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Former Teacher Advocates for Using White Canes

Sep 24, 2024 12:10PM ● By Kristin Thébaud Communications News Release

Ed Marin, who started using a white cane this year, is just as active as ever. Photo courtesy of Kristin Thébaud Communications


FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) - Ed Marin of Fair Oaks was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) 20 years ago but he didn’t start using a white cane until this year.

“That’s not good,” Marin said. “I should have started using the cane five years ago but I didn’t know it could help me navigate easier.”

The 63-year-old now considers himself an advocate for the white cane, often explaining to others that the length of the cane helps people see that much farther without vision.

Marin was first diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in his 40s when Marin realized he could no longer see his hands at night. As his vision slowly declined, Marin continued his teaching career until retiring a couple years ago due to more substantial vision loss. Marin then wondered what was next.

“I thought, I’m going to be one of those people who stay home and get forgotten now,” Marin said.

Instead, Marin decided to walk through the doors at the nonprofit Society for the Blind in Midtown Sacramento.

“I walked over to Society for the Blind and saw people working with even less vision than me,” Marin said. “I realized the world was not ending.”

Marin decided to begin by volunteering with Society for the Blind’s senior program.

“I thought that since I had more vision than a lot of the folks there, I could be of help,” Marin said. “I chuckle now because I learned quickly that people with no vision can often do more than people who have partial vision.”

Marin also began participating in Society for the Blind’s senior Coffee and Connect calls and found them to be a powerful way to meet individuals with vision loss. He enjoyed senior events out in the community and classes such as woodworking at the training center.

But Marin still refused to use a white cane.

“I couldn’t see so I was walking slowly down the street like an old guy,” Marin said. “Society for the Blind staff was insistent on me learning to use a cane, so a few months later, I started mobility lessons. I really freaked out putting on the learning shades. It was a picture of what my future would be like. But they walked me through it and started the process of teaching.”

When Marin started using a cane, his wife would remind him to bring it everywhere. She pointed out that when Marin bumped into chairs in restaurants without a cane, no one knew why but if he had it, then the diners understood.

“The cane is good for telling people that I really can’t see,” Marin said. “It gives me a little room and a little grace.”

Marin now has taken a variety of classes at Society for the Blind, including orientation and mobility, introduction to braille, daily living skills and assistive technology. Marin said he plans to stay with the senior program “as long as they will allow me to hang around” and he wants to learn braille. He also says getting to know the instructors has been lifechanging.

“They’ve taught me that the only thing I can’t do now is drive,” Marin said. “They’ve all had a big impact on me with how much they’ve accomplished, and continue to accomplish, on a daily basis. They give you a view into what you can do, not what you can’t do. I can just continue life as normal. Everything’s maybe done a little slower but I can still do it.”

This summer, Marin and his wife traveled to France and Italy with one of his sons. Marin credits the staff and students at Society for the Blind for showing him that he can still travel with vision loss.

“It’s fascinating how many people at Society for the Blind have gone to Hong Kong, Ireland and other places in Europe,” Marin said. “They don’t have to limit their mobility in traveling. Now hanging out with them, I realize nothing is off the table, whether you’re going outside the country or traveling to Tahoe, Monterey, San Francisco or wherever.”

Marin also credits his wife for helping him to stay active. The couple recently went on a six-mile hike around Lake Tahoe. Together, they used tools that Marin learned at Society for the Blind, such as holding onto a cane together through rocky areas so he would not stumble.

Marin has also learned to use public transportation around Sacramento, including Light Rail and RT, as well as Uber and Lyft, and he takes Amtrak to visit his father in Fairfield. Marin looks back on when he stopped driving and wishes he had started sooner at Society for the Blind.

“I thought I had to rely on my wife to drive me around, so I even changed teaching jobs to accommodate that,” Marin said. “I didn’t know all the options available. I now have no issue getting around. It’s just a matter of what you’re exposed to.”

When they aren’t traveling, Marin and his wife volunteer with Society for the Blind’s Access News program that records someone reading aloud a wide variety of publications for individuals without vision. Marin makes the introduction and then his wife reads the publication.

Marin says that Access News is just one of the ways he is impressed with Society for the Blind for reaching out to individauls with vision loss, also noting that the nonprofit makes home visits and presents at small groups in suburbs and rural areas to ensure everyone has access to the latest tools and information.

“You think that losing your vision could make you dependent and isolated,” Marin said. “It’s refreshing to be part of Society for the Blind, where people are living their lives, having families and traveling, never having had vision during their entire existence. To me, it’s like, what did people do 70 years ago before Society for the Blind?”

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, Sacramento-based Society for the Blind continues to create innovative ways to empower individuals living with low vision or blindness to discover, develop and achieve their full potential.

Since 1954, Society for the Blind has grown from a dedicated group of volunteers to a nationally recognized agency and the only comprehensive rehabilitative teaching center that provides services for a 27-county region of Northern California and Nevada. The nonprofit organization provides low-vision eye care, life and job skills training, mentorship and access to tools to maintain independence for more than 5,000 youth, working-age adults and seniors experiencing vision loss each year. To learn more or donate, visit SocietyfortheBlind.org.

The Society for the Blind’s address is 1238 S St, Sacramento.