DOUG: For those of you joining us on the topic today, the it is sudden blindness and rebuilding life after that and the various services that Helen Keller network provides in order to walk through each step of that process. So Phillip will be sharing his personal experience and Marsha will be filling in about the specific services provided in order to aid in that experience. So let's hop into it. Phillip, if you could introduce yours?
PHILIP: I am Phillip did you think an and I am a student at Helen Keller.
MARCIA: I am a vocational instructor for the teen program and Phillip is a part of that.
DOUG: Great. Thank you so much for that. Again, I encourage anyone watching right now to ask any questions you have throughout. But Phillip, let's start with, why don't you take us back several years and kind of walk us through your personal experience.
PHILIP: Sure. So, personally, I had my vision my entire life. And back in 2010 I had a headache. It wouldn't go away. And that caused me to go to the doctor. And after a couple of days of having this headache, the doctor ran some tests, did a CAT scan, found out I had a brain tumor but they just monitored it because they said there was no growth at the time so they were just monitoring, keeping a close look on everything and had me coming in quite often, every so often, every couple of months for an MRI just to see what was going on. Finally a year later it grew. And they said the direction it was going in could cause me to go blind so I had to do surgery and.
DOUG: So I could give you a pause real quick, from the moment that you first learned of this diagnosis of a tumor can you kind of just let me know what your life was like at that moment, like what you were doing professionally and give us a sense of what your life was like at that time?
PHILIP: Sure. When I found out about this tumor in 2010, I was working for Geico full time. I was working in their, no fault medical department, but of course it wasn't bothering me. I mean I literally went to the doctor because this headache lasted me like three or four days and it wouldn't go away. So yeah, so they just monitored it after a found out. I was doing that. I was also going to school, to finish up my bachelors, and I was also playing tennis. And pretty you know, kind of like semi, I would say I was playing tennis a lot, pretty much every day, so that was the big, that was what I was doing at the time. So now a year later, when it did grow, and they said it could cause me to go blind if I didn't have surgery for it, I went in. I had the surgery and I came out and I was fine. You know, I had my recovery, and at that time I kind of, the recovery was, let's see, it was radiation. I did some radiation and just some basic recovery and I was back to, I feel after maybe like a couple of months I was back to work and doing everything I was doing prior. And yeah. It brought me you know, now I was going fine. At that point.
DOUG: So that moment there was this initial scare with this diagnosis it was addressed medically and at that point do you feel like you are in the clear in that moment once you are back in the rhythm of your life?
PHILIP: I would say so. And as a matter of fact, correction I was not working at Geico at that time. I was working somewhere else for family residences. Assisting with disabled adults. That was at that time. After going to my life and continuing and everything was fine, this is now years later, 2016 I'm going for my follow up because I continued to go to follow-ups, every six months, they started to push it out a little bit more. Then 2016 out of nowhere this tumor came back and now they said it was sitting on my optic nerve and I had to go into emergency surgery that same day I found out.
DOUG: So just at that moment you weren't necessarily experiencing symptoms. It was a routine follow up that you discovered that? PHILIP: Exactly. That's exactly what it was. No symptoms at all. They were asking me if I was okay, what was I doing that day. I told them I played tennis this morning. I went to work the day prior. And I said you know, at that time I was with Geico at the time. So now that's why I was like okay. I really didn't understand. So I had to go through the surgery and they took me into emergency surgery. After coming out I recovered in the hospital and then I was released. And now after being released, and at home recovery, maybe a couple weeks in I woke up one morning and you know, you are in your house and it's normal with the lights off, you know where everything is at so you are maneuvering your house and you are going, I went to the bathroom, I did my thing in the morning and that's when everyone was telling me, how come you're not saying anything to me and that's when I realized after I told them to turn on the lights they said it was on and I said I'm not seeing anything at all. And that was definitely a scary feeling. I think my knees buckled and I had to sit down for a little bit and just take everything in.
