Blog for blind people
Blog
There are a wide variety of blog entries here that deal with blindness and visual impairment. Some entries talk about doctor’s recommendations for treatment, some are reviews of products and services from a blind perspective, some entries talk about traveling while blind, and others are just plain old rants about living with vision loss.
Aug 20 2018
Traveling To NYC and Back
What is the fastest, cheapest, easiest way for me to travel from my home in Swarthmore, PA to New York City on my own? Jane and Eliz were my guides on two recent trips into the city.
Sep 23 2017
A Long Weekend in London
We've taken our kids for the first day of school every year since they started preschool. Why should it be different when our daughter started at Regent's University London? It was a fast-paced long weekend in London.
Jun 12 2017
Five Years
June has many special dates in it for me. Most are happy dates, like 10 June, our wedding anniversary (27 years, this year,) the kids high school graduations, and several others. There is one sad one, though. On 11 June 2012, my father died. Five years.
Feb 13 2017
I Joined the NFB!
I joined NFB (National Federation of the Blind) this past weekend. My friend Warren invited me to the Keystone Chapter of the NFB last month, but it snowed that day, so I didn’t feel comfortable going.
Jan 30 2017
Shaving
I like to say I shave once a week whether I need to or not. Of course, I should probably shave more often, but that is another topic completely. In the winter months, I grow a beard.
Jan 2 2016
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I hope that 2016 is a great one for you! I am prepared for a year of transition, but hopefully ready for the challenge. 2015 ended on a positive note
Oct 29 2014
Complete Frustration
Ask anyone with low vision or no vision about the time it takes to do simple tasks and you'll hear stories. Tasks that take the sighted person only a couple of minutes, take low or no sight people 10 to 15 minutes.
Feb 25 2014
Cabin Fever
This Winter has been cold and very snowy. We've had about 60 inches (152 cm) so far and a little more predicted this week. All over the news, people are complaining about cabin fever.
Jan 9 2014
It’s Been Awhile…
It’s been about 18 months since I’ve posted anything here. I don’t usually do New Year’s resolutions, but this year I do have one. It is to post more frequently here.
Jun 12 2012
Joshua Goldstein, 7 January 1918 – 11 June 2012
My dad died today. He was 94. What an amazing man he was. He was the youngest of eight kids born to Russian immigrants.
Mar 1 2012
Low Vision Awareness
Wow, am I happy to say so long to February. You see, February is Low Vision Awareness month (as Jane likes to say, see what I did there — I combined you see, with low vision…)
Feb 14 2012
I Want iPhone Apps That Work with Voiceover
Is that too much to ask? My friend Jim told me about an app called IMapMyWalk. So I go to the App Store and get the free version of it to try out. I was really excited about the app.
Jul 19 2011
My Dad is Home, Now for the Hard Part
For those who don’t follow me on Twitter (@davidbenj) or Facebook (facebook.com/davidbenj) you might not know what I’ve been up to the last few weeks.
Jun 19 2011
Father’s Day
We had a very busy Father's Day. We went to Outback at 11.10am for lunch with Eliz's father, mother, her sister Margaret, and our niece Meghan. Yes, I said 11.10am. More like brunch, I guess.
May 15 2011
Retina Check
It's been a while since I've posted. We've had a bunch of things going on that took (and still take) priority. Friday afternoon I visited Dr. Garg for an appointment. He is my retina doc.
Feb 21 2011
One Month After Surgery
Yesterday marked a month since my most recent surgery. It is somewhat ironic that over the past few days my vision hasn't been great, with today being the worst of the last few.
Feb 16 2011
Sometimes Things Look Different to Me
Every morning I weigh myself twice, once before I get in the shower and once after I dry off after the shower. Getting on the scale is also an eye test of sorts.
Jan 21 2011
29 Shots
This was, by far, the easiest surgery I've had. I'm not sure we were at the surgery center for a full hour. Since there was no general anesthesia
Jan 20 2011
Sweet Sixteen Tomorrow
Let's hope it is sweet, or at least it doesn't make things worse. Tomorrow at 12.30 I'm having what is called YAG laser capsulotomy, a minor surgical procedure (my sixteenth)
Dec 31 2010
I Can’t See Very Well, But My Hearing is Still Good
We visited my parents today. We spent about an hour with them. After we left my parent's apartment, we were walking down the hall where a couple was sitting.
