11/6 Extra: Blind Runner

God, here I go again. Tony better make an IotD post anyway

Anyway. I saw this, and I thought it was fitting of some discussion.



What you see there is a blind woman running and her "guide runner" yelling at her, giving her direction. Incidentally, this was in Australia (I think Sydney).

I guess what struck me about it was the fact that, although she's blind, she's out there, competing as a runner. I myself am half blind; I was shot in September of '95 and lost all vision in my right eye. Maybe it's because of this that I have a more profound appreciation for sight. Regardless, this reminds me of all of the absolutely stunning things that disabled persons are doing every day. Could you imagine running around a track with your eyes totally closed? I once saw a show on TLC about a blind carpenter - he built his house, by himself - and couldn't see it at all. It's absolutely amazing. They have the determination to be great, and they don't let even some of the most debilitating handicaps get them down. They do great things despite having a harder time doing them. I appreciate that. If everyone in this world strove for excellence, it would be a better place. People at a disadvantage that still achieve success are among those setting the pace.

[warch]

Cool! Is her sighted guide connected by a wrist strap there? What trust, eh?

I think they're both holding it.

Regardless, he could run her into a pole or something pretty easily. There really does need to be a deep trust there.

I just thought it was pretty cool. The picture itself is just a picture - but when you realize what it's captured... I just think that it's pretty neat.

[sapienza]

And then, when you think about how she's probably running a lot faster and farther than a lot of us computer geeks could manage, it's super amazing.

Great pic.

[tw]

Is a blind 'running team' only as fast as their slowest runner? How does that work. Does a blind marathon runner have a team of guides every so many miles?

[jaguar]

If you don't mind me asking.....How'd you get shot?
Real food for thought stuff terhe. e i got bored so put gaffa tape over my eyes (school holidays - i really was this bored) for half an hour, was really creepy.

the short of it:

there was this idiot. he decided it would be cool to shoot at me with a high-powered bb rifle. i later removed 1 bb from my arm (from which i still have a nice scar) and the doctors left the other in my optic nerve, since removing it was too risky.

the long of it: i'll edit it in later. gotta go play q3 now.

[jaguar]

fuck!
I relaly do hope you sued his ass to hell and back.

nope.

i started to. and the lawyer thought we had a pretty good chance at getting a sizeable settlement. but i wanted to get on with my life.

i spent so much time in the hospital or with doctors my freshman year in high school. failed a class or two 'cause i was out so frequently. got d's & c's in the rest. by the fourth quarter, i managed to have like 5 a's and 2 b's. i was tired of dealing with the eye thing. just wanted to forget about and move on. wanted to have as normal a life as possible. had my dad call the lawyer up and tell him that we were dropping the case. purposefully let the statute of limitations run out.

glad i did. besides the fact that it hurts like fuck every once in a while, is overly sensitive and draws attention (and makes me look abnormal, as it's now smaller than my left eye), i don't notice it that much. i have noticed that my body has compensated by making my other senses much more... uh, sensitive. i hear better. i see better out of my left eye (20/10 vision - that's the lowest the doc's chart goes, ya know), i smell better... depth perception is different - you learn to tell by relative size and shadows. the world looks a bit different, but your brain compensates.

my dad asked me if i would have rather lost a hand or an eye. "definitely the eye" i said. losing a hand would have ruined my quake playing ability well, it would have made it damn near impossible for me to be as proficient as i am with a keyboard. and computers are my passion. i can still see really well. so. all things considered, it could have been worse. but i have to be overprotective of my left eye. i'm down to just 1 now... can't afford to lose it.

[Katkeeper]

Several things come to mind from seeing this amazing picture and reading the discusssion. First I thought of a blind bicyclist (he rides on a tandem with his wife) who I watched change a tire for another biker. The blind biker had biked across the US.

Second, I had to go for several weeks recently without drinking wine, and I am the only woman who has been President of the Wine Society of Central Pa., so that it was not easy. I found that I could still attend the wine events and enjoy them because I could smell the wine, a very important part of the whole experience. Becuase all I could do was to smell, I concentrated more strongly on the aroma, and at one large event where wineries and distributors were pouring wines, I picked out the best white wine in the room by smell alone.

Lastly, I agree completely that overcoming hardship, handicaps, poverty, abuse or whatever bad stuff life hands you makes you stronger and more focussed on what is really important.