has made a remarkably complete recovery from a cerebellar stroke I suffered on august 13, 2013. My balance is almost back to normal and my cognitive functions are just fine. Last year in rehab they discontinued the speech therapy (really cognitive therapy) when I was able to repeat back all fifteen randome words, in a different order each time, five times in a row without error after a couple weeks. My eyesight is my big problem now. I am still waiting for my special accessiblity computer and software from vocational rehab so I can be fully productive as Professor once again. I had the retina appointment that I had to reschedule so I could hold my cat Pippin in my arms as he died. I am lucky to have some detail vision though it is highly variable and we want to preserve this as long as we can but my doctors tell me I am living on borrowed time. I will soon begin braille training because I will most likely need it soon and it would have come in handy already and I enjoy learning new things. My glaucoma is finally under control after repeat surgeries, but my cornea is turning to leather, as one doctor put it, as a result of all those eye dissections and they are not willing to operate again because of the compouned risk to my one seeing eye. They will not remove the growinig cataract and there is not much more they can do about my retinal vein occlusion. They lasered some veins that might burst as a preventive measure. Nothing they do is making my vision better and the prognosis is slow worsening. I am now listening to a lot of audio books, both on CD and the wolfner library for the visually impaired, and going for long walks. I need a high mieage cane tip! I have no more than seventy five minutes computer access per day at the University City Public Library using one of their four largest screens, with the monitor pulled up close and high magnification. I miss the enlarged cursor and the voiceover, but with help from the librarians I can type my FB password blind, once they log on and type my email for me. I managed to send one email message, but it took me a whole hour just to send one. I can be much more productive on Facebook, unless they change their user interface again and I cant find anything. I have spent so much time on the computer I can do surprisingly well but I am climbing a steep learning curve. Its not so bad, really. All things considered, life is good and my prospects are good. I taught more than twenty quality courses at Washington University in St. Louis and another ten at six other local colleges and universities, all developed with low vision or even blind teaching in mind. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly and university politics are always byzantine but I am raring to go. Whats holding it up? I will be available for part time adjunct work sping and summer 2015 and full time work during the academic year 2015-16. I am glad handicap sensitivity issues will be a high priority this year, along with race and class. Attn: Art Sci Council, Wash U CoOp
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:38:48 +0000
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