Dec 23 2010
My Eye, My Dad and Our Day
I'd been looking forward to today for the past dozen days. Back on 10 Dec, I went to my retina doc, who, as previously mentioned, noticed three things that he thought were causing my vision to be worse than it had been.
Dec 16 2010
Who or What is Kane?
Todays delivery schedule took us into Wilmington with a styling chair and wall-mount workstation. We got a late start since we had quite a few orders to box up.
Dec 11 2010
Latest on My Eyes
For the last several days, I was thinking about what I was going to write for this blog entry. My eyes weren’t going to be part of the post.
Nov 27 2010
I Did It All By Myself
Most, if not all of you, will think this isn't really a big deal. "Normal" people do this all the time. What did I do on my own worth writing about, you ask?
Oct 25 2010
I Want to Go! Wait, Nevermind
It has been nearly a month since I last posted. I've been really busy adding products to ForYourSalon.com, taking an online course for WordPress, working on affiliate marketing sites
Sep 28 2010
An Hour and a Half in Rehab
Okay, that is a pretty dramatic title. It was low vision rehab. Just like Lindsay Lohan, I don't think my rehab will work either.
Sep 9 2010
My iPhone
It was time to upgrade our mobiles, so I'd been looking around to see what is the best option for me. I've felt left out by not being able to text
Aug 15 2010
My Inglourious Sight
For the past four or five days, my vision has sucked more than normal. I don't know why. It's almost like interference on a television screen.
Aug 9 2010
What a Busy Week
So it's been a few weeks since my last update. There were several times this past week I wanted write something, but I just couldn't steal an hour to do it.
Jul 24 2010
It’s Not Cuckoo Bananas, But It’s Not Good Either
It has been a busy week, so I haven't had a chance, until now, to post an update on last Fridays appointment with Dr. Garg, the retina specialist.
Jul 11 2010
Why Do I Bother?
Had a 9.00am appointment yesterday (Friday, 9 July) with my glaucoma doctor at Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia.
Jul 7 2010
The Blind Leading the Blind
Last week, we invited my parents over for dinner. Eliz was making ribs on the grill, which both of them like, and there was more than plenty for all of us.
Jun 23 2010
Almost Unbelievable…
As you've read here over the past seven weeks, I've been pretty frustrated and miserable. On the way to my my cornea specialist, Eliz and I were talking about what I was planning on discussing with Dr. Ayres.
Jun 19 2010
It’s Been a Few Weeks, Not Much New
I haven’t posted an update for about three weeks. In that time, my vision still sucks and I’m wondering if I made the right choice to have the surgery.
May 28 2010
A Frustrating Week
Well, it has been a week of total frustration. Since mid-afternoon last Thursday, my vision has not been good. Every day when I wake up I hope that it will be better, but then I open my eyes.
May 21 2010
Play Ball!
For the first time in a very long time, I got a chance to hit in a softball game. I've been looking forward to it since the middle of April, after my surgery.
May 19 2010
Wow, I was Wrong!
I say that like it doesn't happen often. Today I had an appointment to see Dr. Garg, the retina specialist I visited several times in January and February.
May 13 2010
Visual Fields Test
My appointment with my glaucoma specialist went well, except for the fact that I was back to the 20/200 line and even that wasn't as crisp as a my second PostOp appointment on 27 April
May 10 2010
Going the Wrong Way
Since Wednesday or Thursday, I've noticed that my vision didn't seem to be as good as it was earlier in the week. By Friday, after talking with Eliz,
Apr 28 2010
Second Post Op Visit
I was looking forward to my second visit to Dr. Ayres since the surgery on 15 April. The last few days have been trying. I began to notice that my vision was changing.
Apr 23 2010
One Week After Cataract Removal
By this time last Thursday I was sleeping. I guess I still had the pain and sleepy meds running in my system. So I'm getting back to my "normal" routine.
Apr 17 2010
EyeOp XIV Report
I figured that I've gone through enough eye surgeries that I can label them in roman numerals. In fact, if I had some time, I'd probably do this post on video, with cool graphics and theme music like a championship game post game show.
Apr 15 2010
Eight Hours from Now…
It is hard not getting excited about the surgery. I dream of all the good things I may be able to do, while knowing the risks that could dash my hopes either temporarily or longer.
