry, my oldest son,
Zachary, my five year old
Grandson,
Barbi, my youngest daughter
and a very
caring one, without her it would have
been very hard, Andy, my nine year old
Grandson,
that is very special to me,
Jessica, my only
Granddaughter
who is six and my little
helper. Dan,
my youngest son and is very
special to Chuck and I. This
has been the
hardest on him,
he is 16, Kim my oldest
daughter, wherever you
are,
Dad and I love you and maybe you will even see this on the Internet.
There is one more
girl that I would like to
thank, her name is Mudgie. A
lot of you
wouldn't understand but Mudgie is the
most
loving girl you could ever
want. She
accepts me for who I am, when
I make a mistake or have
a bad day, she is always there.
She is
my best friend. Mudgie is my
guide dog.
After I finished school, I flew down
to
Columbus Ohio to Pilot Dog School and got her,
she is the best thing
that has happened to me in four years.
I love to walk with
her and we do alot of walking
and I do alot with my computer.
I have tried
to find some one else that is blind
that I could
talk to but so far no one.
Maybe this web page will help.
I do every day
things the same way that you all
do only it takes me longer to do
it. The only thing
that I tell people who come in my
house is,
don't move anything. I know
where everything
is and want to keep it that
way. My family had
a hard time with that one, but they
finally
caught on after four years.
I have always told
myself, I could either sit
and do nothing or I could try and
make myself
a new life. It's really not a
new life, just different.
My last thought for
you is, be kind to others,
you never know what is going to
happen to you.
God Bless,
Barb
This Snowglobe was
made especially
for me to give to my wonderful
friends...
Please accept it from Me &
Mudgie...
Please click on the
"Heart Bear"
and go visit this wonderful place
made just for children that
are suffering from serious
illness's.....
See how you can help...:)
 NEW!!! A Page about me
& my Computer
Please visit my
true little Angel
Click on the Stars...
Please take time to
read
"Pauls Story"
Please Click on
"Mudgie"
My best friend..to read her story
A new page made by
a special friend
Star Ducki....Please visit....
Click on icon below
Click below for
some wonderful stories
about our Canine companions...
A new story about
training guide dogs in Prison
Click on Icon
NEW!!!!!
A Poem Please Read
"When you look through your
eyes....."
This is how I feel inside
Keep this candle burning
for all the children who have died
before us....
Please follow the
candle link to find out
how you can take part in this
vigil...
This site is a
proud member of The
Blind Ring.
Follow this link to join the ring.
Also, from this page, you may:
For More
Information
The International Retinitis
Pigmentosa Association
Click Below
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If you would sign my guestbook
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