DOUG: When you had gone in for the procedure, and by the way if you are joining us right now I'm speaking with Phillip Duncan and Marcia Hamilton. Phillip is a student at Helen Keller Services for the Blind. Phillip at that moment that you realized you can't see anything, I'm wondering, just prior to that, when you went in for the procedure, was that like brought up as a potential outcome or risk of the procedure? [inaudible] as a possibility?
PHILIP: You know, I do believe so. That was always a concern just with the tumor of itself and the surgery, they always talk about that that was a possible result. But, I mean at the same time, I kind of feel like I went into the first surgery and I came out and I was okay and I had the second surgery and I came out and I was okay and now I'm home recovering. I don't think anyone was thinking during that recovery that you know, this was something that was going to happen.
DOUG: How long was it into the recovery, that day that you woke up?
PHILIP: I would say maybe two and a half weeks.
DOUG: And otherwise you hadn't experienced symptoms like that? It was that sudden?
PHILIP: It was that sudden. Afterwards, my family, my mother was here and she was pretty much the main person helping me the most. And she called the hospital and told them. They rushed me in, and after I would say after maybe I had one or two surgeries again after that, and they were able to get back some vision. So in actuality, it brought me to where I'm at today and I'm thankful that I have some sort of vision.
DOUG: Can you describe now what your vision currently is? Can you describe that?
PHILIP: I can make out distinct colors and objects. But it's still very blurry. So I am still considered legally blind like no driving and things like that. But I mean if something is really close up, I can make it out. Kind of like for example right now I know I am speaking to you. I can see there's the image of someone but I can't see the details of it.
DOUG: Going back to that moment. You've woken up. You just realized you can't see anything. You go through those couple procedures. You get some of your vision back. But what's it like now at that moment going back to post those couple procedures that you got back the vision that you have now. What was it like re-entering your life and you know, describing what it is that you no longer felt like you could do and you know the first steps of figuring out how to move forward with that?
PHILIP: I will be honest with you at that moment, very scary feeling and I couldn't believe that I didn't have my vision or my vision was partial even after they got back some of it. You know of course there's always the hope that I hope that it's going to come back and even when I had the surgery I was hoping that it was going to come back a hundred percent but it didn't. And it was really hard to deal with. You know, being able to see your entire life and then in you know, the flash of the moment it's like boom there goes your vision, it's really hard to deal with that sort of reality. So of course there was a lot of rehab, and a lot of like, I would say like a lot of therapy.
DOUG: As far as going, like day one you know, what is day one like of like, I imagine, I'm just thinking from my own experience, I guess I'm in a little bit of a different category because I have been speaking to people at the Helen Keller Services for the Blind and the National Center for a while but if I go back prior to having any connection to the community I certainly wouldn't know where to turn or what to do. How did you start to even learn about where to seek help.
PHILIP: I would say for me personally, I don’t know what to do or where to go. And I was very thankful that my mother was there at the time. She was a nurse so she had stopped working and she was pretty much there helping me throughout this entire process and she pretty much reached out too and did some research and reached out to Helen Keller and found Helen Keller for the blind and set it up where I was able to go and meet with them. I met with my commission counselor Addy Hampton who set me up with everything. First was vision rehab where I had a specialist Lisa, she's great. Her patience level is amazing. I have to put that out there because it wasn't easy dealing with me and my emotions and some days wanting to do more and other days wanting to be left alone.
DOUG: I want to pick up there in just a moment. Again if you are joining us now we're with Phillip Duncan and Marcia Hamilton, Phillip is taking us back several years to where he suddenly lost his vision after a brain tumor procedure and those initial steps of reorienting to the world. We're at the step where you are just starting to learn about those services. Marcia, now is a good time. Can you just give us an overview from the organization's services side of what it's like to have someone like Phillip at that moment in time coming to the organization, having just gone blind and learning about kind of like how to move forward? Can you talk about the structure of the organization and how you field those people.