Apr 9 2010
One Week to Go
At some point next Thursday morning, I will be in surgery hopefully only having a cataract removed. There is the chance that I will also receive another corneal endothelial
Mar 31 2010
Lead on, Misty!
We've been dog-sitting this week. I love having a dog around the house again. Misty is a very sweet dog. She is calm and rarely barks,
Mar 18 2010
Trade Show Update
As you can see, I haven't posted in awhile. Eliz and I went to a trade show this past weekend up at the Sheraton Meadowlands.
Mar 6 2010
Surgery No. 14 is Set
Over the past 10 days, I've been to three different doctors. I'm starting to feel like my parents. The most important of the three was two days ago.
Feb 23 2010
This and That
I've been waiting for this week since the end of January because I'm going to see the retina specialist on Friday. I'm hoping he can do a PAM test on me.
Feb 12 2010
Lots of Snow, No Power
It's funny how excited I still get about snow. This winter has been a dream come true. I have always loved going out into the snow.
Feb 6 2010
Seven Years Ago Today
Okay, technically it was seven years ago yesterday since it is past midnight. What happened back then? I had a trabeculectomy on my left eye.
Feb 1 2010
I’ve Lost Over 30 Pounds (without cutting any body parts off!)
Back on 9 Dec 2009, my doctor told me to join Weight Watchers or do some other diet program. I told her that it would not happen.
Jan 25 2010
Small Update on My Vision
I've been on the eye drop Xibrom for about 10 days now, along with an increase in the number of times per day I take Predforte (from 1x per day to 3x per day.)
Jan 16 2010
A Long Day
It has been a long day. It started off with a trip to the retina specialist at 8:30 am. We were a few minutes late, so only had to wait about 10 minutes in the waiting room.
Jan 14 2010
Time to See a Retina Specialist
I received a call from Dr. Pro late this afternoon regarding my OCT scan from Monday. Before the call, Dr. Pro talked with Dr. Ayers to discuss the scan.
Jan 12 2010
Image of My OCT Scan
Just a quick update to add my OCT image. I've added here and to last night's post (so you can compare mine with the normal one posted on
Jan 12 2010
OCT Retina Test
What an adventure today at the Pagoda Building at 100 Presidential Ave. After a few minutes in the waiting area, we were called back.
Jan 9 2010
New Challenges
Our holiday season officially ended yesterday with the celebration of Jake's 16th birthday and my dad's 92nd birthday.
Jan 6 2010
My First Post of the New Year!
Okay, so you knew that title was coming. The last two weeks or so have been a blur (even more so than normal for me.)
Dec 31 2009
My Last Blog Entry for 2009
My family gets pretty annoyed with me at this time of year. They get tired or hearing "This is the last time in 2009 that I..."
Dec 14 2009
A Good Day
I don't often write about good days here, but today was one of those days that I wanted to share with the world. It wasn't exciting, extravagant, or exotic.
Dec 10 2009
What a Day
My day started off with Eliz telling me that we had water in the basement from the all the rain overnight. While it's not too big of a deal, it wasn't the way I wanted to start the day.
Dec 5 2009
One Year Later
So, today marked the first anniversary of my partial cornea transplant (for those that need to know specifics, I had a DSAEK procedure, which is a partial-thickness corneal transplant
Nov 24 2009
Goodbye 44!
No, I'm not looking into the future and the 2012 presidential election. I turned 45 the other day and, quite frankly, I'm hoping for a better year.
Oct 29 2009
Everything Looks Fine…
I've been waiting for this appointment with my cornea specialist for weeks. I have been having problems with my left eye since the middle of summer
Oct 13 2009
Glaucoma Specialist
I had my glaucoma appointment at Wills on Friday. As Eliz and I waited, we looked through some magazines. I'm not sure what they were, but they had recipes and ideas to make family gatherings enjoyable while preparing meals.
Oct 9 2009
Wills Eye Tomorrow
Okay, I'm going to try to keep this short... I'm scheduled to see my glaucoma specialist tomorrow. His name, fittingly, is Dr. Pro, and he is...
Oct 1 2009
Latest Eye Appointment
I went to see Dr. Ruffini yesterday for a checkup. He is my local ophthalmologist that I see a few times per year or when there is a problem.
