More Than a Cane or a Guide Dog | Fear, Freedom & Finding Independence

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If I notice that people are swatching me because I still have a small field of vision, I will for some reason act more blind than I am.
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I don't know why I do that.
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It's almost like I want to legitimize my use of the cane.
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Hey everyone, I'm Charity.
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And I'm Austin.
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Welcome to the Central Vision Podcast.
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We're two hosts living with vision loss, sharing honest conversations about life through the lens of blindness and low vision.
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From relationships and travel to careers and technology, from family and confidence to accessibility and everything in between.
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So whether you're living with vision loss yourself, love, support, or know someone who is, or you're simply curious, looking for a different perspective, you're in the right place.
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And we have with us a special guest, Melissa.
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Melissa is a great friend of mine, and she has been through OM and guide dog training as well as I have.
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Austin has not gone through OM and guide dog training, and so he is going to be asking us questions.
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He has probably some of the same questions that some of you might have about going to OM training or getting a guide dog.
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And so he is going to ask us those.
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We're not going to get into the technical side of it, but we're just going to talk about um preparing for it when you're ready.
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What's it like when you're there and all the feelings that come with that?
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So let's introduce Melissa.
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Sure.
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My name's Melissa Carr.
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Um, I'm from Nashville, Tennessee.
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I have Usher's 2A.
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Well, that's crazy.
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You have 2A.
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That's exactly my gene as well, is 2A.
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Yeah.
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We're we are awesome.
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We are totally twinning today.
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Okay.
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So, you know, I'll just get right into the questions.
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First of all, uh, you guys met at Leader Dog Training, right?
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Yes, we met at Guide Dog Training.
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Guide Dog, okay, guide dog training.
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But you had already gotten your cane training individually before that.
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Melissa had.
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And you, Charity, you got it done there too.
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I got it done at Leader Dog, but I at the time Melissa and I met, I had not had cane training yet.
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I was going for my third dog, but had not yet been trained on how to use a cane.
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Okay.
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So, Melissa, you since you know, with Usher syndrome type 2A that comes with red eyes pigmentosa, what is your field of vision like for everyone listening to understand where you're at?
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Like how much can you see?
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I don't really know what my field of vision is because I haven't had a test since 2023.
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Back in 2023, I had um roughly 18 degrees.
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So um quite a bit more than um like a lot of the people who I went to training with.
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Um but since then it's declined.
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Um as you get like, you know, I had a whoosh.
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I'm sure people will understand that.
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Yep.
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So I don't really know where I'm at now.
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Um, charity thinks I'm under 10.
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I think I'm probably over 10.
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So when you look at some, if you're you know in a conversational space with someone, you're looking at them and you're talking to them, if you're looking at their eye, how much of their face can you see?
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Can you see their nose when you're looking at their eye, their mouth?
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I can see to the bottom of their nose, and then I can see my field of vision is really weird.
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I have a lot up high.
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Okay.
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Which is completely useless.
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It's like I see the brim of my ball cap.
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Right.
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You know.
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So I'd much rather be down low so I can see like where I was walking, but for some reason I don't have much down low and I have more up high, which is something interesting to think about too.
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Because you know, telling how many degrees of vision you have doesn't tell the whole story.
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It's really where is the degrees of vision?
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Because it can be different for everyone.
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My right in particular is worse than my left, and that the right eye kind of makes an L shape of the central vision on that.
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Um, so when when did you, Melissa, decide like you were gonna get cane training?
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Like what degree was it?
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How long ago was that?
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So I um I was diagnosed at 35 and I'm 51 now.
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Okay.
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And then and I went into, I had I just kind of ignored it.
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I'm sure like a lot of people did.
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It sucked when I first got the diagnosis.
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I'm like, oh, that's gonna be terrible.
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But then I went on with life and I didn't even really think about it much.
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And it declined slowly through the years.
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I got to a point where I knew I had to leave my job because I could no longer perform my job.
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And um, I went to a low vision specialist for the first time.
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I walked into the low vision specialist, his um office is dark, which is expected because a lot of people who have eye issues have photophobia, and so he kept it dim in there.
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And um I my husband I had to walk in on my husband's arm.
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I could not see where the chair was or um completely night blind.
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Um but I had no idea about canes.
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And he asked me, Did I use a cane?
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And I said, Oh, I don't think I'm allowed to use a cane yet.
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I'm not blind.
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I just didn't spend any time researching.
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I had already known for like 15 years, and I just didn't even look into it.
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I even said to him, I said, Do I have to use like a yellow cane because I'm not all the way blind?
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And he's like, Girl, you're blind.
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Like you can use whatever cane you want to use.
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You're in the club.
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You're in the club, you're in.
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But I just didn't know.
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And he gave me the referral to leader dog to go do uh cane training.
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And I went in April of 2024.
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What was that?
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I when you I mean when you were told that, because I think there's even for us going through this, that there's still a stigma to that cane before you kind of get used to it and accept that that it's still like, oh no, that's for the blind at the time.
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Yeah, exactly.
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As you're running into a door, you know, like yeah.
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Yeah, as you're like, you're like, oh, sitting in someone's lap in the movie theater and not you not anyone you know.
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Um yeah, I don't know.
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I I think that I just didn't even realize that that was something.
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I don't know what I was thinking.
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Did I think I was taking it from a blind person?
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I don't really know.
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I don't think you don't, you don't know, I didn't know anything about blindness before I became blind myself.
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Um now I I just think of my cane as like my tennis shoes.
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It's just a tool.
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Just a part, yeah.
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Yeah, it's just a part.
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Yeah, so I mean, how I have to imagine for both of you, I I just I mean it's one thing to accept it, but to really take on a cane and know like this is becoming a pair of your shoes.
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This is a daily accessory now.
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So where there's such a big shift in your mind, I have to think.
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And the way that you now see yourself as well as everyone around you seeing you.
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I mean, for both of you, like charity, was that like a big thing that you thought about?
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Just the nervousness and how people are now gonna look at you or you look at yourself.
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Like, what was that?
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What did that feel like?
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It was really hard for me, especially having had the dog before I had the cane.
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I am much more accepting of at the time, yeah.
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I before I had cane training, I was much more accepting of the dog than I was the cane.
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I felt more capable.
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I felt less I felt less disabled.
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I don't know.
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It was I did not I did not want the cane.
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I I the cane training was kind of forced upon me, and I had very negative feelings toward it.
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And I don't know if it was because I had the dog first.
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Um, if I had uh done the cane training first, if I might not have been so negative towards it, but I did not want the use of the cane.
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I'm sure.
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And I mean it's it's also that cane.
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I mean, a guide dog does it too, but the cane, that that white and red cane, that takes that invisible condition we have and makes it visible and real.
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And I have to like really think that that I mean you look down at it and it's there, and you see people get out, which is kind of that's gotta be awesome.
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People just moving out of your way.
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Like, that is power.
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That does happen, but I think the difference between the cane and the the dog is that um people almost feel I perceive people feeling sorry for me when I'm using the cane, and I feel like people are drawn to the dog.
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Like you can't you can't pet a cane, you know.
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For the record, you can't pet my guide dog either, but right.
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For anyone listening, please don't leave leave the guide dogs, leave them alone.
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It's just and and and if you're going to ask to pet them, ask before you start petting them.
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Don't start petting them and then ask.
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Yeah, that happens all the time.
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What about you, Melissa?
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Like, what was what was going through your mind?
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I think that listen, when you have gradual vision loss, sometimes I felt like I was cosplaying as a sighted person, and sometimes I feel like I was cosplaying as a blind person.
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Like, and I see, like sometimes, even still with my cane, if I s notice that people are see watching me, because I still have a small field of vision, I will for some reason act more blind than I am.
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I I don't know why I do that.
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It's almost like I want to legitimize my use of the cane.
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That makes sense.
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But the big thing that I keep telling myself is how other people feel or how they perceive me is really none of my business.
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Yeah.
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And and I just need to release that.
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Um, the thing that helps me the most with using the cane is um, you know, I like to post on, I'm not a big social media person.
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In fact, I really dislike it.
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And so I don't go on a lot, but on occasion, I'll go on a Reddit forum forum for blind people.
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And I just wrote in the forum, it's completely anonymous.
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I'm having a very hard time using my cane.
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I feel I can see people looking at me.
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I just, it's very difficult.
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And one of the people who responded, who's helped me the most, said, think of it as you are educating people that they don't typically see people who have canes do sighted people things.
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So I'll go to the grocery store with my cane, stand in front of a shelf, and pick out what kind of beans I want.
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Like, so just by being who I am out in the world, I'm advocating for blind people.