MARCIA: Sure. He mentioned that his mom contacted the New York state commission for the blind. And that's the first step. And I have their phone number where they can be reached if anyone needs that service. That's the first thing. You are assigned to a councilor. He had Addy Hampton. She reached out to Helen Keller. There was vision rehab, we had Lisa Carson who he just mentioned. She's so patient, can you imagine not being able to move around in your own space or environment? So there's vision rehab. After that we have orientation and mobility. That's with Sherry Wheatley, another wonderful member of our team. He had the opportunity to move safely within his home and his community. After that process we have adjustment to blindness with Lasergy and Alana. Getting comfortable with this new norm. Phillip will tell you what happened after that. Because based on the place where he is at emotionally, maybe they're ready to get back to work. They'll be introduced to [indiscernible] ATC, another program I will speak to later on. But the first step is starting the process of being able to now live in this new environment. So it's vision rehab, orientation and mobility and then adjustment to blindness.
DOUG: Thank you so much for that overview. And again for those watching right now feel free if you have any questions, write them in the comments section and we will try to address them throughout. So please feel free to ask any questions you might have whether it's personal questions for Phillip and his experience or more services questions for Marcia, we're happy to answer questions that you might have.So let's go back to, we're now at step one Phillip, you were walking us through your personal experience of step one. I imagine that you know, from a little of the conversation we had the other day I understand the entire world it's a completely different experience at this moment when you are learning to readjust essentially to almost like an entirely new world. That first step, you know I imagine just being in your home and navigating your home, can you kind of take me through that experience of what it's like to relearn your own space before you even go outside.
PHILIP: Yes. No problem. So I would say that in home experience was, it was tough, you know. I had my mother, who was a nurse, and she was trying so hard to help as much as she could and trying to get me acclimated to being at home. And it was still tough. You know, having that, such a major loss of vision and walking into things, learning how to cook, to use the bathroom, just everything. It was tough and I was glad that she took that step and reached out to Helen Keller. Because meeting with Addy and her setting up these services and just everything in general, she was just great. And then the first step like I said was with Lisa Crossen and Lisa came into the home and she was definitely the rehab specialist that kind of helped me get acclimated to being at home again. And it's actually, it was amazing when I think back to it now, because it's just like little things that you wouldn't even think of that made such a big difference, you know? She definitely maneuvered and showed me where things were at and gave me a mobility cane and we did a lot of mobility training in terms of that, using the cane and as far as now like using appliances in the home, something simple, she put these little sticky bumper dots on things that you wouldn't think of something on the microwave that showed me the stop and the start button. Same thing with the stove. And just basic things that just made me get acclimated again to being at home and getting adjusted to life as a blind person.
DOUG: Were there any other specific details other than the bumper dots on certain objects or appliances, did you like reorient your home in any different way or did you set things up differently in your home as you were kind of relearning your space?
PHILIP: I'll be honest with you. She did recommend maybe things can be moved around, but my mother was kind of a stickler and she said no so you know it was just a little more training to have to go into that.
DOUG: That's fair. There's always the interpersonal dynamics too right? Not just when you are talking about a space and multiple people living there, there's always a negotiation no matter what the situation.
PHILIP: Yeah. So yeah, it wasn't too bad. Things were okay. I mean as far as my personal space, I was able to move things around and adjust it but for the major house appliances and rooms, those pretty much remained the same. So as far as just a little bit of detail in terms of things that she showed me is something like cooking. There were different cooking utensils, maybe something like a double spatula, like a thing to but on both ends it was a spatula. That was helpful in terms of cooking. Another thing that was good was, here's like the, I don't know what you call it but it's basically like a little stick with a hook on it that allows you to pull the oven rack in and out. And that was something that was so simple but was so helpful at the same time. And my personal favorite was this little sensor. Now the sensor had two metal hooks on one end and that hooks on to the cup. And as you pour the liquid into the cup and it touches the sensor it notifies you, it beeps. That helps especially when you are dealing with making a cup of coffee especially. So those were really little things for people that may not have vision issues but for somebody with vision issues, that's a very big help.
