Learning to Navigate a New World: When vision changes, movement must change too.

​Learning to Navigate a New World: When vision changes, movement must change too

Today I began Orientation and Mobility training. 

Orientation & Mobility (O&M) Training Definition:

A specialized instruction that teaches people who are blind or have low vision how to safely and independently navigate their environment using techniques, tools, and sensory awareness.

Before losing vision, I never thought about how much movement depended on sight. Walking through a doorway. Crossing a parking lot. Navigating unfamiliar spaces.

These things used to be automatic. Now they require awareness, strategy, and practice.

This morning at 9:30, a lovely Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist arrived at my home to begin teaching me how to navigate the world differently. If I’m honest, I didn’t know exactly what to expect.

But I know this much::

Learning new ways to move forward is still moving forward.

The People Who Are Teaching Me

Earlier this week, a different Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist came to help me learn how to use the assistive technology that will make navigating this new world possible.

Not only was she another amazing person, but you won’t believe this… She is completely blind.

Not low vision.  

Not “mostly” blind.

Completely blind.

And when I tell you she moved through the room with a level of confidence that immediately made me pause!!?!?!

She knew the technology.  

She knew the accessibility tools.  

Not only did she know exactly how to use them, she has mastered her skills down to the level she confidently could take my own devices (cell phone and laptop) to update the accessibility tools for my benefit!!! Woooowwwzzzaaa!!!

Watching her was both intimidating and inspiring at the same time.

Part of me felt overwhelmed. I’m still trying to understand how my own world is changing. I’m still learning what it means to live with limited vision. Seeing someone who had already mastered so many of the skills I’m just beginning to learn made the gap feel enormous.

But something else happened too.

Hope showed up in the room….

Because what I was really seeing was possibility.

She wasn’t struggling to exist in the world. She had learned how to navigate it.

Suddenly, I realized something very important:

The things that feel impossible to me right now are skills someone else has already learned….

Which means they can be taught.

Which means they can be practiced.

Which means they can eventually become normal.

I don’t know how long it will take for me to feel that level of confidence. But seeing her reminded me that independence doesn’t disappear when vision changes.

Sometimes it just looks different, and sometimes it requires learning from people who have already walked the path ahead of you.

My First Orientation and Mobility Lesson

This morning when my Orientation and Mobility instructor arrived, I didn’t know what to expect. I only knew that this training would begin teaching me how to navigate the world with limited vision.

Within the first few minutes, I realized something:

This process is a lot.

This is a lot to process.

We talked about cane techniques.  

We talked about navigating spaces safely.  

We talked about how I cook in the kitchen now.  

We talked about tools and devices that can make everyday life easier.

It was enlightening.

But if I’m honest, it was also overwhelming.

My instructor was incredibly kind and empathetic to everything I’m going through. She understood that this isn’t just about learning new skills. It’s about adjusting to a completely different way of moving through life.

At one point she said something that caught me off guard. She told me she could see me years from now speaking and advocating for others like me.

That meant more than she probably realized!

Because right now, I’m literally still trying to figure out how to navigate my own living room without bumping into things. I just bumped my head on some steps the other day that I already knew were there, but I underestimated how close I was and ran smack dab into them. Yes, that hurt. Still does.

But the idea that this journey might someday help someone else gave the moment a different kind of meaning.

The Emotional Whiplash

After she left, the emotions started doing something strange. One minute I feel energized and motivated to learn everything she showed me.

I want to open every box of new tools.  

I want to practice the cane techniques.  

I want to understand the devices she brought.

And the next minute…

I just want to sit in my chair and cry.

And cry.

And cry.

I’m realizing that learning how to navigate the world this way means acknowledging something that still feels surreal to say out loud.

My vision has changed.

My life has changed.

And even when you choose courage, grief still shows up.

Both things can exist at the same time.

Hope and heartbreak.

Motivation and exhaustion.

Strength and tears.

A Reminder of Why I’m Writing

In the middle of everything that happened today, something else happened that I didn’t expect.

I spoke with someone who read my book.

And her feedback…

Wow.

Just wow.

Y’all!!!!! No, for real. Just wow!!

She told me that as she was reading, she felt like I had finally put words to things she had been feeling but didn’t know how to say out loud.

She said I articulated emotions she had been carrying but couldn’t quite explain.

Hearing that stopped me in my tracks.

Again, if I’m honest with myself, there are days when I wonder if writing about this journey is too raw. Too vulnerable. Too messy.

But today reminded me why I started writing in the first place.

Sometimes the words we struggle to say become the exact words someone else needs to hear. Maybe, just maybe that’s part of the purpose in all of this.

Even while I’m still learning how to navigate this new chapter of life, my story is already connecting with someone else’s! Wow! 

I needed to hear that today and she didn’t even know it!! Whew! That realization gave me something I also didn’t realize I needed today.

A reminder that even in the middle of uncertainty, babygirl, purpose is still unfolding.

Thanks God! 

Here’s What I Know Tonight

Today was the first step.

Not the final step.  

Not the moment everything suddenly makes sense. Just the first step in learning how to live differently.

Some days I will feel motivated and curious about every tool and technique placed in front of me. Other days I may sit quietly and grieve the life I once moved through so easily.

Both things are part of this journey.

But one thing is certain.

I am still moving forward.

And am. 

Step by step.

And will.

Skill by skill.

Lesson by lesson.

Use your own vision and watch me. Even better, watch God work!!!!! 

And maybe one day, just like my instructor said, the things that feel overwhelming today will become the things that allow me to help someone else tomorrow.

Closing Prayer

Gracious Father,

Some moments today filled me with hope.  

Others filled me with grief.

Help me hold both without losing faith.

Give me patience as I learn these new skills.  

Give me courage when the emotions feel too heavy.

And remind me that even when the path feels unfamiliar, You are still guiding every step.

In your precious Son Jesus’ name 🫶🏾,

Amen.

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