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That's interesting.
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Yeah.
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That's a really great way to look at that.
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Um, Melissa, do you have a husband, boyfriend, family?
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Yeah, I I have I'm married.
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I've been married for about 30 years, and I've raised three kids.
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Okay.
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So so for you, Melissa, what was it like with your family?
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I mean, did you have concern of your the way your family would maybe look at you now?
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I mean, I I it could maybe be no or yes, but then did your family say anything about it?
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I mean, how did they take it?
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I okay, so when I first got my cane, my youngest son was like, I think a senior in high school.
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And he liked it because I'd always take his arm to do navigate tricky areas.
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And he's like, Yeah, it's much better that it doesn't look like I have my mom as my girlfriend, and that I'm taking her arm because she's blind.
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Like, so he was pumped that I now had a visual indicator of my blindness.
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He's like, otherwise, I just look like a creepy kid who's too close to their mom.
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Um, but no, I'm like a matriarch of my family.
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I'm a powerhouse.
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I do a lot of stuff for my family.
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They don't see anything different than what they used to see before.
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That's uh if your son's listening, you're gonna learn someday that you're gonna want to be back on that arm.
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Okay, but how about how about you, Charity?
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What um what about you and your family?
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How did that go with them?
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I worried about it, um, but it was it was all me.
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And it was because I had not yet accepted the cane myself.
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I don't know how I could have other people accept it.
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So I was worried about the things that I was worried for myself.
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Um, I was worried that they would feel a certain way.
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That I I guess I was mirroring all of my emotions onto them.
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Every every negative thing that I felt about using a cane, I was putting onto them and saying that they might feel that way.
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But um, I actually asked them and I said, you know, when I come home, I'm gonna use my cane.
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Like, how are you?
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I was especially worried about my my daughter, my youngest daughter.
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She was in 11th grade.
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And that's I mean, it's kind of your mom comes to your basketball games with a cane, and I had previously come with a dog.
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And the dog, like again, the dog's cool, the cane's different.
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And but I asked my husband, and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna do this.
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I I have to do it.
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I need this independence, and I ex I didn't expect him to say it's gonna be weird, but I I wanted to put it out there and see how I felt.
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And he was like, No, that's I mean, it's not weird.
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It's it just is what it is.
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My family was very receptive to it, but it was more me than anything.
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I I would have that's kind of I was wondering with you, Charity, because I can imagine that with I would think the same thing for myself.
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It's going into a public thing with my daughter and kid, and like thinking from them and their friends' perspectives.
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And again, we've talked about this before, is like how do other parents look at you, like a mom that like you're not moming enough because you know, walk around with a cane and you know, whatever these weird things that people think about.
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Okay.
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Um, is is there with oh you know, OM training, cane training, and then dog training, is there any kind of standard to where it's advised that you do one first?
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Yes.
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You at least it it depends on the school, but I know for leader dog, and I think it's a standard across guide dog schools, like across all of them, that you have to do orientation and mobility first.
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And it doesn't matter, you don't have to get it from that school.
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You can get it from the state.
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There's um the state offers it, or you can get it from a school.
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Um, but they you have to have demonstrated that you have orientation and mobility, that you have been trained and that you can use it because it's not just enough to be trained because you're trained for a week, but it takes a lot of practice, and they want to see that you can you have those skills before they hand a dog over to you.
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Okay.
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Because if you can imagine something can happen to a dog, you can um a dog can become sick, it can get an injured paw, um, it could anything.
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You need to be able to get you and your dog somewhere safely.
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So you have to have OM training before you have a dog.
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Okay.
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That yeah, I didn't even consider that.
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Even with a dog, um, you have to have good orientation and mobility skills because you have to you have to instruct the dog.
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A lot of people think my dog knows how to get me into Starbucks.
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My dog doesn't know anything.
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My dog keeps me safe, but he doesn't know where I'm going until I go through it with them.
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And in order, and there are times when a dog gets distracted and you have to be able to redirect your dog and get yourself back on track using the skills that you learned during OM.
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Right.
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Okay.
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So when you go through the process of OM, is it do you get like a license?
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Or I I I'm not, I mean, license is probably too much.
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I love that though.
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Is it some kind of certificate or something?
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Like, what was your experience, Melissa?
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Is that is that what you get?
00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:55.519
No, you just um you just the school keeps a record that you attended an OM training so that you can um get a guide dog from a different organization if you want to.
00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:56.159
Okay.
00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:08.320
You I did get a cane though, and uh honestly, I didn't they uh I had before I went to OM training, I had just bought a$14.99 cane off of Amazon because I didn't know what I was doing.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:10.720
And it was so terrible.
00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:18.320
And that's what I was using because I had to have something almost like an ID cane when I was going through the airport or things like that.
00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.679
And then when I got there, they show you everything.
00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:27.919
They're like, there's this kind of cane and this kind of cane, and here's where you can get one for free each year, and here are all the different kinds of tips.
00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.720
And do you want to try the different tips in different environments?
00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:35.360
And so the education is you're gonna like you're gonna love it.
00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:36.799
I think you should do it, Austin.
00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:40.720
Okay, and they properly fit you um while there.
00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:46.320
Like I just bought a cane like Melissa so I could get through the airport and be identified.
00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:50.399
And they're like, hmm, yeah, that's not really quite right.
00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.440
And so they've thrown that cane away.
00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:55.120
I've since thrown that one away.
00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:55.679
Yeah.
00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:57.440
I mean, yeah, I could imagine.
00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.000
I've seen there are tons of different tips.
00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:10.000
I just saw a video online and it was, I mean, I was shocked by how many different tips there are and different uses for them, and depending on what area you're you live in, where you're you know usually navigating and whatnot.
00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:14.079
But what are so I heard Adam, one of our guests, talk about a pencil cane.
00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:16.559
What are the different canes that are available and what do they do?
00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:18.240
Or what's their purpose?
00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:26.640
So when I'm while walking my dog that is not a guide dog, I use the NFB cane that charity hates.
00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:31.119
It has a yeah, it has a very simple metal slider on the end.
00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:34.480
But the reason that I use it is it is so, so lightweight.
00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:40.240
So it makes it easier to handle the dog and switch the cane around into different hands.
00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:42.640
Um, so I love the NFB.
00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:51.759
It's uh and then when I go like hiking, I also use it because I can like point and like poke at things to like so it's a great.
00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:58.559
Then there's also folding canes, and I have an Ambutech, they're called uh one of the companies is Ambutech, and it's a folding cane.
00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:02.400
And um, that's I think most people probably use that one, don't you think?
00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:03.200
So, charity?
00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:08.160
I think I think probably the most common would be the no jab, which I don't like.
00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:09.519
I don't like that one.
00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:10.400
I agree.
00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:13.279
What's it is no jab a brand or is that a style?
00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:23.599
Um, no, it's a style, it has like a little bit of flexibility in it to where if it hits a crack in the sidewalk, you don't get stabbed in the stomach.
00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:25.440
But it's a dirty lie.
00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:38.559
But the good thing about when you go to OM is that you get to try because the cane tips are expensive, they run probably um uh what would you say?
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:41.759
I know like the rollerball 360 is like 40 bucks.
00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.759
I don't know about some of the other tips.
00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:44.880
Maybe they're around 30.
00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:48.640
You can get like like the one up one of the ones I like is 15 bucks.
00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:53.599
It's the flexi tip, but a halfway decent one is at least 15.
00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.440
They can go up to 40.
00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:56.720
Yeah.
00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:03.440
And and it takes it, it may take you like five minutes to determine that oh, this tip is terrible.
00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:04.079
I hate it.
00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:27.680
And uh when I say I don't like something, it is all personal preference based on the feedback that I personally need, the sound that I need, the the texture that I need, the um the ability, the movement ability that I need, what I'm working it on, either concrete or grass, or it's so everybody has their own personal preference, and none of them are wrong.
00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:29.200
Like none of them are wrong.
00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:30.960
It's just what you like.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:33.920
Mine is the rollerball 360.
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.599
I love the rollerball 360.
00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.680
The only bad thing about it is it's heavy.
00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.799
And that particular That's not the only bad thing about it.
00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.960
That bitch is loud.
00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:43.920
It's loud.
00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:47.119
It's like here comes, here she comes, here she comes.
00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:56.240
And if you're on like linoleum flooring, it it is I almost lift it up because I don't want people like it's like a spectacle.
00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:56.640
Yeah.
00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:57.839
And I like it.
00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.519
I I need that feedback.
00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:00.720
I need that feedback.
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:02.640
And to me, I don't think it's that loud.
