Monthly Archives: Aug 2018

“People will make a life in their own terms, whether they are deaf or colorblind or autistic or whatever. And their world will be quite as rich and interesting and full as our world.” – Oliver Sacks

Yesterday it was a special day since Oliver Sacks’s death on the 31st of August 2015. I read his books including ‘Seeing Voices’ over many years. I have got the book – Seeing Voices which I found at the Book Fair.

I gave an article ‘Musicophilia’ to my sister who their son had an accident during his high school many years ago. The accident caused my nephew to lose some of the physical ability and the memory ability – mild concussion. The best of all, my nephew loves to play the guitar before the accident happened. After the accident, he retreated himself to the top of the garage or in his room and played the music which helped and calmed him down. I often visited my sister at their place and I saw my nephew playing the music at the top of the garage. Today he is a father with his lovely wife and the twins and another one on the way. He plays music when he have times.

With the Deaf community, Oliver decided to explored the visual language – sign language and the Deaf community in US. He wrote a book called ‘Seeing Voices’ for everyone, not just for the Deaf community.

His quote – “I had never thought about what it might mean to be deaf, to be deprived of language, or to have a remarkable language (and community and culture) of one’s own. Up to this point, I had mostly thought and written about the problems of individuals–here I was to encounter an entire community.”

Seeing Voices

This is me – Jean living out in the rural life since moving out of the Hamilton City four years ago.

Currently, my work roles – a deaf community support worker, an advocator for people/children with disabilities, tutor, a deaf historian/researcher, a Health & Safety Representative and a blogger. My past work roles were a data entry/bank officer/payroll officer/budgeting adviser, a data entry for the Farming database, a deaf health carer/assistant/home help for many disabled people/children/seniors including cancer patients and a teacher aide for children/teenagers with disabilities and behaviour problems.

WOW! that is a massive amount of skills I have experience in my work area.

Yesterday I posted a blog about cancer and a shock new to the Deaf community. When someone died or passed away, and this person had a unique gift/skill to share or to use the ability back in the community. Cruel cancer or another kind of life threating such as in a car accident, become paralysis and ended up in a wheelchair, robbed a person’s life and skill away.

Recently I got the report back from the specialist at the Waikato Hospital and I visited my GP last month. After discussing with my Gp and I spoke to my hearing partner about my diagnose. We accepted to change the mobility adjustment/modification things at home and in the garden. I must force myself to rest the day before the work/conference/workshop appointment and the day after as well to take a physio treatment if I need one. My symptom is not a life threating, but it is a life changing of my abilities around the home, garden and work. I must take care of myself before I do something STUPID!!!  It is called Probable chronic right C7/C8 radiculopathy (including C5/C6) – Cervical DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE.

Over the previous three years, I was suffering a lot of pain and getting exhausted almost daily, and my ability to do around the house and at work were difficult to get the tasks done. I visited the specialists and have the EMG & Nerve Conduction studies twice, and two MRI scans in the past.

The photo of me above, this was taken on one beautiful frosty morning with sunshine over me on my work to work – the library where I teach a small group of learning disabilities youths and their staff in NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language). Inside me, there were hidden pains and I went to work with a brave face.

Today I stayed home and woke up to find a bit of sunshine peeping through the window while the dogs slept with me in a large bed.

YEP – Three big dogs in one bed!              

Fancy seeing the cherry tree is full of blooming cherry flowers on a gloomy morning. The weather was horrible – rainy, windy and cold morning for me. The sign of this mean SPRING is almost here!

Starting a new way of changing the adapting things and equipment around the house, garden and workplace NOW.