Those of us who live out of the norm are often assumed by others to have something lacking in the brains department. Sometimes people considered "normal" don't believe what we tell them, are amazed if we accomplish the simplest task, talk down to us, or assume we need help. How we are treated by others is a source of amusement for us. I hope you will get a chuckle from these stories as well as learn a little bit about those of us who live out of the norm.
Beazle had a mild stroke when she was seventy-eight. Our only clues were she didn't make any sense when she talked. Her words were intelligible but the order was unrelated and random. She , a big CNN fan and votes every time the polls open, couldn't name the president of the United States. To this day she won't believe she had a stoke. Her doctor showed her some sort of x-ray of her brain and compared it to a brain that had not had a stroke. "I didn't have a stroke. That's not my brain. Nobody's brain looks like that," Beazle said to support her position.
Mom's doctors thought she was worse off than she was. My sister told me Mom's doctor had called her because Mom had said she goes to work six days a week, cooks for herself, and does her own yard work. My sister confirmed these statements as true. Combine the truth with Beazles unique personality and I guess a normal person will shake his or her head. Mom's doctor didn't want to release her from the hospital until my sister got there. They didn't want Mom to be at home alone. I wonder what the doctor thought when this legally blind woman show up.
Before Mom was released from the hospital she would walk the halls of the hospital. "They won't let me go because they need the money. I've seen all these empty rooms around here."
The main lasting effect of Beazle's stroke is she has trouble remembering names of things. One day while she was still in the hospital she was telling me what she had for breakfast, "I had, , , , , your dad doesn't like 'em."
I got a scolding for refusing to read Seventeen magazine to my uncle. There I sat on the couch, a teenager, reading Seventeen in braille. My uncle was visiting and sees me reading braille. He asked me what I was reading and I told him. He actually asked me to read it aloud to him. I refused. What could there possibly be in Seventeen that would interest a grown man? We ask kindergarteners to read so we can praise their efforts. People ask teens to read in class, in Bible study, instructions while the other person does something, or if the other person's eyes are bad. Adults don't as teens to read Seventeen to them unless it's in braille and they want to marvel at the fact the teen can read braille. I learned to read braille in kindergarten, the same grade my cousins learned to read. So I was upset when he asked me to read something to him that he would normally have no interest in whatsoever.
Andrea's youth group was amazed at how much she knew about cooking. They were making cakes for an auction to raise money for camp. Andrea was a fast and efficient baker. "Did your mom teach you how to cook before she went blind?" Andrea baffled them by explaining that I was born blind. Yes, I taught her to cook. I'm also planning to teach her to sew simple garments.
I got so exasperated at one of the eye doctors at Grady Memorial Hospital. The pressure in my left eye was really high, over forty. He slowly and quietly explained, "I truly believe the reason you're having trouble with your left eye is because the pressure is high. The fluid isn't draining properly and that builds up pressure and high pressure damages your optic nerve." Call me impatient but I wanted to scream, "that's a simplified definition of glaucoma. I've had glaucoma for a year and a half now. Don't you think I'd know what you just told me at this stage of the game? Just because I'm poor and not a doctor doesn't mean I'm incapable of learning about my condition in a year and a half.." Instead I just said, "y e a h," as if I wanted him to go on with some new information. I do have to give credit where it's due though. So far that particular doctor is the only one that has been able to prescribe a combination of drops to bring down and keep down the pressure in my left eye. Genius must be arrogant.
Even when my girls were very young some well meaning soul would tell them, "Take care of your mama". Sometimes the child would barely be out of the stroller. How do these people think a toddler is going to take care of Mama? My toddlers are just like yours. They have the same skills and impulses. As my girls grew older they were better at some things than the average child their age but I thing most of that was intuitive to them or part of thier environment away from me. Merritt could put her assemble required toys together at age four. But she later majored in architecture. But Merritt is a terrible cook. Need something done: painted, unloaded, cooked from scratch without a recipe, then Holiday is the one you want. Andrea spent lots of time with neighbors that always had a project going. Need something fixed or installed, Andrea is the one to call. I told them if they went into business together, they'd make a mint.
Does anyone ever outgrow the new for an agency that teaches blind people how to live? Seems like blind Georgians never do. I've been asked by other blind Georgians as well as doctors. Basically they ask if I've availed myself of services at the Center for the Visually Impaired. At first I'd ask, "What do they teach?" People's reply would be along the lines of they teach you how to cook, count money, catch the bus, read Braille, etc. Services such as those are what people who recently lost their sight need. People who have been blind all their lives, and especially those who went to the Arkansas School for the Blind learned to do those kinds of things as a matter of course as part of their education.
Please remember, the brain doesn't go when a part of the body goes. Your body can go independently of your brain or the other way around..
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