Getting Comfortable with a White Cane

In February of 2016, my retina detached and tore in multiple places.

I've had issues with my eyes ever since.

And I said, "No, I don't need a cane.

Those are for blind people." She said, "Uh, you're legally blind in the one eye, and you're wearing a Dixie cup because you have no peripheral vision there." And I was like, "Well, okay, yeah, but I can still see out of the left eye." You know, I mean, I was off and on with it for probably about a year.

You know, I waffled a lot on that, that cane thing for a long time before I finally just said, "You know, it's...

I'm tired of falling." You know, I would use it, and I would...

You know, I'd walk, and I wouldn't fall.

I wouldn't use it, you know, on a five-mile walk, and I'd come back, and my pants are ripped, and, you know, the knees are bleeding somewhere, you know, scrapes on the hands.

And my wife would be, "What happened?" And she's like, "You know, you really should consider that cane." I was like, "No, I'm not, I'm not ready for it." And then I took that hike at Red Rock.

It was just, uh, one mile out and back, and I saw these blobs coming at me, you know, 'cause that's how I see people.

Until you get within probably a foot or two, you know, you're just a blob.

And I stepped off the trail, and the only thing I really remember is that I was flat on my back.

I know somebody pushed me because I didn't fall.

My son was right there, and he said, "Dad, you stepped off the trail and fell." I got back to the trailhead, and I couldn't stop the bleeding on my left knee.

I decided from there on, you know, 'cause I'm gonna carry this on my knee for the rest of my life, I was like, "You know what? This is just one of those things I'm gonna have to learn, have to carry it with me, and, you know, this is what we're gonna have to do." You know, once, once I got that all dialed in, I was...

You know, I, I've been good with it ever since.

But, you know, like I say, it's, it's just getting used to it.

It's, it's adding to your routine, if you will.

You know, it's like you, you hit the door, and it's like, "Okay, car keys, keys, phone, wallet." You know, I gotta remember, make sure I have my cane, and I've got a spot right there by the door where the canes are all stacked up and, you know, grab the primary cane and go.

What do you wish somebody had said to you before you fell a lot of times that might have, uh, sped up your decision to ultimately get a cane?

In my case, I'm just bullheaded, so I don't...

I'm not sure that anything could've been said.

Honestly, I don't know.

I just, I just had to come to the decision on my own.

But, you know, I would tell anybody that's waffling on a cane or not, unfortunately, we're not getting any younger, and it takes a lot longer to heal.