Young woman learning to use white cane after failing eyesight caused mobility loss

KATHERINE 'TAMI" CALDWELL prepares to take her first trip across Kimball Ave. at South 7th St. in downtown Raymondville Tuesday morning. Tami was under the watchfull eye of Joyce Rodriguez, a trainer with Texas State Division for the Blind, Harlingen. Tami is learning to use a "white cane" which helps her feel her way along to avoid obstacles ahead while alerting drivers to the fact that she is sight impaired. "I took off like a bullet," she said of a short trip across the street that many take for granted. Meanwhile, Tami is finishing college training on line at San Antonio College to become an alcohol and drug abuse counselor. (Carlos Martinez photo) Katherine "Tami" Caldwell, 34, of Raymondville is learning to use a white cane to help her regain mobility lost to a progressive disease -- macular degeneration. Specifically, Tami says, her version of the disease is called "Stargardt's disease".

This is the juvenile version of the disease and it began to affect Tami's vision when she was only four years old.

Her parents, Dicky and Lily Caldwell, took her to an optometrist and she began wearing prescription glasses before she started kindergarten.

When Tami was in eighth grade she bought her first pair of magnifying glasses and gradually her loss of sight became more apparent, reaching 20/200 while she was in high school and now is at a much higher level 20/400.

She still has her peripheral vision and that is a hallmark of the disease which mostly affects straight ahead vision. Tami says that she must be as close as two feet to a person to be able to identify them.

"Mother took me to Houston to see specialists but by then I was seeing floaters (wavy lines that seem to be present in front of the retina, but are not)."

"It has been embarassing when friends tell me, I saw you and waved at you but you didn't even notice me or wave back. That's because I have to be really close to recognize anyone," she said.

"I have a hard time keeping eye contact. People say that I seem to be looking above them," she said.

Tami and her parents have faith that God is going to cause her poor eyesight to improve when doctors unlock the key to curing macular degeneration the way many other diseases, such as polio, have been overcome. But, while she is waiting for that to happen, Tami is going ahead with her life.

She is competing a course of study online through San Antonio College to become a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor. Her desire to pursue this line of study resulted from the suicide death of two friends who suffered from additions, over a two year period. One was 25 and the other 38, she said.

Because of her poor vision Tami cannot drive a car although she has a driver's license so she must depend on her parents or friends for a ride to the places she wants to go. And when she gets there Tami has to worry about being able to make her way around, through crowded shopping malls, or down sparsely populated sidewalks in downtown Raymondville.

Tami has a good attitude and she does not intend to become a recluse sitting around at home all the time. For that reason she jumped at the chance to get mobility training from the Texas State Division for the Blind.

"My doctor told me I needed to get a dog, or a cane. They said that dogs are normally given to people who live in cities and when they found out that I am from Raymondville, they came up with the idea of the white cane."

On Tuesday morning Tami began her first class to learn how to use a white cane. There are several types of white canes, some are foldable and the kind Tami has is rigid. The white canes are used to sweep the surface of the pavement, floor, or sidewalk in front of the person walking behind, in a 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock motion.

The purpose of the white cane is not physical support but mental support it lets others know that the person carrying a white cane has vision problems and by sweeping the surface the person using the cane can avoid obstructions. The cane also makes a tapping sound when it strikes the sidewalk, alerting people of the approach of a person with vision problems.

Joyce Rodriguez of Mercedes is Tami's trainer and on her first day she had Tami crossing streets.

"She wanted me to be blindfolded so that I can use my hearing to determine oncoming traffic. Today was my first day crossing streets and I took off like a bullet," Tami said, although her trainer wanted her to slow down.

"I tried using my hearing but all I heard was a 'Dooley' truck with a bad muffler and maybe somebody texting somebody behind the wheel. I don't trust drivers, they just don't care," she concluded.

"I'm not totally blind and I use the cane to let people know I am visually impaired. I am being trained to use the cane every day. The first day went all right," she said.

Tami's desire to overcome her sight problems will be rewarded in the years to come. She already has a summer job lined up with a McAllen drug and alcohol abuse counselor.

Its not hard to see that she has an interest in helping others and is not inclined to feel sorry for her own problems.

"Oh, I went through all those emotions for a while," she said, "questioning my parents and even questioning God," but that is behind me. (See photo on page 3)