00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:05.680
Um, but yeah, okay, jingle bell.
00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:09.039
I know I need that feedback.
00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:18.880
So my only thing, but the thing with it is it rolls in all directions, it rolls side to side and it also rolls rolls forward, and you can use it to shoreline.
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.759
If you know where you are, you can use it to shoreline really easy.
00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:27.279
You can run along the side of the sidewalk and you don't have to swing your cane back and forth if yeah.
00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:35.519
So, anyway, so in the material of that is it like a I'm imagining it's like a I've never felt one that it's like kind of a plastic ball.
00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:38.640
I'm imagining that's how it gets so loud, yeah.
00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:42.960
But then there's like metal tips that are are are used.
00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:54.960
A lot of people who don't have any remaining vision use the metal tips and they use the tap method because it echoes and they can use echolocation for like the walls and stuff.
00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:57.200
So there's tons of different uses.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:20:57.759
Okay.
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.599
And and it's all preference and it's what you reference.
00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.519
I think too, because I have my I I only have mild hearing loss.
00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:07.359
I don't know what your hearing loss is like, Austin.
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:08.720
It's pretty mild.
00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:14.720
So however, uh background noise makes it seem way more so.
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:20.480
That's why it's hard for me to use that one, is because it it I can say it introduces a low level of background noise.
00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:22.640
Uh I yeah, I imagine it gets lost in the sound.
00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:27.200
I'm the same way it's a background noise that I have trouble uh separating the different sounds.
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:28.480
So that makes a lot of sense.
00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:28.960
Okay.
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:32.160
So then tell how did you get in contact?
00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:34.720
What was the way that you got in contact?
00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:38.079
Does each state have their own leader dog or guide dog training?
00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.039
Like, how do you go about that to get yourself into this place?
00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.880
My low vision specialist has a relationship with Leader Dog.
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:48.160
Um, Leaderdog works with him and reaches out to him.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:55.680
Um, he's he's based in Nashville, but there's so few low vision specialists, which I actually think you guys should do a podcast about that.
00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:59.119
It's obscene the lack of health care for um people who are blind.
00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:04.880
We've He services, I think like six or seven states around.
00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:08.160
He has people come in from all over to to meet with him.
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.279
He works with they Leaderdog reaches out to him.
00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:16.960
They come down to all of his fairs that he does, and um he has a good relationship with them.
00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:21.759
And as soon as I told them I was working with him, they like fast tracked me through the process.
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.359
I think they would fast track anyone.
00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.680
They they Leaderdog is a great organization.
00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:26.240
Okay.
00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:29.680
But he they work directly with my Ludovision specialist.
00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:30.160
Okay.
00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:30.559
All right.
00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:31.440
How about you, Charity?
00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:32.960
What was the process like for you?
00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:38.319
I had already gotten three dogs from them, so I was very familiar with them.
00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:40.480
So how'd you find them at first, Charity?
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:42.319
Like, how'd you get the first dog from them?
00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:55.680
I honestly I just searched um for guide dogs and I applied, I think, to a couple schools, but I my main one I wanted to go to Leader Dog because I went to college in Michigan.
00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:01.359
They're they're um headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and it's right near.
00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:02.559
I went to college there.
00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:06.480
So it was a familiar, a familiar environment for me.
00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:14.240
So um if you are looking into orientation and mobility, there are several different ways to contact them.
00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:19.279
Um you can contact your state and you can get orientation and mobility from your state.
00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:23.200
Um it takes a long time through your state.
00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:28.079
Um, in fact, I would not really even qualify.
00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:33.680
I would qualify, but I would be way down the list because I'm not I'm not looking to go back to work.
00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:46.240
A lot of times you go through vocational rehab, but um anyway, you can get it through your state, um, through uh services like Lighthouse, um, or you can go to I know Leaderdog.
00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:50.160
Not every guide dog school has orientational mobility.
00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:52.000
Um Melissa, maybe you know.
00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:55.200
I know LeaderDog does, maybe guiding dog.
00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:56.799
I don't really know.
00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:57.920
I I don't know.
00:23:58.160 --> 00:23:59.680
All I know is Leaderdog.
00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:03.200
Um I think Guiding Eyes Dog does, but I'm not sure.
00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:10.160
But you just you just there's an online application that's very accessible and you you just apply.
00:24:10.319 --> 00:24:17.039
It requires some medical information, and um I think for OM you need videos as well.
00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:18.000
I'm not positive.
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:18.559
I heard that.
00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:21.200
Maybe they took the videos away for OM now.
00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:29.039
Like you don't have to do it for OM anymore because like it was kind of that's what I think Stephanie just applied and she had to do a video.
00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:29.519
Yeah.
00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:32.880
I heard you have to do it for the guide dogs, but not for OM.
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:33.279
Okay.
00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:36.000
She was going for OM and she had to provide them with a video.
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:38.640
Yeah, who they change back and forth all the time.
00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:43.839
They always have different people, like you know, they're always but they don't work with you.
00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:51.920
If you are an alone person that doesn't have someone to video you, you just call client services and you tell them that and they will help you figure it out.
00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:54.079
They'll send a field rep to help you.
00:24:54.160 --> 00:25:03.839
And that's the other thing is you can also go to OM at Leader Dog, or you can request that they come to you and work in your home environment.
00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:06.480
Now, personally, I'm going to Leader Dog.
00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:12.240
I get three meals a day for free, and like I I mean, I don't know.
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.359
You get that in prison too.
00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:15.839
Yeah, I'm not going there.
00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:25.200
Yeah, and not like I I say go to Leader Dog or go to someplace because I had never hung out with blind people before.
00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:33.599
Yes, that is and that was like I think that was as life-changing as um getting cane training.
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:33.920
Sure.
00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:38.559
Because I could have waited another year and gotten cane training through the state of Tennessee.
00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.480
Um, I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I could have done that.
00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:47.920
And then I but I wouldn't have had this like community that I got to build.
00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:54.000
And even just like, I don't know, seeing people who are completely blind having very successful careers.
00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:54.319
Yeah.
00:25:54.720 --> 00:26:03.519
Or seeing people that are like young kids who are gonna go to college and they um, you know, they're visually impaired and they're just trying to figure out life.
00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:07.759
It's it's not it's not like inspiration porn where you're like, oh, that's so inspiring.
00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:12.400
It's like, you know, I can figure this out in my life, you know.
00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:14.319
Am I allowed to say inspiration porn?
00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:15.039
Yeah, yeah.
00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:23.519
That's uh, and that's that it's it puts things in perspective of what reality is because it's I mean, it's not like you can just walk outside and run into someone who's blind.
00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:28.079
It's just and to have that, you know, and we're all here for the same exact reason.
00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:30.400
We're allowed to be blind, guys.
00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:33.440
Like, you know, that's that's gotta be pretty a big relief.
00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:35.440
And then I mean, uh, you guys are great proof, right?
00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:36.720
This is how you guys met.
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:39.680
Like it was that good of a community situation with that.
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:41.200
So that's I mean, that's really amazing.
00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:42.079
So go ahead.
00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:50.480
The fun part about going there for OM, at least to Leaderdog, is while you're there, you're typically there with a guide dog class.
00:26:50.640 --> 00:26:54.400
So OM is usually four or five people for a week.
00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:59.200
And then uh the guide dog class is still going on in the same building.
00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:09.279
It you eat lunch, you eat all your meals together, you um socialize together, they just go off and do their guide dog thing, and you go off and do your OM thing during the day.
00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:14.960
But you you get to experience like that that first glimpse of do I want a guide dog?
00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:18.079
Do I hear look at all the work that goes into it?
00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:19.119
Do I want to do that?
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:25.839
And at the end of OM, at least at LeaderDog, you get an opportunity to try out.
00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.519
You get to go on a walk with a a leader dog, which is nice.
00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:29.920
Yeah.
00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:31.839
That's very cool.
00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.480
Uh so OM training is also something where it takes several days.
00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:43.839
You have to be, I mean, obviously it's a little bit more intense in one day, but that's something where you stay overnight or what have you in this in the location?
00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:46.160
At the one we went to, you stay a week.
00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:48.720
You arrive on Sunday and you leave, not quite a week.
00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:51.039
You arrive on Sunday and you leave the next Saturday.
00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:51.359
Okay.
00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:56.480
Um you work one-on-one with uh um orientation mobility specialist.
00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:58.720
They have they have master's degrees.
00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:08.160
These people are very trained in how to um in how to help you to learn navigation as a blind person.
00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:10.480
Orientation mobility.
00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:12.000
Yeah, they do.