DOUG: Right. I'm going to some of the questions. The first question is from Judith. It's a two part question and we'll focus on the first part now. The first part of the question is Phillip how long did it take to adjust mentally and emotionally after the initial shock of losing your vision? And speak a little bit more on if that's still part of the process for you.
PHILIP: To be honest with you, adjusting to it, it was, I don't feel like it took me as long as you know, as maybe the statistics say. I mean I had a really good support system that was pushing me and that was a really big help in terms of that. Plus for me and myself and the type of person I am, I wanted to get back out there and work. And you know I was in the process of doing my masters. I wanted to try to get back and see if I can get into that, get that done, which that's still a process getting to there. But you know, as far as getting to this point where I'm at Helen Keller and being able to maneuver the computer and all the different things they taught me was, it's been amazing. And I know for others looking in and seeing that they're probably thinking wow it took me, you know for me to get here, and I know for everyone it's different but for me I had a really good support system.
DOUG: As far as that support system specifically what was the core of that support system.
PHILIP: The core of my support system was definitely my mother. You know, for her being a nurse and working and she stopped working to stay home and be with me 100†percent. After everything in the hospital with me losing my vision, they talked to me about possibly going to like an agency where I would be living and getting the support that I needed. And my mother disagreed and she said that she is going to be there and my family is going to be there and they're going to help me as much as I can. She didn't want to put me in that position and I really appreciate that.
DOUG: Uh-huh. I have another question here from one of our viewers. The question is for Phillip. Do you feel any of your senses have sharpened because of your vision loss? PHILIP: Absolutely. My, definitely with the vision loss I'm going to say my hearing is amazing. I mean I thought it was but definitely when I actually went to the doctor and I had a hearing test, the, one of the doctors told me that he's been doing this for over 30 years, and he said he can't, he said I have Apple like hearing.
DOUG: Wow!
PHILIP: And it is. Pretty much in my house my room is in he back of the house and I will tell you I can hear when people pull up and their car doors are closing before they even come to the door. So I would say the hearing is amazing.
DOUG: Another question we have here, let me see. Oh the question is from Barbara. What were you studying for your masters?
PHILIP: My masters, I was studying public administration. I got my bachelors in that. The concentration field was information management. I was working with public administration and going to John Jay at the time which I got my bachelors with them, I started to do a little work with them and then I positioned to Excelsior College.
DOUG: So we talked about reorienting and we're going to hold for one moment for an interpreter switch here. Great. We're all set there. Excellent. We talked about the ways in which you had to relearn your own space. And you know, before, I would love to talk about getting outside of the house and navigating the world outside of the house but before we move there Marcia is there anything that you want to comment on the services side as far as kind of that first step of relearning your own space.
MARCIA: I think Phillip spoke so well to that. We actually have someone that comes into the home to get the person rehabilitated in their own environment. After that then we move to orientation and mobility, which is now focusing on helping you to move safely outside within the community. So that's the next step. So we're building, putting the building blocks down to independence. So it's starting at home, the community then we're going to move into other services which will involve vocational training, foundations which is really a holistic work program which is going to concentrate now on self-career exploration and other areas. So we're ensuring that our students are completely prepared for the next step in their life.
DOUG: So let's talk about now that next step of getting out of the house and readjusting to life outside of the house. Phillip can you kind of go back to kind of those first moments of you know, relearning the outside world and what your experience was like?
PHILIP: That experience, it was, it was really an emotional experience to be able to get back outside and now start maneuvering around and getting used to my environment now from a different look, you know, without having my vision and I would have to say that was also Lisa Crawson that helped me with that. So from the vision rehab in house we then transitioned to the mobility aspect, and we started to do a little bit of things outside. She showed me how to use the cane and the walking cane and navigate the stairs as well as we took some walks around the block. I mean, it was really simple things. It was simple but it was very helpful. And then from the walking up and down outside and maybe the backyard and the stairs, then we actually started to transition into other things like going to Helen Keller now. And now I'm actually coming inside and meeting with everyone there and taking the SCAT Bus. So it was a heavy experience for me, still it still kind of gets me. You know at that point just when she said we were going to be going outside I was like wow I can't believe I'm getting back to this point you know, after so long of being between the hospital and home and all this rehab now I'm to this point where I'm actually going to Helen Keller. It was a good experience.
