San Antonio Low Vision Club
Help.  Hope.  Independence.
Support and Assistance When Vision Fails
 

 

Spring is the time of new beginnings. This certainly is true of your Low Vision Club. Our April 17th meeting is a Low Vision Expo open to the general public. This is a first for us! You will want to bring your family and friends to see and try out the latest low vision aids such as magnifiers¸ telescopes, reading machines and computer technology. Agencies and companies that offer services also will be there.

The Expo is open for Low Vision Club members from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then open to the general public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Of course, members can attend any time.

The Expo is in a different location from our usual meeting place. Here is how to get there:  Go South from Wurzbach to 7703 Floyd Curl Drive. This is The UT Health Science Center. (It is directly across from Methodist Hospital.) There is a guard at the gate who will show you where to park. The Expo will be in the main auditorium foyer, just right of the big fountain.
You will receive a map with your flier.

We expect to have guides to help you find your way around. We will have a map showing the location of the booths. Be sure you register for the door prizes.

Our Spring programs include:
April 17—Low Vision Expo
May 15—Annual picnic at Mac Arthur Park
June 19—Research in San Antonio

The following is reprinted with permission from Nikolai Stevenson, president, Association for Macular Diseases, Inc., 210 East 64th St., New York, N.Y. 10021.
 
“…….we have come to realize that our chief salvation lies in the area of optical aids. These vary from simple hand-held magnifiers, through prism glasses and monoculars up to closed circuit television devices. Since all of our eyes are different, an aid which helps one of us may not help another. A low vision exam helps clarify our requirements. Quite often we resist this, feeling that the fully-sighted low vision specialist cannot truly understand our difficulty. Yet it is essential for us to realize that the specialist has examined thousands of failing eyes, while we have only our own from which to judge.
 
“However, it is important not to buy an optical aid if not fully satisfied that it will do some good, since it is not likely to improve after you get it home. Better to take your time, think clearly, and try to pick an aid which represents a clear improvement in your ability to see. Always bear in mind that, no matter how effective an optical aid may be, it can never do for us what our eyes alone once did and which we took so for granted. Even the best aids can only enhance what remains of our vision; they cannot restore what’s lost.
 
“Try to keep your spirits up, sort out what you can and cannot do, and keep in touch with us. We care about you.”

Good News: The San Antonio Public Library now has the DVS (Descriptive Video Services) videotapes Dan Stanford talked about at our meeting. They will have a booth at the Expo. Tell them how much you appreciate these special videos.

Now is the time to get serious about exercising!

Oasis is offering a special exercise class for those of us with low vision. Here is how to join the group. First you must join Oasis. There is no charge to join Oasis, but you must be 55 or older.

Fill out a registration card. I f you did not pick up a card at our March meeting, call Oasis at 647-2546. They will register you over the telephone, or send you a registration card. You will then receive a catalog listing the exercise class. Return the form in the catalog along with your check for $10.

Dates: June 8, June 15, June 22, June 29
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Place: Christus Villa Rosa Gym
5115 Medical Drive (at Babcock)
Instructor: Debbie Mitchell
If you have any questions, call Bonnie at 344-1479 or Oasis at 647-2546.

Tim Gutierrez will be heading up another kind of exercise/self defense class. He is looking for a site to teach Aikido. This is a non-violent martial art. If you are interested and want to know more, call Tim at 670-9224.

Senility Prayer:

God grant me the senility to forget people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

NOTE ON NEW MEETING SITE BEGINNING WITH JUNE

As you have noticed at the last few meetings, we have outgrown our wonderful room at the McDermott building. We are going to move beginning in June. However, you will be pleased to know we are only moving next door to the Allied Health building. The street address will remain at 8403 Floyd Curl Drive. 

This building has only five steps leading to an automatic opening front door. There is a ramp next to the front steps. The classroom is large, seating up to 160 people, and is on the main floor. The room is carpeted and has writing tables and comfortable chairs. There are no inside steps.

We look forward to seeing you at the Expo in April, at the Picnic in May, and at our new meeting site in June.

Past newsletters are available online in our newsletter archive.

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