00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:15.680
And it's it's very, very personalized.
00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:17.839
Yeah, that's that's very cool.
00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:18.240
Okay.
00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:23.359
You can you meet with your instructor and they say, you know, what do you want to know about?
00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.400
What do you want to learn?
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:40.559
Like I had some things beyond orientation and mobility that were just low vision things like um they had a little workshop at at night about um uh cooking skills, like kitchen tools that would assist you, or um, technology.
00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:50.480
I learned about IRA and MetaGlasses and um Nava Lens, a lot of things that are very helpful and they cater it all to what you need.
00:28:51.200 --> 00:28:51.680
That's very cool.
00:28:51.839 --> 00:28:53.839
Okay, so I mean it's a whole experience.
00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:59.519
And so it sounds like I mean, it's a you think of OM training and kind of training that it's that's just what you're doing.
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:00.319
You're doing that to learn.
00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:01.680
So it's this is a lot more than that.
00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:07.440
You get to meet people, there's like extra little classes or things to learn, and that's very cool.
00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:13.119
Uh so what was it like when like your first day?
00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:14.880
How were you scared?
00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:15.680
Were you nervous?
00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:17.200
What was that like for you, Charity?
00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:19.759
Oh, it was horrible.
00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:29.599
I didn't want well, I you remember, and and it's really funny because what I came out of Melissa will tell you, I was like sweating, I didn't want to be there.
00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:33.119
It was like she was like, you need to go, it'll be wonderful.
00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:35.359
And I'm like, it won't be, it'll suck.
00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:40.079
And when I got there, um, my first day, I was very nervous.
00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:47.599
I didn't want to do it, and I'm pretty confident that I I was in tears.
00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:56.160
Like I was being, I was these they arm wrestled me into doing it, which sounds horrible, but I it needed to be done, and it was the best thing that I ever did.
00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:57.759
It was very scary for me.
00:29:57.839 --> 00:30:13.200
It was intimidating, it was um it just it it didn't feel good to go from I I was I felt like I was taking a step backwards from using a dog for 17 years to now there I have to use this cane and I don't want it.
00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:16.880
But that changed throughout the week.
00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:18.559
It it was fabulous.
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:19.920
Okay, fantastic.
00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:22.720
I mean, Melissa had to deal with you the whole time.
00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:28.640
Um thanks to her, it was I was at dog training with dog training together.
00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:29.680
We were in dog training.
00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.799
So at this point, I had already done um O M training and Charity had not.
00:30:34.880 --> 00:30:36.960
And I we were at guide dog training together.
00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:40.160
And she's saying, I don't want to get a cane.
00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:42.400
And I'm like, what are you talking about?
00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:46.000
You don't like how do you how do you walk around?
00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:48.160
Like, what do you mean you don't want to get a cane?
00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:54.319
Like it's like to me, it was like the same as saying you don't want to wear like shoes.
00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:57.759
Um like what do you I don't why wouldn't you have a cane?
00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.720
It just helps you.
00:30:58.799 --> 00:31:04.319
Like it's not, it's not like uh, it's not like a its own entity that's doing something to you.
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:06.319
Like I just didn't understand.
00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:13.680
And in the meantime, I had a cane and it was so awkward because I would use that cane.
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:15.440
Melissa'll tell you she saw it.
00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:19.680
We would go for walks before we had our dogs, and she saw it.
00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:24.160
It's it's kind of like looking at me sideways, like, what are you doing with that thing?
00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:27.440
I didn't see Terry, you looked great to me.
00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:30.079
Oh my god, she's my friend.
00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:31.519
That's why I love her.
00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:32.559
Oh my god.
00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:33.839
Also, she's blind.
00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:36.000
Out there cane shaming each other.
00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:37.200
That's just horrible.
00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:38.480
No, she didn't.
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:41.759
I am sure it's everything that I put on myself.
00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:44.319
Okay, but it was awkward.
00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:47.359
My OM instructor did indeed tell me that it was awkward.
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:48.799
The way I used it was awkward.
00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:50.319
So I could see that's true.
00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:51.599
Makes sense to me.
00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:52.319
Makes sense.
00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:53.279
But you got over it.
00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:54.640
You're here down, you're confident.
00:31:54.880 --> 00:31:55.359
I love it.
00:31:55.519 --> 00:31:58.160
So then what about you, Melissa, with guide dog training?
00:31:58.240 --> 00:31:59.359
Like, what was that first day like?
00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:01.200
I mean, what even happens on the first day of it?
00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:03.839
I did not think I wanted to get a guide dog.
00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:13.920
Like I was at Kane training and I did the little walk, the they call it a Juno walk where you like the dogs to pretend dog's name is Juno, and then you go with a real dog too.
00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:16.720
Um wait, like uh like a stuffed animal or something?
00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:17.200
What do you mean?
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:33.759
No, like it's like an instructor who's like holding the harness and you're learning how because they don't want to give like do it with you with a dog until they know that you can like handle an animal and do, you know, the animal is like a sentient being and they're protective of their animals.
00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:34.720
So yeah.
00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:35.359
Okay.
00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:39.119
Was was the trainer on all fours or was he walking like a woman?
00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:42.720
No, it was a female trainer and she was not.
00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:48.640
But wait, I did it because they were like, Oh, do you want to do the Juno training?
00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:50.720
I was like, Oh no, I'm okay, I don't really need to do that.
00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:52.720
Um, and they're like, Are you sure there's time?
00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:55.440
And I was like, Oh, okay, well, if there's, yeah, let's do it.
00:32:56.079 --> 00:33:00.160
I was looking at the people getting guide dogs, and I was like, Oh, that's so nice for them.
00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:01.359
Good for them.
00:33:02.400 --> 00:33:03.440
That's great.
00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:06.640
I just did not think I wanted to do it.
00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:08.880
Like I wasn't interested in it.
00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:10.160
I didn't think I wanted to do it.
00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:15.279
And then I went home and I used my cane for a year before I applied for my guide dog.
00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:22.559
And then I was like, oh, okay, maybe that would be like another tool I could use.
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:23.200
Okay.
00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:25.839
And so that it took me a while.
00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:31.759
And then, yes, I was so nervous during guide dog training that I made my dog nervous.
00:33:32.240 --> 00:33:34.880
And she, so you don't get your dog the first day.
00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:37.920
It's like a few days after you're there that you get your dog.
00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:46.240
And I was so tight and nervous and and freaked out that the dog stopped working.
00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:50.880
The dog was like, I don't know, this person's crazy, obviously.
00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:52.720
And you've put me with a crazy person.
00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:56.720
And it was just like, I was probably like sweating anxiety.
00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:58.559
And you know, dogs are sensitive to that.
00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:02.799
And so my trainer was great, and I worked through it.
00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:04.799
I had to really work hard to work through it.
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:11.840
Charity was there watching it, but I am still paired with that dog, and now we are what would be considered a seasoned team.
00:34:12.079 --> 00:34:16.800
But the first couple of days um were really hard with the dog.
00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:18.239
And I thought, I'm going home.
00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:20.880
I'm going home without a dog, and I'm okay with that.
00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:28.800
So I was kind of wondering there because I imagine that there's times where you know you you think maybe it's just not worth this.
00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:30.719
Like you start freaking out, like and you want to quit.
00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:34.239
And but I have to think that they have have to have a pretty incredible support system there.
00:34:34.400 --> 00:34:37.199
Yeah, to like to work you through when you're going through something.
00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:38.960
I'm sure they see it on a regular basis.
00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:42.559
Uh, do they how how did you see that being handled or yourself?
00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:43.280
Did that happen to you?
00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:45.119
And then you're trainer through it.
00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:46.719
My trainer was awesome.
00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:47.760
Charity was awesome.
00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:49.519
It was great to have a good support system.
00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:51.199
We had already connected.
00:34:51.360 --> 00:34:57.360
Um, it was like we were old friends, and um my trainer was amazing.
00:34:57.440 --> 00:35:01.280
And and my trainer was like, let's you need to just go play with your dog.
00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:02.320
Like, let's go.
00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:06.800
Why don't you go take her here and take her out to the grass and go out on a long line with her?
00:35:06.880 --> 00:35:10.239
And I did, I did all the things, and she's a really physical dog.
00:35:10.400 --> 00:35:11.519
She likes to wrestle.
00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:18.159
And I would come in on charity with like screaks and bruises from like playing with this dog.
00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:33.840
They had these like it was summer, so they had these bug catchers, and I was trying to like run in the grass with her, but like I can't see, and I didn't see, and I like had a cut on down my leg, like a six-inch cut down my leg from the bug catcher.