DOUG: Did you feel as far as like when you are starting to navigate, you are now at this point you've learned how to use a cane and you are navigating the outside world. I'm wondering what it's like to cross the street for the first time and not being able to necessarily see the traffic coming. Do you feel at that point that you are confident and like really know how to do that or is there still initial fears of what if a car is coming and things like that. What is that like?
PHILIP: I will be honest with you even after all this time I'm still not comfortable crossing the street. I have all of the teaching towards it and Lisa showed me and just to, you know especially you are using your senses, you are listening and the lights, it's still tough because you never know. You know, even though it may say the light is red you don't know if someone's running the red light or if someone's riding a bike so you never know what's happening. I am still a little uncomfortable with crossing the street so I try to limit those environments where I have to cross the street. It's good when, now personally it's good taking the SCAT Bus because they take you to and from your destination so it limits you having to walk and cross the street in terms of that.
DOUG: Just to clarify, you are saying that's called the SCAT Bus?
MARCIA: It's transportation.
DOUG: Can you describe for those who aren't familiar what that is?
PHILIP: So the SCAT but for Suffolk bus, it's SCAT, it's basically a bus for people with disabilities or maybe the seniors, things like that. It's not too bad. They take you to and from your destination. Now, that's specifically only for Suffolk County. I believe Nassau has their own ride service called Able Ride I think the boroughs have Access-A-Ride.
DOUG: It's one of several different transportation services depending on where you are located.
PHILIP: Yes.
DOUG: I have a question from Matthew and it is for Phillip. Do you welcome assistance from people you don't know where you are outside, in stores, et cetera or is that uncomfortable for you?
PHILIP: So it depends on what type of assistance. I mean of course you have people that want to try to help you, oh take my hand and let me walk you to the aisle. That I pretty much, I try not to do that too much. But if someone is guiding me and tells me you could follow me to maybe like the deli section, I can do that. I can see the image. I would tell them to walk in front of me and I would just follow them that way.
DOUG: Is there ever a time where you are crossing the street and someone kind of like unprompted comes up and like without necessarily asking kind of helps you? Does something like that ever happen or is it usually someone or how often does someone even ask you if you need help unprompted I'm wondering.
PHILIP: I guess it's based on where you are at. I've had it a lot. Someone asked me to help, but as far as people just doing it, I haven't really had too much of that, someone just helping me without asking. Most of the time people will ask. I feel like they're kind of nervous to assist in that sense. So I haven't really had too much of it. But people ask, and I feel like the community, they're very open to helping you especially when they see the cane, they see you maneuvering, they're very willing to, oh let me assist you with the door or maybe getting something off the shelf at the grocery store. So I've even had someone helping me put groceries in the car not thinking my mom was in the store, they were helping me to load the groceries. So it all depends.
DOUG: Let's go to, again, we walked through what it was like to first lose your vision, to have that first step of people coming into your home and helping you re-navigate your physical space, then the next step of mobility, getting outside, learning to use a cane and navigate the world outside. Now we're at the step of you coming to the center. I would love to go to you Marcia to describe what that step is.
MARCIA: We have a adjustment to blindness. Here we're helping the individual emotionally, sometimes in a group or sometimes individually. Talking about how you are handling your adjustment. We have social workers who are equipped and ready and extremely caring and patient to help you through this process. After that we have a program called Foundation which is structured to concentrate on self-exploration, career, for example, Phillip was in the middle of school. So more than likely if he wished to go continue on to college based on whatever the needs are, we have services where we start preparing them for that. But the main thing is to help the person to become self-aware, to get ready, are you going to go back to work? Back to school? Just to be able to live life normally. So we have these services in place at Helen Keller services for them.
