From "Guide Dogs Don’t Lead Blind People. We Wander as One" by Haben Girma in Disability Visibility, 2020
Mylo beelined for the elevator, and then, reading the braille labels, I pressed the button for the main level. The doors opened, and I directed Mylo across the lobby toward the front doors. “Right.” He turned down a hallway. “Right.” He turned into a room that felt empty. “Sorry, not this one. Mylo, left.” I gestured for him to go back to the hall. “Right.” He turned into the next room.
The delightful aroma of food and coffee at last wafted over from the far wall. “Here it is! Forward.” After I ordered my hard-earned breakfast, another wedding guest approached us.
“Haben, hi! It’s Michael. Who brought you here?”
I passed the credit to Mylo; constantly confronting ableism is tiring work. But someday the world will recognize that a Deafblind person charts her own path through the unknown. For now I know it—and so does Mylo. He takes his lead from me.