00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:38.960
Like, just because I was trying to get like play.
00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:42.960
I was trying to play with a dog as a she fell off her bed.
00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:44.159
Yeah, I fell off my bed.
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:45.039
I was jumping on the bed.
00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:47.519
I was on the bed.
00:35:47.679 --> 00:36:05.199
I was like making her like being silly with her, and I was flopping on the bed and I missed the bed and flopped and went on the floor, and I had a bruise on my hip, like the I was beat up after a guide dog training, but I really it was almost like a challenge.
00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:08.559
I was like, I can make this, I can make this work, I can do this.
00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:14.480
Yeah, and um yeah, and we did it so that's why blind people can't have nice things right there.
00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:19.039
That's that's why that's that's wild.
00:36:19.199 --> 00:36:21.280
I'm just trying to imagine what that should be like going through.
00:36:21.440 --> 00:36:32.320
I feel like I would be so nervous, and but I think just the people there have to be incredible of going through that because I think I would probably feel that creeping feeling of I think so much has to be going through your mind.
00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:34.559
Like I'm here in my life now, like look where I'm at.
00:36:34.639 --> 00:36:40.960
I never saw myself ever coming here, being a part of these, you know, this situation that that would hit me pretty hard, I think.
00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:42.719
But it would be amazing to have that.
00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:45.920
Um so you said you you were playing with your dog though.
00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:58.079
So I maybe it's just me, but I never realized that a guide dog, a service dog, all those things that I just thought that man, these dogs look like they're just bored all of their lives.
00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:01.039
Look how slowly they walk, like they're just whatever.
00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:05.119
I didn't realize that the harness was the clock in, clock out for them.
00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:07.920
Like now you're so that's how that works, right?
00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:08.639
Mm-hmm.
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:14.400
And you should have seen Lily and Arlo playing this past week.
00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:15.679
Oh my gosh.
00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:21.280
It the guide dogs get to play, they play a lot, they work hard, but they get to play.
00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:28.159
They play they do they know once you like it's you know, you get home, you're obviously relaxing in, you don't need the service anymore.
00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:30.880
So you take the harness off, and they're like, heck yes, let's go.
00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:33.760
Like, do they do they know immediately like it's time to play?
00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:37.280
Yes, they have great manners and great open hands training.
00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:40.639
So I let her off of her harness.
00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:48.400
Um, we have a process and I let her off before I open the front door because I want her to be out of harness when the other dogs are at the door to greet her.
00:37:48.639 --> 00:37:54.480
Because I don't want her to um still have to work while they're like excited to see her.
00:37:54.800 --> 00:38:02.960
So, but I never for one second worry about her doing anything besides walking right to that door because she has excellent obedience training.
00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:05.920
So that's 100% all the time.
00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:07.199
And you have to work on it.
00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:16.000
It's not like you have to constantly be working their skills, but yeah, I mean, I mean, Lily was only 20 months old when I brought her home.
00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:17.440
How old was Arlo?
00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:19.599
They could be as young as 18.
00:38:20.239 --> 00:38:24.000
Arlo was uh 21 months when I brought him home.
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:29.199
Yeah, because he just between 18 months and 21, 21 months old.
00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:34.320
That as a Labrador, they still don't even have all their brain cells firing properly.
00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:36.880
Like they're not they're puppies.
00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:39.599
So yeah, they're you have to play.
00:38:39.920 --> 00:38:44.559
The first year of a guide dog's life, right there, they're start as puppies.
00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:47.760
The first entire year, they're not even part of the school and training, right?
00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:50.239
It's just pure like lower obedience.
00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:53.199
Like a foster person takes care of them, right?
00:38:53.519 --> 00:38:57.440
And then they come in for more serious training, uh leader dog or what have you.
00:38:57.840 --> 00:39:05.440
They're raised by a puppy raiser for about a year, and then they bring them back to leader dog for their formal training.
00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:13.360
Now, the the foster family, the the puppy racer has very specific things that they have to work on.
00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:17.280
They have to take them out to social places, work on their obedience.
00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:29.920
But then when they come to back to leader dog, is when their real training begins, and they do that for four to five months, depending on the dog, and depending on the match, like when they're matched with a a human.
00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:31.360
And that's where they figure out.
00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:38.719
I think I was told like in that first year, that's when they figure out if the dog is gonna be and it's it's not always like the dog's actual fault.
00:39:38.800 --> 00:39:40.480
Like some of them are just more hyper than others.
00:39:40.559 --> 00:39:44.559
So you I mean that's where you find out if they're going to make the cut, really.
00:39:44.800 --> 00:39:47.039
Um do you know anything about that?
00:39:47.440 --> 00:39:49.199
They make the cut when they come back.
00:39:49.440 --> 00:39:57.280
So they'll come back to leader dog after a year with a puppy razor, they'll get a physical, and then they'll put be put through basic testing.
00:39:57.360 --> 00:40:02.639
And it has to be soundness and anywhere throughout the process, up until the point.
00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:12.320
Well, I've I've learned that even after, but up until the point that they're given to uh matched with a client, they can be remote released from the program.
00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:12.800
Okay.
00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:14.960
And I what was our class, Melissa?
00:40:15.119 --> 00:40:19.280
I think 35 dogs started the program.
00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:23.039
Some are taken out for breeding out of every batch.
00:40:23.280 --> 00:40:25.920
Um, but how many were issued?
00:40:26.159 --> 00:40:27.039
Nine, nine.
00:40:27.519 --> 00:40:30.400
Nine, nine made it through the program out of 35.
00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:31.119
Wow.
00:40:31.360 --> 00:40:34.079
So one person left without a dog, and that happens too.
00:40:34.239 --> 00:40:36.960
You can go through guide dog training and you can leave without a dog.
00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:38.639
I thought I was gonna leave without a dog.
00:40:38.960 --> 00:40:39.760
So I didn't know.
00:40:40.320 --> 00:40:42.159
Is that because they're like just a dog?
00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:43.679
Did it match up with you correctly?
00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:46.320
Or that dog, they just they ran out of dogs over.
00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:50.000
They could think they have a match and then it and then they don't have a match.
00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:50.480
Okay.
00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:55.039
So I imagine it's not like just there's got to be some kind of bond to it as well.
00:40:55.199 --> 00:40:58.159
It can't just, you know, it's not just because they know how to do their job.
00:40:58.320 --> 00:41:01.280
I mean, what how how do you pick your dog or how how does that work?
00:41:01.599 --> 00:41:02.559
You don't pick.
00:41:02.800 --> 00:41:07.440
So I I live in an environment that has I'm in a more urban environment.
00:41:07.519 --> 00:41:11.679
Like I'm like in a suburban urban environment, like a neighborhood inside of the urban area.
00:41:11.840 --> 00:41:12.079
Okay.
00:41:12.239 --> 00:41:14.320
But there's not a lot of sidewalks in Nashville.
00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:16.960
So I have it's called country road travel.
00:41:17.119 --> 00:41:17.280
Okay.
00:41:17.519 --> 00:41:23.119
And so I had uh Lily, my guide dog, has a strong left tendency.
00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:27.039
She pulls hard to the left, so she keeps me out of the street.
00:41:27.280 --> 00:41:30.719
So it was really important that I had a dog that had a strong left tendency.
00:41:30.880 --> 00:41:35.920
I would prefer a dog that was a lot faster, but the safety was more important.
00:41:36.239 --> 00:41:37.199
I didn't say anything.
00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:38.880
They said, Do you want to pick what color?
00:41:39.039 --> 00:41:40.480
I said, No, I don't like you.
00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:48.480
Can say you have a gender preference, a breed preference, and a color preference, but all that will do is delay the time until you get a match.
00:41:48.719 --> 00:41:54.239
Because I needed a dog that was sound around a lot of noises and could be in an urban environment.
00:41:54.400 --> 00:41:56.159
At the time, I was taking the bus a lot.
00:41:56.239 --> 00:41:57.840
I take Ubers everywhere I go.
00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:01.599
So I need a dog that can go in and that is comfortable going in and out of the car.
00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:02.079
Sure.
00:42:02.320 --> 00:42:09.119
Um, so they match the dog based on what environment the handler lives in.
00:42:09.440 --> 00:42:10.400
You don't pick.
00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:14.800
You you get you are on Wednesday, you're sitting in your room.
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:15.679
I don't even know.
00:42:15.840 --> 00:42:16.880
Do they still do it Wednesday?
00:42:17.440 --> 00:42:18.320
They do it Wednesday.
00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:20.000
They still do it Wednesday.