DOUG: Phillip described that you had a really good support system anchored specifically in your mom. I'm wondering Marcia from your side of things, I'm sure you get quite a spectrum of people coming in, where they're at emotionally and the support systems they have, can you give us a sense of people who may not have as strong of a support system as Phillip initially and what that is like fielding those people as well?
MARCIA: First of all Phillip has a counselor, a Commission for the Blind counselor who is there with them every step of the way. Providing all the services they'll need. There's also a social worker assigned to them. So there's a lot of support. So if you don't have personal support at home you can count on Helen Keller. What I find is we become like a second family to our students. They can call us at any time. We have services for them, you know, just to make sure they have the support they need to move on to the next level. This is what makes our program so unique and special.
DOUG: We're at the step where we've covered in home and mobility outside. We're at the center. Phillip once you started regularly attending what were you doing there and what were you learning and what was the continued education there?
PHILIP: So the first thing I did when I came into Helen Keller after getting some training at home was I attended this group called Adjustment to Blindness with Alana Corone and Liz Surgy, I believe they're the social workers. They were great as well. Very helpful. And basically that, it was, it wasn't a big group. It was a small, small group, but everyone was getting adjusted to losing their vision in whichever way their situation took them. And it was good hearing other stories and hearing how everyone else was dealing with it. You know, or maybe the challenges someone was having and it gave you, gave me motivation to say you know what? My situation, even though it's similar at least I have some vision, you know. Maybe I have a little bit more vision. Excuse me, than others. So it was a good group. They also gave us some skills you know, toward helping us to cope you know, emotionally especially.
DOUG: So in addition to the services being provided there, there was something kind of like a built in support system meeting other people in a similar situation as you and getting to connect with them?
PHILIP: Exactly.
DOUG: On that note I'm curious, I imagine now at this stage of our conversation it's still fairly fresh, fairly new for you but you've also gone through some stages and acclimated a little bit more. But I'm wondering what is it like with former relationships that you had with friends and people in your life prior to losing your vision and then at this stage? Do you feel like a lot of people, like you are still close with some people or do you feel like it was harder for you to connect afterwards or how would you describe that experience?
PHILIP: You know in terms of friends and family, I mean I still connect with some people. I feel like the relationships, some of them are a little more distant and I think that's just based on the, maybe the educational aspect of them not knowing how to deal with it. And I think that's the hardest thing for them per se. But I still try to connect with old friends and distant family members and you know, but the relationships, some are there. Some are not. It's definitely, I would definitely say it's not the same, though. It's not the same. It was kind of, some of them I felt like you know it was even like, what's the word I can use? Like basically like starting a relationship all over again you know? Them getting to know me and me just explaining to them that you know, me losing my vision doesn't change who I am. It just changes how I look at things.
DOUG: Uh-huh. Have you felt times where you really needed to like, make almost make other people feel comfortable with your, like, you know, being blind, people who knew you before that, like do you feel like you've had to speak to their discomfort almost?
PHILIP: Absolutely. I would definitely say some people I've had to make them feel more comfortable than me getting comfortable with it.
DOUG: So you know, Marcia please let me know if I am skipping any steps but I'd love to get to the part where your class and Phillip being a part of your class. That's obviously your direct connection to each other. Could you tell us in detail about what that class is that you are an instructor for and walk us through that.
MARCIA: Sure. And before I get to that let me interject here that Phillip mentioned the groups. I was blessed to get a group of students from that group Foundation where they all met in the group where they work on adjustment to blindness and they have such a tight bond, that they're like family. So it's amazing to work with this group of people. They care so much about each other. Lunch time they have it's like a pot luck meal at lunch time. So it's amazing the relationships the friendships that have developed out of this program and especially out of a program called Foundation, which is the program where they're dealing with social aspect of their lives and getting ready for vocational skills. Out of that group I inherited the most amazing group of people and they're now in a program called TEAM, technology, employment, achievement and mastery, a work readiness program where they gain computer skills, skills that prepare them for the world of work. It's amazing. They're a phenomenal group of people. Even during this time of corona we're having classes on Zoom. You can understand. We're just using audio. And they do not miss a session. We're having an amazing time. They're so motivated and hard working and I have all the confidence in the world that they're all going to go off to work at the end of this program.
