To say that my cane and I had a strained relationship while I was growing up would be an understatement. My cane and I were estranged – mostly – only making use of it when I was forced to by my parents and my orientation and mobility instructor. My method for being able to navigate…
Every morning, I wake up in my home. Not a family member’s home. Not a friend’s home. Mine. I choose what I want to wear from clothes I picked out and paid for myself. I make breakfast while music plays in the background. Then I grab my bag, my coffee, and head to work. When…
When I was a kid, my father once told me that if I loved a job, I’d never work a day in my life. Now, approaching 40, I can honestly say that I do have a job that I love. Each day I walk into my office, sit down and consider the tasks ahead of…
It was early morning in the Seattle airport as I sat at my gate, cane in hand, waiting to board a connecting flight to Anchorage, Alaska. An older woman sat down next to me, and we began what to me felt like idle conversation. Soon it was clear that is was something more than that….
“I’m not going to let anything stop me, that’s just it.” – Riley Rolen. It was a cool fall Saturday evening when Riley was walking back from a football game with her family. At the time, Riley was 21 years old and attending Oklahoma State University. She had just finished attending an OSU Cowboys football…
“When I first came into Alphapointe, I felt like I was home.” – Tara Hopkins When Tara Hopkins was 38 years old, she fell into a coma due to complications related to the COVID-19. When she awoke from the coma 3 months later… she couldn’t see. Life Before Vision Loss Tara grew up in the…
The journey of rehabilitation, which at Alphapointe is about learning to live with vision loss, is filled with challenges and milestones. Adults navigating vision loss must build skills in everyday tasks like cooking, laundry, and managing money. They also gain experience with adaptive technology and, in many cases, braille. But perhaps the most essential skill…
It was a hot summer day in August 1996. I was just 7 years old and I was sitting in a swimming pool, waiting for another boy about my age to jump onto the other end of a large inflatable I was on. When he launched off the platform and landed, it sent me upward…
“It can be a curse, or a blessing.” Olivia Ballmer …. Olivia Ballmer was driving down the highway with her oldest daughter in the car when she began to go blind. Without warning. Vision in both eyes became blurry. Her daughter was able to help her pull the car over, and Olivia began to cry…
“Everyone has a story,” says Emily. “It might be that they just get up, go to work every day and come home, but it is still their story.” – Emily Cauthon Emily did not sit; rather, she stood at her desk over her computer. She strained her eyes to read the text on the screen,…