00:42:20.320 --> 00:42:28.400
When I did it on when you get there on Sunday, on Wednesday, you're sitting in your room and they bring you your dog and you're meeting your dog for the first time.
00:42:28.639 --> 00:42:31.519
It's a lot of people wanted it videotaped.
00:42:31.599 --> 00:42:34.719
I said I I am a very private person.
00:42:34.880 --> 00:42:35.119
Sure.
00:42:35.280 --> 00:42:43.679
Um, so I did not want it videotaped, but I also didn't want it videotaped because I knew it was a puppy and the puppy might be not even interested in me.
00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:46.480
Or and like I'm like, I don't need that on video.
00:42:46.559 --> 00:42:48.719
Like just being rejected on video.
00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:52.000
Yeah, like pass, hard pass.
00:42:52.880 --> 00:42:55.039
So I mean, it's nerve-wracking.
00:42:55.119 --> 00:43:01.119
You're just sitting in your room thinking, here comes this dog that's about to be my partner.
00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:04.000
And I don't know, it was it's pretty emotional.
00:43:04.079 --> 00:43:05.199
What do you think, Charity?
00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:09.119
I I think it's extremely emotional and it's very intense.
00:43:09.280 --> 00:43:16.880
At that point in time, when they bring the dog into your room, you are 100% responsible for responsible for that dog.
00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:19.119
No one comes back and gives you a break.
00:43:19.280 --> 00:43:22.960
No one comes to babysit the dog while you uh do whatever.
00:43:23.199 --> 00:43:34.239
When you go to all of your meals, there's a room full of 10 dogs in the cafeteria, and you're responsible for controlling your dog, feeding your dog, taking your dog out to the bathroom.
00:43:34.400 --> 00:43:36.719
You are responsible for all things, dog.
00:43:37.119 --> 00:43:45.360
And it becomes very intense, uh, especially for people who are new guide dog handlers who maybe never had a dog before.
00:43:45.519 --> 00:43:51.119
It definitely not a dog that you have to care for to this level that you do a guide dog.
00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:55.360
So let's let's move out of the actual getting the training.
00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:59.840
Charity, what was like your first day out and about, like being out in public alone?
00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:00.800
With Arlo.
00:44:01.119 --> 00:44:01.920
What was that like?
00:44:02.000 --> 00:44:04.400
Like, did you feel on top of the world?
00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:06.400
Did you, I mean, yes, I did it.
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:08.960
Or like just what did it, what was going through your head?
00:44:09.280 --> 00:44:14.800
I guess I'm gonna go back to my first dog because um, I mean, four dogs into it.
00:44:14.960 --> 00:44:17.840
I yeah, I do I love Arlo.
00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:19.599
Arlo was nothing that I wanted.
00:44:19.679 --> 00:44:20.880
I'm sorry, buddy.
00:44:21.119 --> 00:44:22.880
He's not anything I wanted.
00:44:23.119 --> 00:44:30.320
I wanted a I've always had a female, I've always had a yellow lab and or a lab retriever cross.
00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:33.280
And I get this here's here's what also can happen.
00:44:33.360 --> 00:44:35.760
The match might not work part way through the process.
00:44:35.920 --> 00:44:39.679
I had a different dog for two weeks and it didn't work.
00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:41.760
And then they said, let's try Arlo.
00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:43.840
So anyway, I got Arlo.
00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:44.800
I love, I love him.
00:44:44.880 --> 00:44:45.920
He's he's wonderful.
00:44:46.159 --> 00:44:48.239
So the match, they do the right thing matching.
00:44:48.480 --> 00:44:50.960
But um, let's go back to my first dog.
00:44:51.280 --> 00:44:57.519
And when you're out by yourself, it's I guess during training, they send you out by yourself.
00:44:57.760 --> 00:45:09.920
Um for the first couple days, the trainer walks with you, and a lot they're even attached to you with a second little harness thing or a second little lead in case you it things get out of control or whatever.
00:45:10.159 --> 00:45:14.000
But then they're like, Okay, I I detached, you're on your own.
00:45:14.159 --> 00:45:19.280
And it is, it's like first it was nerves, like, can I really do this?
00:45:19.840 --> 00:45:22.480
And then it's oh my god, I did it.
00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:25.039
Like the dog stopped at the curbs.
00:45:25.280 --> 00:45:32.000
The biggest day of um travel for me with my guide dog was when you do night travel.
00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:37.360
I don't see anything at night, and you do have an option to do night travel with your dog.
00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:39.599
And I thought, I'm gonna do it.
00:45:39.679 --> 00:45:42.000
I'm gonna see what this dog can actually do.
00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:49.039
And the fact that that dog got me around Main Street in downtown Rochester and back to the training center.
00:45:49.360 --> 00:45:58.000
You just feel this sense of accomplishment of this, it's the right thing, it's gonna work, and this dog is amazing.
00:45:58.400 --> 00:46:00.719
That was the best day of training for me.
00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:02.400
It always is four times.
00:46:02.480 --> 00:46:03.840
It was the best day of training for me.
00:46:04.320 --> 00:46:08.400
That's I mean, to to that just a nighttime thing that had to feel incredible.
00:46:08.639 --> 00:46:10.159
Um, what about you, Melissa?
00:46:10.400 --> 00:46:12.400
What was what was that first time like?
00:46:12.880 --> 00:46:13.760
It sucked.
00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:26.960
Um, I think that people uh what the main message I want to give to anybody who's considering a guide dog is you go to training and they are training you how to train this dog.
00:46:27.199 --> 00:46:27.679
Right.
00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:34.000
And so they are training you on going home and working your routes and training this dog.
00:46:34.159 --> 00:46:39.360
And so now you are not only visually impaired or blind, you are also a guide dog.
00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:52.079
And it is exhausting and it is frustrating, and that dogs don't always do what they're supposed to do, and you're also visually impaired, and it was really hard.
00:46:52.239 --> 00:46:56.400
And the first six months, I thought about giving up all of the time.
00:46:56.559 --> 00:46:58.639
I was like, I'm perfectly happy with my cane.
00:46:58.719 --> 00:47:01.360
I can use my little hiking sticks, I can do what I need to do.
00:47:01.519 --> 00:47:02.400
Why am I doing this?
00:47:02.559 --> 00:47:04.000
Why am I putting myself through this?
00:47:05.039 --> 00:47:09.920
And I just am so glad I stuck it out because I love it now.
00:47:10.159 --> 00:47:18.400
But it I seriously, they say it takes a year to become a seasoned team because it takes a year to become a seasoned team.
00:47:18.639 --> 00:47:19.920
So I I don't know.
00:47:20.079 --> 00:47:27.440
It for me, it wasn't like um, and maybe it was because it was never something I thought I was gonna do anyway.
00:47:27.599 --> 00:47:27.840
Sure.
00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:29.679
But in the beginning, I didn't love it.
00:47:29.760 --> 00:47:33.119
And I told charity charity is we've we've been close friends.
00:47:33.360 --> 00:47:36.079
I think this would be shocking for my trainer to hear, right?
00:47:36.719 --> 00:47:38.480
It is very important though.
00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:46.079
Um, I think Melissa that we do share that during training um at the school, I'm like, this isn't this isn't really real life.
00:47:46.159 --> 00:47:47.039
This isn't what's gonna happen.
00:47:47.440 --> 00:47:50.960
You told me one million times, it's just the beginning, Melissa.
00:47:51.039 --> 00:47:53.599
When you get when you get hard, it's hard.
00:47:53.840 --> 00:47:54.000
Yeah.
00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:56.239
She said, she's like, when you get home, it's gonna be harder.
00:47:56.320 --> 00:47:57.440
I'm like, nothing's harder than this.
00:47:57.519 --> 00:47:58.159
I'm exhausted.
00:47:58.320 --> 00:47:59.119
This is so hard.
00:47:59.360 --> 00:48:01.840
There's no way this is gonna be harder when I'm home.
00:48:02.079 --> 00:48:04.880
And every day you're like, oh, when you get home, it'll be harder.
00:48:05.679 --> 00:48:07.519
And it wasn't me being negative.
00:48:07.679 --> 00:48:09.360
It was just you being honest.
00:48:09.679 --> 00:48:11.440
I was honest, I was just being honest.
00:48:11.599 --> 00:48:18.639
You have to be willing to put the work in because you can come home with a trained guide dog and it can be a it can be a horrible experience.
00:48:18.800 --> 00:48:20.079
The dog won't work right.
00:48:20.239 --> 00:48:24.159
You you get as much out of your dog as you put into it once you get home.
00:48:24.320 --> 00:48:24.639
Yeah.