DOUG: That's amazing. Obviously it's hard to have a conversation these days without talking about COVID. It's obviously affecting all of us in every aspect of our lives. So on that topic, Phillip if you would like to start, how has COVID affected your life personally and also in the context of being in class.
PHILIP: So as far as COVID I would say personally and in class, I mean just connecting the two, I would just say it mainly affected me by just being able to get out the house. Being able to go to program two or three times a week and attend this TEAM program as well as the friends they met at Helen Keller and became close with, we also get together from time to time and do different things. And that's from maybe bowling to just having dinner, or you know, so I would just say in that aspect. But as far as the being at home aspect, it's not affecting me too bad because it's the norm for me, you know. I'm at home most of the time aside from just dealing with Helen Keller.
DOUG: So it's mainly just actually physically attending the center and those occasional meetups, those social meetups are the primary things. And Marcia you were just talking about this but what has it been like having to move everything on the services side and you mentioned that everyone is not missing a beat and adjusting well but is there anything you have to say about having to pivot everything virtually or anything else around that topic.
MARCIA: It was a major adjustment because in the beginning we basically just had to do reviews to make sure everybody was acclimated to a whole new environment, Zoom, not having an instructor with you in the room, using your voice as a guide to guide you through the lessons. But just the camaraderie of the group having everybody in the class. Sometimes we forget that we're not in the same room because we have the same kind of interaction and fun that we usually would in the classroom. It's been amazing. We all look forward to the days when we have our classes. We get together in one huge virtual community.
DOUG: I'm glad to hear things are going so smoothly for you because in general I hear a lot of hiccups, I am glad it's going smooth for you. '
MARCIA: So far we've not had any problems.
DOUG: I don't want to jinx you there. Glad its going smoothly. That's the beauty of technology and how it can assist and things. I know obviously technology Phillip I'm sure has served your process. Is there anything you would like to talk about around technology or certain technology that you use now that you weren't using before?
PHILIP: I would say definitely technology has been great. I mean I was always good with the computer and using the phone, but now pretty much just, well, dealing with Helen Keller, they showed me how to use a lot of the assistive technology and the different, there's so many different tools. There's like for me what works best with me is Zoom Text and there's JAWS as well as Fusion. There are different things you can use as far as the computer-wise that can assist you in that aspect. Then for everyday use is mainly the phones. You know, prior to joining the TEAM program with Marcia I was in Foundations with a couple of instructors and they brought in some individuals from like maybe, that deal with android as well as Apple and they talked about using the smart phones and the type of technology that's already pretty much built in. Now, for someone like me that doesn't really you know, like I have some sort of vision I would say, I find it easier just using like the Google assistant or maybe just like I have a Samsung so they now have their own assistant called Bixby. So between those two I am able to navigate with my phone and tell the phone what to do in that aspect. So the smart phone is what I pretty much use for everything and then aside from that, I still have my computer.
DOUG: Right.
MARCIA: Doug there's a very important step they missed. After Foundation we have ATC training and ATC is what Phillip was referring to just now where we're introduced to adaptive technology that they can use. He mentioned Zoom text and JAWS, so of course that's another training that's also done at Helen Keller to make sure that you are able to use your computer, your iPhone, android, it helps you identify what is best suitable for you based on your particular need. We have an amazing instructor Joe Danera, quite a few of the students in my group were his students before they came to the TEAM program.
DOUG: As we move into the last few minutes of our conversation here we really did a great job of walking through step by step this process. But now that we've walked through the entirety of the process, do you want to take a moment to reiterate you know all of those steps together so that we can just put all those pieces together that we've talked through.