Sep 24 2009
Socks
After I posted the Glaucoma Study entry, Eliz said that I should have talked a bit more about the socks task. At the school where Eliz used to teach and our kids went, they would call this the Socks work.
Sep 23 2009
Glaucoma Study
Over the past year, Eliz and I have taken part in a glaucoma study at Wills Eye in Philadelphia.
Sep 17 2009
Crime Pays
We launched ForYourSalon.com on 15 June 2009, about nine months after I had hoped to launch it. If you've been reading this blog since the beginning, you know why it took so long to get it up and running.
Aug 31 2009
New Images of Water Damage and Mold
As promised, here are a few images of the water damage and mold at 617A Grant Road in the Delcroft Shopping Center, inside Salon Supplies + Interiors.
Aug 31 2009
Misty & Mold
It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought a new post was in order. Over the past few weeks I've had a ton of bitchin' and moanin' to do, but no time to post -- lucky for my reader(s).
Aug 10 2009
My Last Movie in the Theater?
Today, I went to see The Hangover with Jake and his friend Maya. I "had" to go, since both are under 17, but in reality, I wanted to go because everybody I know that has seen that film has enjoyed it.
Aug 4 2009
Car Buying Experience = Life Sucking Event
Lately, it seems as if there is a little, black rain cloud is over me. Nothing terribly catastrophic, just small annoyances to somewhat larger, time-and-money wasting events.
Jul 18 2009
Life is Pain…
We are getting ready to take Jake and his friend Andrew to camp. They are doing iD Tech Camps' Film Academy, which is at McGill University in Montreal.
Jun 26 2009
Almost Eight Months
It's nearly eight months since my surgery (next Saturday, 4 July is eight months.) I had an appointment today with Dr. Ayers.
Jun 20 2009
Every Step is a Leap of Faith
Night before last the whole family went to the Springfield Mall. Wednesdays are our late day and we usually get takeaway, but Jane needed a new bathing suit for a swim party and I wasn't up for takeaway.
Jun 9 2009
Could it be?!?
It has been a couple of weeks since I've last posted. It's not that I haven't needed some bitching & moaning therapy, I've been really busy at the biz.
May 26 2009
Thanks Ken!
I wanted to take a moment to thank Ken for all the great changes on the blog. I love all the extra goodies. Now, if I could only write...
May 23 2009
I Just Want to Be Like Everyone Else!
Jacob is going to camp in Canada this summer, so we need passports. Eliz and I pick Jacob up from school, then Jane from her school.
May 20 2009
Voting & Anthem Institute (formerly Chubb Institute)
Today was primary day in Pennsylvania (uh, yeah, the polls have closed already... You missed it.) Eliz and I went to vote this morning on our way to work at our business, Salon Supplies + Interiors.
May 12 2009
Risk vs. Reward
As many of my friends and family know, I love sports. My favorites are baseball, hockey, football, and the real football (you know, the one where a player kicks the ball a majority of the time -- some call it soccer.)
May 7 2009
Six Months Later
Okay, so I haven't updated in five months. I've had a bunch of stuff going on. Here it is in a nutshell... We scrambled to find a new space for our business (Salon Supplies + Interiors - www.ForMySalon,)
Jan 4 2009
One Month Later
It is hard to believe that my surgery was a month ago. As I've stated before, I am looking forward to my appointment on Wednesday.
Jan 1 2009
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all! We celebrated the same way we have for the last five or six years: dinner out - this year we went to PF Changs,
Dec 29 2008
We Have Tile on Our Bathroom Floor…
Okay, I hear you grumbling, "We have tile on our bathroom floor too, so..." We've lived in our house since the summer of 1993.
Dec 16 2008
Scare…
Today I had a huge scare. Ken and I were going to run to Wachovia, Staples, and Home Depot. Eliz gave me our mortgage payment to take to the bank and some envelopes to drop in the mail.
Dec 13 2008
Each day is a little better!
Wow, one week ago I came to the business for 30 minutes. Today, I'm putting in a full day (as I have been doing since Monday...) Every day,
Dec 7 2008
Day 3
Today I begin my third day of recovery from an endothelial transplant in my left (good eye - actually my only eye.) Please forgive any typos as I really can't see what I'm typing.
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