00:48:24.880 --> 00:48:27.199
And that's the same with any dog as well, you know.
00:48:27.280 --> 00:48:27.679
And that's it.
00:48:27.840 --> 00:48:37.199
There's there's so many moving parts to this experience to where like it's I I think there's probably is some kind of idea and notion to where you get a guide dog and then it's done.
00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:41.920
It's like it's just a robot that is attached to you now that does exactly what you want it to.
00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:42.559
And it's not that.
00:48:42.639 --> 00:48:46.239
I mean, even with my dog, not a guide dog or anything like that, I have to keep up on her training.
00:48:46.480 --> 00:48:49.119
Like here and there, I have to remind her what we're doing, you know.
00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:52.719
And it is, it's it's a it's a commitment, you know?
00:48:53.440 --> 00:48:54.400
It's a whole other level.
00:48:54.559 --> 00:49:00.719
It adds like when Lily does not like to use the dog relief areas because she thinks they're disgusting.
00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:02.480
And I agree with her, they're disgusting.
00:49:02.639 --> 00:49:06.639
And so she doesn't even like she goes in there and she's like, oh, not for me.
00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:11.840
So I have to think about well, how far can I travel and how hard long can she hold her bladder?
00:49:11.920 --> 00:49:13.599
And I don't think about that with a cane.
00:49:13.679 --> 00:49:17.440
I just fold my cane up and put it in the back of the and off I go.
00:49:17.519 --> 00:49:19.679
I don't have to pack food for my cane.
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:23.360
Um and your cane doesn't have a mind of its own.
00:49:23.519 --> 00:49:26.480
A dog will and does have a mind of its own.
00:49:26.559 --> 00:49:39.440
Even a well-trained guy dog will eventually days, and just like just like humans, we have bad days, and eventually, you know, uh your dog may be like, Oh, that pizza place smells really good in the airport.
00:49:39.519 --> 00:49:40.639
Let's take a detour.
00:49:41.280 --> 00:49:42.960
And it just happens.
00:49:43.760 --> 00:49:53.199
I was visiting charity and we were out on a walk, and Lily was have like she was in a brand new environment and had done brand new things for like two days now.
00:49:53.360 --> 00:49:58.239
And then the second day she was like, uh, I don't know, like I'm done with this.
00:49:58.480 --> 00:50:04.719
And so I had to say, instead of like being able to be with my friend and chat with her, I'm like, Charity, you go on.
00:50:04.800 --> 00:50:06.639
I need to work with Lily, right?
00:50:06.800 --> 00:50:08.320
I don't have to do that with a cane.
00:50:08.480 --> 00:50:10.000
With a cane, it's just me.
00:50:10.559 --> 00:50:17.360
So so and it sounds like I mean, it's just I mean, because both of you you have different times to use a dog, different times you use a cane.
00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:19.360
It just depends on what situation you're in.
00:50:19.519 --> 00:50:29.599
They both kind of serve the same purpose, but I have to imagine as far as getting you around, like they serve the exact opposite purpose.
00:50:29.920 --> 00:50:35.840
A cane is for obstacle detection, and a dog is for obstacle avoidance.
00:50:36.159 --> 00:50:37.920
So it depends which one you want to do.
00:50:38.079 --> 00:50:39.679
I prefer avoidance.
00:50:39.920 --> 00:50:42.559
Okay, I don't want to know that there's a garbage can there.
00:50:42.960 --> 00:50:47.599
The cane tells you there's a garbage can care that my dog says, I don't care, let's go around it.
00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:48.960
Yeah, that makes sense.
00:50:49.119 --> 00:50:49.440
Okay.
00:50:49.920 --> 00:50:58.400
Well, I mean, either way, I have to imagine, like going through all this, even with how hard it was for you, Melissa, that they're at the end of all of it, now you say you love it.
00:50:58.639 --> 00:51:06.159
That there had to be such a relief with both trainings and everything of how much more mobile you feel, how much more confident you feel in your life.
00:51:06.400 --> 00:51:11.519
I mean, because there's a lot of things in our lives, people that deal with the things that we deal with, to where we'll say no to things.
00:51:11.679 --> 00:51:15.920
We won't go places because we're thinking through what it's gonna be like, how hard it's gonna be to navigate that place.
00:51:16.079 --> 00:51:17.199
Am I gonna be embarrassed?
00:51:17.360 --> 00:51:19.119
Am I gonna embarrass the people that are with me?
00:51:19.360 --> 00:51:23.599
Is it if am I gonna not enjoy my time because I'm stressing out the whole time?
00:51:23.679 --> 00:51:28.400
So I imagine that that relieved so much of it, you know, with the cane and a dog.
00:51:28.960 --> 00:51:36.559
I think the cane, especially, I feel like um it was like owning, it was like taking ownership and being like, yep, I am blind.
00:51:36.639 --> 00:51:38.079
I am a part of the blind community.
00:51:38.239 --> 00:51:39.920
I ha this is who I am.
00:51:40.159 --> 00:51:45.840
And I had I tried to hide my visual impairment at my job for so many years.
00:51:46.000 --> 00:51:51.920
Um, I tried to people I'd met, I didn't want, I just not I just hid it.
00:51:52.000 --> 00:51:52.880
I hid my impairment.
00:51:53.039 --> 00:51:58.320
And so it was just kind of like owning who I was by starting to become a cane user.
00:51:58.480 --> 00:52:01.679
It was the most single, most empowering thing I've done in my life.
00:52:02.000 --> 00:52:06.000
I would think that that's probably what happens for, I mean, once you because there's no turning back from that.
00:52:06.079 --> 00:52:10.480
Like once you it's like pull it's like, you know, Clark, uh, was it Clark Kenny?
00:52:10.719 --> 00:52:15.280
Superman pulling off his shirt, you know, and having the S under there and jumping out like here I am.
00:52:15.440 --> 00:52:16.639
Like this is what I do.
00:52:16.719 --> 00:52:18.639
You know, that's gotta be very empowering.
00:52:18.880 --> 00:52:31.599
And really, I would imagine it's it makes such a shift mentally and emotionally from the person you were before that the first time you started taking that cane out, it's it's just I would imagine like a weight falls off your shoulder to where there's no more hydrogen.
00:52:31.760 --> 00:52:38.960
I think it was when I made a commitment that every I said to my husband, I'm like, every time I leave this house, I'm either gonna have my cane or my dog with me.
00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:44.719
I'm gonna stop leaving the house with with no this because I'm already legally blind at this point.
00:52:44.880 --> 00:52:48.719
I was like going out and doing things legally blind with nothing.
00:52:48.880 --> 00:52:49.039
Right.
00:52:49.280 --> 00:52:51.519
Which, if that's what people choose to do, that's what they choose to do.
00:52:51.599 --> 00:52:52.559
So I'm not judging that.
00:52:53.440 --> 00:52:56.480
But that's what I and I said to my husband, I'm like, I'm not doing it anymore.
00:52:56.559 --> 00:53:02.559
I'm not leaving this house without a cane or a dog because it is not a source of shame.
00:53:02.719 --> 00:53:03.920
It's a tool.
00:53:04.239 --> 00:53:07.760
It's a tool, and it's a tool that I need to use.
00:53:08.159 --> 00:53:08.480
Yep.
00:53:08.800 --> 00:53:12.400
And I think having both of the tools is um very important.
00:53:12.559 --> 00:53:19.519
I mean, Melissa will tell you that the person I was a year ago and the person I am today are two different people.
00:53:19.760 --> 00:53:25.840
Like I am out in the world with my cane, with my dog, with whatever tool that I have.
00:53:25.920 --> 00:53:27.840
And I do now look at it as just a tool.
00:53:27.920 --> 00:53:29.679
My cane is just a tool.
00:53:29.760 --> 00:53:35.840
I've embraced it, it does what it needs to do at certain like it in an in any given environment.
00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:39.760
If I choose my cane or I choose my dog, I know how to use them both.
00:53:39.920 --> 00:53:42.239
And if my dog can't work, I have the cane.
00:53:42.320 --> 00:53:44.480
If I don't want the cane, I have my dog.
00:53:44.719 --> 00:53:50.000
And it's it just changed me as a person from a year ago to today.
00:53:50.239 --> 00:53:51.599
Yeah, yes, I agree.
00:53:51.760 --> 00:53:53.199
I I agree, charity.
00:53:53.360 --> 00:53:54.159
Yeah, that's a great idea.
00:53:54.320 --> 00:53:54.960
I'm so proud of you.
00:53:55.039 --> 00:53:56.320
You're so awesome.
00:53:57.360 --> 00:54:00.079
So we're we're kind of getting to the end here.
