#ambutech

I love being able to go for long walks alone with my cane, it's one of the best parts of owning one. I also love the tape I decorated the handle with, although it's starting to wear out and I'll need to replace it in a month or so.

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Image one: a white ambutech cane with a rolling marshmallow tip, leaning against a swing in a playground. The cane's handle is decorated with strawberry-patterned tape. On the ground next to the cane is a brown leather messenger bag.

Image two: A close up of the cane handle. The grip tape is white with pink and red strawberries on it. There are also small purple and green spots between the strawberries.

Image three: A countryside field with bean plants covering it. The sky above is blue and clear. In the distance, more green hills can be seen.

• my sister asked me if I “really needed it”, which ether implied that she thought I was using it for attention, or she didn’t want it to draw attention to me and thereby draw attention to her. either way, it felt like she was invalidating my use or need of it.

• I didn’t know where a bathroom was in a restaurant, and a customer kindly and quickly stood up and led me to it.

• a small child saw me walking with my cane toward a curb, to get into my mom’s car, and they said to their friend “I think she uses that to walk, so she knows where she’s going.” It was just a really simple and cute and unexpected comment from a young person.

• someone had their cat on a leash, and Kaydee was taking me over to it to see the cat and or pet it. I was walking over, swiping my cane back and forth (I forget the technical term), and I stopped to bend down and look at the cat closer, and this older woman stopped me, gently but assertively physically touched me & pushed me back and said “there’s a cat down there.” ….. she thought I was going to hit the cat wth my cane. I wasn’t going to, and even if I did, it would have merely brushed along the cat and would be more of an annoyance than injury to the cat.

I understand that people see a long cane / white cane and automatically assume that the person is ‘completely blind’, but that just isn’t the case. I’m visually impaired, and that doesn’t give a random stranger the right to touch me.

Most people with low vision or most people who are blind have learned to orient themselves decently and do use aides, but they will usually ask for help if they need it. Don't make assumptions. And DON'T TOUCH A STRANGER UNLESS THEY ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER OR SOMETHING.

She could have simply said something like “oh, there’s a cat ahead of you, I just don’t want it to accidentally be hit with the end of your cane.”

I think the night was split down the middle for positive and negative encounters. There’s probably more positives the I’m forgetting.

I’m still getting used to using my cane in crowded public settings, and to using it in general. I still need orientation & mobility training, but I’m not sure how or when to pursue that.

Prepare for an inevitably long & mushy post about the the beautiful and meaningful graduation gift that Kaydee gave to me! It’s a custom-ordered folding long cane with a pink grip, and a snazzy marshmallow roller tip. It’s from a great company called AmbuTech.

I’d been waiting for it to arrive from Canada (what’s up, Winnipeg??) since the moment we ordered it.

For those who may not know, I’m visually impaired. Besides low vision, I also have pretty poor depth perception, especially with unmarked steps or curbs, and so on. I’ve had one too many trips, falls, and injuries as a result of not seeing something. And as a pedestrian, I can have a lot of trouble figuring out how far a car is from me, or being unsure if they’re going to stop completely for me, or just slow down. Basically, crossing busy streets is already stressful, with some understandably added stress for me.

So, after finding multiple people (thanks YouTube!) with similar situations & condition to my own, who use a white cane or guide dog for mobility aids, I thought that a cane could probably help me as well.

I’m still figuring out how exactly to complete mobility and orientation training, but regardless, I am so excited to use my new cane!

I’d just like to thank Kaydee for being so happy and willing to give me something with so much meaning attached to it. You really are one of a kind, babe.

@kaydeelayne I can’t wait for our next summertime walk together, around the neighborhood.

The one I have keeps hurting me and there's a little ring that's loose in it and Carey said that happened to her once, and she got cut with it.

Plus, the tape on it is coming off and I've had it for like two and a half years, so...

I just lsdkjflkjsadf I hate doing this. And it'll probably take a long time (or at least a week) to get here, so. -.-