Believing These 6 Myths About Blind Person Keeps You From GrowingPosted by Kragh Fitzsimmons on May 13th, 2021 Recently there was articles about two 45-year-old Belgian deaf twins who discovered that they were going blind. Subsequently, they both decided to end their lives by medically assisted suicide. Fortunately for them, they lived in Belgium, a country where euthanasia is legal. They said goodbye with their family and went into that eternal slumber that people all eventually face. I couldn't help but feel profoundly sad for these two men. One reason is that I simply don't think the life of a deaf and blind person is worthless. Also because I don't think that people that are depressed should be allowed to end their lives. Psychiatrists can help both with therapy and medications, if necessary. The main reason I feel sad for these men is that I saw the movie, The Miracle Worker, about Helen Keller. She is famous worldwide as a woman who was simply both deaf and blind who became an author, presenter and political activist, traveling around the world. If Helen Keller can make a life worth living, why couldn't both of these men? I find it hard to trust that with all of the medical advances on the market, they couldn't think of a treatment for help their deafness or prevent them from going blind. Not long ago i saw a movie about cochlear implants. The unit have allowed children who were born deaf to hear and be section of the hearing world. However, in this movie, they did say these implants aren't as successful in adults. The cochlear implant allows them to hear but they don't necessarily know very well what they're hearing so they still depend on lip-reading. Because children's brains remain developing, they are more likely to learn to understand and communicate such as a hearing person. Let's just assume that these men looked into all the medical possibilities of improving their eyesight and hearing, and there were none. Tablet for blind person What options are left for them as deaf and blind people? The issue with cochlear implants and solutions for the deaf is they assume you can see. After all, the deaf world is filled with people who can easily see. Likewise, the blind community is filled with people who can hear. A person who is both deaf and blind would have one foot straddling both communities. Yet they would not really be a full person in either world. I started to think about all of the difficulties of someone who can neither see nor hear. I QUICKLY thought who am I to judge these men on their decision? After all, I am speaking from the position of privilege. I could see, although not together with I used to be able to. I can hear, albeit with some hearing loss. Which kind of life would someone deaf and blind live? What would each day in their life end up like? When I think about everything I do every day a deaf and blind person wouldn't normally have the ability to do, I realize why the twins felt so hopeless. But if Helen Keller read, wrote, graduated from Radcliffe College, and made her life worth living, why couldn't they? What would I do every day if I were in their shoes. These men would not be able to work. They could not be self-sufficient and would probably be institutionalized or at the very least require a helper using them all or most of the time. Their only potential for having any activity in their life would be should they learn Braille so they could read. I understand that being deaf and blind makes communication with the rest of the world difficult, but when you can read and write, you can find ways of staying in touch with other people. I've no doubt that people would like to read their opinions and even read a book that they wrote about their life experiences and difficulties. In the end, when you think about difficulties they face, you realize how minor your own problems are. I really do not think badly of the men for quitting on life, but I do believe that they had other choices. They could have been types of two men who triumphed over two of the biggest disadvantages in life. Ultimately, I am sad concerning the inspiration these men might have been to many people around the globe if they had chosen to keep living. After all, I really believe one of our biggest purposes in life is to inspire others. As long as you be capable of think, speak and write, you are able to do this. It's important for everybody to remember that.Like it? Share it! |