00:54:00.159 --> 00:54:06.079
And Melissa, since you've listened to us, I always kind of like to have, and I want both of you like to kind of answer this yourselves.
00:54:06.480 --> 00:54:15.360
To anyone out there that's listening right now, that's just in that zone of their they're nervous, they're considering getting a cane training, they're considering getting a guide talk, but they just don't know.
00:54:15.519 --> 00:54:18.400
You know, some people think that I'm not blind enough.
00:54:18.559 --> 00:54:21.119
Some people think that it's gonna be embarrassing, whatever.
00:54:21.199 --> 00:54:23.760
What would you tell these people that are considering it?
00:54:24.480 --> 00:54:25.840
Go to cane training.
00:54:26.000 --> 00:54:27.360
Because what do you have to lose?
00:54:27.519 --> 00:54:30.559
Like you can go to cane training, come home and never use your cane.
00:54:30.800 --> 00:54:32.320
You fold it up and put it away.
00:54:32.480 --> 00:54:33.119
You can use it.
00:54:33.280 --> 00:54:39.920
My low vision specialist said some people only use it when they go to the airport because it gets people out of their way when they go to the airport.
00:54:40.079 --> 00:54:43.199
What do you have to lose by going and doing cane training?
00:54:43.440 --> 00:54:46.320
As far as getting a dog, dude, you got to think about that.
00:54:46.480 --> 00:54:49.519
Because that is like that that's a different commitment.
00:54:49.760 --> 00:54:50.960
It's a different commitment.
00:54:51.199 --> 00:54:52.239
Do cane training.
00:54:52.320 --> 00:54:57.679
I mean, if someone's offering you free cane training and to cook for you for a week, what are you what are you waiting for?
00:54:57.920 --> 00:54:58.239
Go.
00:54:58.559 --> 00:54:59.280
That's a good point.
00:54:59.599 --> 00:55:00.880
Yeah, absolutely.
00:55:01.199 --> 00:55:02.639
What about you, Charity?
00:55:04.000 --> 00:55:05.599
I would say the same thing.
00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:11.039
I would put your shame, your perceived shame aside and take that step.
00:55:11.360 --> 00:55:22.480
My plan, honestly, was to go to LeaderDog, get my OM training, check the box so I could get my next dog, and then come home and put my cane on the shelf.
00:55:22.639 --> 00:55:24.639
And that, and and it that was my plan.
00:55:24.719 --> 00:55:26.559
I told my instructor, it's kind of my plan.
00:55:26.639 --> 00:55:29.039
Like, I don't know if I'm bringing it out when I get home.
00:55:29.280 --> 00:55:32.320
But after that week of training, it changed my mind.
00:55:32.400 --> 00:55:33.440
It changed my life.
00:55:33.679 --> 00:55:42.400
And the good thing about going to leader dog to get your OM training is you get to practice an environment in an environment where you don't know anybody.
00:55:42.880 --> 00:55:45.840
Um, and then you have the skills when you come home.
00:55:46.000 --> 00:55:54.159
It takes a little bit of bravery then to bring out your cane amongst your friends, but you've already practiced skills in an environment where you didn't know anybody.
00:55:54.239 --> 00:55:55.360
You just got to leave.
00:55:55.519 --> 00:55:56.480
And it was great.
00:55:56.719 --> 00:55:57.920
But I would say do it.
00:55:58.000 --> 00:55:59.760
It could cane training for sure.
00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.719
Guide dog, you need to think, like Melissa said, really hard about that because it's a huge commitment.
00:56:04.960 --> 00:56:05.119
Right.
00:56:05.280 --> 00:56:08.400
And it's not just you that there is another life on the line.
00:56:08.480 --> 00:56:10.400
It's they're expensive.
00:56:10.559 --> 00:56:12.719
They're I mean, guide dogs aren't cheap.
00:56:12.800 --> 00:56:16.079
I I mean they don't cost us anything, but you have their food, their vet bills.
00:56:16.239 --> 00:56:18.159
Yeah, they get sick, all that stuff.
00:56:18.559 --> 00:56:24.320
And vet bills are if anyone out there does not have a dog and think about a guide dog, dog bills are expensive.
00:56:24.559 --> 00:56:26.559
Surgeries cost 10 times as much.
00:56:26.719 --> 00:56:30.239
And there are some schools that pay for your vet bills.
00:56:30.480 --> 00:56:32.079
Leaderdog is not what yeah.
00:56:32.239 --> 00:56:34.159
Leader dog is not one of them.
00:56:34.400 --> 00:56:36.800
Um, but they do exist out there.
00:56:36.880 --> 00:56:42.079
If you want a guide dog and you are not financially able to care for one, there are schools.
00:56:42.239 --> 00:56:43.360
I don't know which one it is.
00:56:43.679 --> 00:56:50.079
I don't know if it's it's it's one in California, but um there are schools out there that assist.
00:56:50.159 --> 00:56:58.960
And even Leader Dog, if you have an emergency, they have a fund set aside where I mean you have to demonstrate that you can care financially care for your dog.
00:56:59.039 --> 00:57:05.039
But if an emergency comes up, they do have resources to help and an as needed basis.
00:57:05.119 --> 00:57:06.960
They're not gonna leave a dog suffer for sure.
00:57:08.239 --> 00:57:08.800
That's awesome.
00:57:08.880 --> 00:57:10.320
That's uh I I didn't know they did that.
00:57:10.400 --> 00:57:14.079
And that's I'm glad that they checked the finances because that's that'd be horrible.
00:57:14.800 --> 00:57:17.440
That poor dog going home with Joe Schmo.
00:57:18.639 --> 00:57:19.599
Yeah, very cool.
00:57:20.079 --> 00:57:21.599
So I appreciate you guys having me on.
00:57:21.920 --> 00:57:23.360
It was fun talking about it.
00:57:23.599 --> 00:57:27.920
It's two things that I just feel passionate about, and uh thank you for having me.
00:57:28.159 --> 00:57:32.320
Yeah, we appreciate you being here and uh giving your side of the story because I know there's a lot of people out there.
00:57:32.480 --> 00:57:38.559
I see it all the time in our community, and I know some of you might be listening right now that people that everyone is on that edge of that line.
00:57:38.639 --> 00:57:42.880
And eventually we get to that point, and you're gonna have to do it one point or another.
00:57:42.960 --> 00:57:46.079
And I always kind of feel like this about life it's just then do it.
00:57:46.320 --> 00:57:47.679
Stop waiting for the time.
00:57:47.760 --> 00:57:52.320
And it and they say the same thing is to do it before it gets way harder.
00:57:52.559 --> 00:57:59.360
You know, just go ahead and learn the tools, learn how to use it, and then once that time really comes, you'll already be seasoned and knowing how to use it.
00:57:59.440 --> 00:58:04.320
But there's no reason to stay at home and not go enjoy your life because you're worried about having a cane.
00:58:04.400 --> 00:58:08.079
Leave your shame at the door and just go enjoy your life.
00:58:08.480 --> 00:58:09.039
You know, period.
00:58:10.639 --> 00:58:11.440
Absolutely.
00:58:11.679 --> 00:58:12.559
But awesome.
00:58:12.719 --> 00:58:14.559
That's all the time we have today, guys.
00:58:14.639 --> 00:58:16.159
We appreciate you for stopping by.
00:58:16.320 --> 00:58:19.920
Thank you, Melissa, for coming by and talking to us about all this charity.
00:58:20.079 --> 00:58:23.280
You're stuck with me, anyways, but I appreciate you as always.
00:58:23.519 --> 00:58:27.599
Um, as always, guys, please make sure you comment, like, share.
00:58:27.760 --> 00:58:39.119
I know I'm a broken record about this, but this is what helps us get in front of the people that could benefit from listening to what we're talking about, that could maybe come on as guests, that could ask questions that we can answer, all those fun things.
00:58:39.199 --> 00:58:42.159
So make sure you give us a follow, like, share, comment, all that stuff.
00:58:42.239 --> 00:58:43.519
It helps us immensely.
00:58:43.679 --> 00:58:47.280
We are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok at Central Vision Podcast.
00:58:47.360 --> 00:58:49.360
We are on centralvisionpodcast.com.
00:58:49.440 --> 00:58:54.639
And for those of you who are listening, we are also on YouTube where you can watch our shenanigans and video.
00:58:54.800 --> 00:58:55.920
But that's all we got today.
00:58:56.000 --> 00:58:57.199
Thanks for coming by, guys.
00:58:57.280 --> 00:58:58.719
We'll see you next Tuesday.