MARCIA: Sure. So if you need Services for the Blind the very first thing we need to do is reach out to New York State Commission for the Blind and other states have different ones. In New York the office is in garden city. (516)564-4311. After that you refer to Helen Keller, and at Helen Keller based on your particular needs, that are varying services that you will be provided with. Our office in Hempstead you can reach out to our director there. 516-485-1234, extension 6606. Of course, just like Phillip, you will have someone come into your home to deal with vision rehab where you will get bump dots and special equipment that will help you to maneuver using the devices that your, appliances in your home. You will have orientation and mobility services where you will learn to move safely within your home and also within the community. You will of course learn how to get to Helen Keller where you will start working on adjustment to blindness with our phenomenal social workers Liz and Alana. If you will need to learn to keyboard which is vital, we have keyboarding classes which are taught, we have different instructors who will teach you to keyboard, you need it before you get into Foundations and TEAM and ATC which is a big part of the process before you get into any kind of work readiness program. So that's basically the steps that are involved and the services that we provide. If I have forgotten any be sure to go to our website and you can see what we have to offer, wwwhelenkeller.org.
DOUG: Thank you for walking through that. I think it's helpful to hear all the pieces together when you articulated so well there. So with our last couple minutes here, I have two questions for you Phillip. First, what are your goals for the future?
PHILIP: Wow. Well my goals, my major goal is to get back into my masters program and see if I can continue and finish that. I know I had a couple courses left in that prior to me losing my vision. So that definitely is a goal. And then of course getting back out there and working you know. I worked for a long time. I worked from since I was 13. I started off doing summer programs and then as I was 18 I pretty much started working full time and throughout my high school and college career I worked. So just getting back out into the workforce is definitely my biggest goal now.
DOUG: And the final question is, you know for anyone who is maybe watching now or someone that might come to this conversation later who may be in a similar boat to you. Maybe they're in the early stages of losing their vision, what advice or what would you like to say to them directly, specifically to those people?
PHILIP: Well, the best advice I can give to anyone that is losing their vision or having any vision issues at this time, if I could, if I had, if I was in a situation where I was having vision issues, I would definitely have reached out and started getting some sort of assistance prior to it, prior to me losing my vision completely. But I mean for me I know my situation is different and it was kind of just sprung on me. But definitely if you are having vision issues, don't be afraid or ashamed in any way. Reach out. There's help everywhere. You know, you have a lot of options out there, and definitely if you are here you can reach out to Helen Keller. There are a lot of different things that can assist. It could be something as simple as maybe you just need a stronger prescription or going as far as to say coming in to Helen Keller and getting the assistance that you need. But don't be ashamed. There's assistance out there.
MARCIA: I think you muted yourself.
DOUG: If you could say that last couple of sentences if you want to just say the last couple of sentences.
PHILIP: Definitely if you need the help, it's available. It's out there. Don't be ashamed. You know, there's no shame in getting assistance. You know, I'm seeing it now. I was always the type of person that never really needed help to do things. I could always handle it on my own or I will find a way. Now, pretty much it's okay to accept help. You know. Especially if it's going to get you to the next step in life.
DOUG: That's a really great message and definitely a perfect message to end this episode on. And I think you know, that certainly applies to specifically to the sudden blindness that you experience said or anyone experiencing vision loss and I think it's a resonant thing for everyone who is collectively dealing with a world that has changed and not being afraid to reach out if you need help. Sometimes we're gifted with a support system and sometimes we need to be more active in seeking it out. So on that note, thank you so much for joining us today. Again, thank you so much to Marcia Hamilton from Helen Keller Services for the Blind for joining us and filling in the details of the process, the steps of the services that the organization provides and for Phillip joining us today and I really want to thank you for speaking so openly about your personal experience. I think that really it's the honesty and openness with which you tell your story that not only resonates with people who are going to watch this and who are watching live but also I think what really helps anyone who is coming to this who might be in a similar position to you so thank you so much for sharing in a really open and honest way. Thank you to our interpreters Jamie and Erin and to our captioner Laura. And that concludes episode three of feeling through Live and we look forward to joining next week. Again anyone who is watching, if you have questions that you weren't able to ask during this broadcast feel free to write in the comments and thank you everyone, I look forward to coming back next week.
