{"id":20698,"date":"2023-07-31T18:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=20698"},"modified":"2023-08-01T06:49:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T06:49:55","slug":"oldest-va-blind-center-a-vision-of-hope-for-75-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=20698","title":{"rendered":"Oldest VA blind center a vision of hope for 75 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Smith, who is legally blind, is a former Marine Corps scout sniper trying to relearn his entire way of life. Smith lost his sight following a stroke in February 2023 while sleeping in his Kansas City, Missouri, home.\u00a0He is now completing a six-week inpatient program at Edward Hines Jr. VA\u2019s<\/a> Central Blind Rehabilitation Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s lesson is crossing the street by himself. \u201cThe first time I tried this on my own, it was terrifying,\u201d the 55-year-old said while navigating a curb. \u201cIt\u2019s these little things we take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 130,000 American Veterans are legally blind and over one-million have significantly limited vision according to VA. Like Smith (pictured above), thousands are referred to one of 13 VA Blind Rehabilitation Centers<\/a> annually.<\/p>\n

Hines VA\u2019s center is VA\u2019s oldest, founded 75 years ago by Russell C. Williams.\u00a0Soon after landing on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, he was blinded during a German artillery attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After rehabilitation and instructing at the Army\u2019s now-closed blind treatment center in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Williams was selected to serve as the Hines center\u2019s first chief. He believed that a visually impaired person could continue an independent life by combining new and old medical practices and training techniques to treat a person\u2019s whole health.<\/p>\n

Veteran says pioneering approach saved his life\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Seventy-five years later, Smith credits this pioneering approach with saving his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOvernight, I lost everything. I lost my vision. I lost the way I supported myself. I woke up and it was all just gone,\u201d Smith said. Feeling helpless, he attempted suicide in March 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of Vets out there who have lost their sight, especially if they recently lost it, probably experience the same thing. I know they feel like things are out of control and they don\u2019t know how to fix it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For several months, Smith\u2019s visual impairment service team coordinator from Kansas City VA called him to get him enrolled in the Hines program, but he refused. \u201cFinally, just to get her to quit calling, I said, \u2018Yes, I will go,\u2019\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Smith arrived on May 23 but didn\u2019t expect his life to change. He said he spent the first two weeks arguing with his instructors until his second weekend when staff took him to a shooting range. An avid marksman, he shot 25 out of 30 bullseyes in his first attempt using assistance devices that play sound to help the visually impaired sight a weapon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot just the target, the bullseye,\u201d he said, smiling. \u201cThat was the beginning of me realizing that my life can go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s initial hesitation is not uncommon according to Anthony Cleveland, orientation and mobility supervisor. \u201cWe see a lot of people come in through the admission process really unsure of what we can do for them and what\u2019s left for them to do?\u201d Cleveland asked.<\/p>\n

Maggie Elgersma, the center\u2019s chief, who has worked at the center for 14 years, described the importance of teaching Veterans to continue their passions after losing vision: \u201cIt\u2019s a huge motivator toward goals and remaining independent after vision loss and reintegrating into their community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a>
Learning woodworking in 1948<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Skills now common in modern blind rehabilitation<\/h2>\n

The photo at right shows Veteran Naron Ferguson learning woodworking at the Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center. Ferguson became the first trainee at the center in July 1948 after losing his vision when injured during World War II.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other early photographs show Hines patients learning skills now common in modern blind rehabilitation, including woodworking, cooking, golfing and walking in the community.<\/p>\n

Patients also learned to use a long white cane to scan their environment, the center\u2019s most well-known contribution to visual impairment rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

The canes were still new and considered a novelty items by many. Early designs were difficult to use. Williams and his team modified the long cane into the tool used today, and their methods included sizing to each person, using a plastic tip for sensitivity and including a grip for better control in any weather. They also improved navigating techniques and using sound to understand their surroundings, leveraging their real-world experiences to build a new curriculum.<\/p>\n

Today, millions of people worldwide have used the long white cane\u2014including Smith, who practiced different cane techniques while walking through Hines VA. \u201cBefore coming here, my only reference to using a cane was from watching Al Pacino in \u2018Scent of a Woman,\u2019\u201d Smith joked while showing different methods he learned at Hines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cane is only one part of rehabilitation for Smith and the more than 10,000 Veterans who have stayed at the Hines center since 1948.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Focus on rehabilitation programs tailored to each Veteran\u2019s needs<\/h2>\n

Hines opened its new Central Blind Rehabilitation Center in 2005, replacing the old World War II-era buildings with a modern facility able to treat up to 34 patients for four-to-six-week programs with the help of about 50 staff.<\/p>\n

The modern facility focuses on five rehabilitation programs tailored to each Veteran\u2019s needs: Living skills, computer access training, visual skills, manual skills, and mobility and orientation.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Hands<\/a>
Veteran Smith learning braille<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Smith moved to one of two apartments in the rehabilitation center toward the end of his stay to better his independent living. While in the apartments, Veterans are responsible for all their day-to-day needs, including cooking and cleaning. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a trial run to see how they\u2019d do if they\u2019re trying to get their own apartment or move out on their own,\u201d said Sarah Milledge, blind rehabilitation specialist.<\/p>\n

Veterans also learn how to operate specific technology to aid their needs, such as assisted reading devices, braille reading and writing aids, voice-activated technology and GPS devices.\u00a0Once a Veteran finds a device that works, they take it home for free.<\/p>\n

Smith mentioned his difficulties writing in braille and was quickly shown an aid. He counts learning to play the guitar and crafting his own leather guitar strap in manual skills training as a personal triumph during the program. \u201cIt\u2019s something I always wanted to learn, but I always thought my fingers were too short.\u201d<\/p>\n

More confident and capable when they return home<\/h2>\n

According to Ernest Staines, blind rehabilitation specialist for manual skills, learning skills like playing the guitar hold deeper meanings: \u201cIt\u2019s something that helps them to be more confident and capable in their daily independence while they\u2019re here and once they return home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith graduated on July 14 and planned to golf with his brother for the first time since losing his vision. \u201cI think once he learned what we had to offer, he really embraced the program and what he could gain from it. He really thrived,\u201d said Elgersma. \u201cMr. Smith is a success story of what we do at the blind center and why we do what we continue to do after 75 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterans can be referred to any of the VA\u2019s 13 centers<\/a> by contacting a visual impairment service team coordinator available at every VA medical center or through a VA eye clinic for low-vision Veterans.<\/p>\n

Read the rest of the story.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert Smith, who is legally blind, is a former Marine Corps scout sniper trying to relearn his entire way of life. Smith lost his sight following a stroke in February 2023 while sleeping in his Kansas City, Missouri, home.\u00a0He is now completing a six-week inpatient program at Edward Hines Jr. VA\u2019s Central Blind Rehabilitation Center.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[577,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blind-rehabilitation","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20698"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20706,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20698\/revisions\/20706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}