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Ask The Coach
April 2022

Original Release: 4/1/2022

How many times do we find ourselves either stuck or stymied, overwhelmed or overcome because of vision loss?

Or how many times do we find ourselves in a quandary or sinking in quick sand because of our sight loss?

No matter if we use the term blind or vision impaired or low vision to describe our circumstance, the fact remains that we often need varying degrees of help, assistance, mentoring, or advice to help us cope.

My name is Donna Jodhan and I am using my extensive experience as a sight loss coach as well as my lived experience to share and respond to questions that are submitted to me and I also invite you to share your thoughts on questions asked.

Question #1 of 3:

A question from Hamish in Boston Massachusetts: Hamish wants to learn about some techniques to help him avoid spilling things.

Response #1 of 3:

Hamish, first off; there are so many techniques that we can use to avoid spilling things but I don't think that we can expect to ever be able to avoid spilling. This applies to everyone; sight as well as blind/vision impaired.

So if I want to avoid spilling liquids for example I usually pour my liquids over a sink.

If I wish to avoid spilling pills for example, I usually open the more difficult ones over a deep bowl and if any pills spill then they would fall into the bowl.

Of course, there are many other ways but liquids and pills are two more of the more popular examples.

I can also think of doing my best to avoid spills when removing meat cooked in gravy from a hot oven. This is a very tricky task.

I usually go very slowly with this task and do my level best not to spill while taking the pan from the oven to my counter top.

However, I am still working on safe ways to avoid spilling.

Question #2 of 3:

A question from Jena in Buffalo NY: Jena wants to know if there are any safe ways to light candles.

Response #2 of 3:

Jena, this is a topic that I am not very sure if there is a right way or not or rather if there is a really safe way.

For me, after a really serious accident many years ago, I stick to the battery operated and the plug in candles. However, I'll give one suggestion and I'll leave it to others to provide feedback.

I would use one of those long lighters that are used for lighting barbecues.

I would locate the wick of the candle and then I would carefully place the lighter about half to a quarter of an inch away from the wick.

I would then slowly engage the lighter and use my sense of smell to let me know if the flame has caught.

Or I would use my sense of touch, my fingers, to let me know if the flame has been lit as I would feel the warmth of the flame if it is lit.

I would remember to keep my hair and face far enough away from candle and lighter.

I would also make sure that the flame of the lighter is not set to high.

Question #3 of 3:

A question from Colin in Hartford Connecticut: Colin is looking for ways to organize his medicine cabinet.

Response #3 of 3:

Colin, I place a lot of emphasis on organizing my medicine cabinet so that I can find things quickly and easily. In addition, that I can easily identify all of my bottles and tins.

I place prescription pills in one specific corner of my medicine cabinet and I carefully label each of my prescription bottles using Braille labels. However, you may choose to use other types of labelling methods.

Non prescription medicines are placed in another corner away from the prescription medicines. They too are carefully labelled using Braille labels.

All other bottles and tins that I use for such things as cuts and bruises ETC are placed in a logical order in my cabinet. I also label tubes.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Tell us what you think! Share your feedback and let's get more ideas cracking! It's important for us to share how we do things!

To contact me with a question or a thought; please send an email to me at donnajodhan@gmail.com ✉ and I'll be sure to respond inside of 5 business days at the most. If you need me to respond earlier then put the word important in your subject line and I'll do my very best to respond more quickly.

Until the next time then!

I'm Donna wishing you a pleasant day and thanking everyone for their insightful feedback and suggestions!

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To learn more about me as a Sight Loss Coach and Author, please visit:
https://www.donnajodhan.com.

To learn more about me as an Advocate, please visit:
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca.

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https://www.donnajodhan.com/donate.