Introducing Guest Blogger Melanie

Introducing the amazing Melanie, who is quite an inspiration. I feel very excited about having her publish on this blog. I hope that you enjoy her shared experience. Everyone truly has a story to tell!

Hello. My name is Melanie and I am 26 years old. I am in my second year of studying to become a primary school teacher and I work at IDEAS as an Intake Officer one day a week. I live at home with my mum, step-dad and dog Lilly and look forward to getting a place of my own once I graduate and and have a full time teaching job. I have had a vision impairment since birth. I have congenital cataracts. They were removed when I was 6 weeks old but have permanently damaged my vision. There are no special glasses or laser treatments available that can restore my sight. I have been wearing strong bi-focal glasses since I was two months old.


Did you notice how I started off writing about who I am? There are many elements that make up me. My family and friends, the things I like and the values that are important to me. Sure my disability is a part of me too but it doesn't define who I am. Often something others do without even realising.

I think the only really significant thing that I cannot do is drive a car. That doesn't bother me too much because I have grown up relying on public transport. It is my norm. As far as everything else goes, well, I will always find a way. I have done some pretty out there things including abseiling, canoeing, ice skating, roller blading and bike riding. Hang on a minute… how does a blind person go roller blading, you ask? Well, the same way sighted people do! Putting one foot in front of the other, toppling over and clinging on to someone so tightly that you cut off their circulation!


When I have my vision aids and technology, I am completely capable at fully participating in life. If I need assistance, I ask for it and don't feel ashamed. I used to become quite frustrated with people who would constantly offer to help or do things for me. I couldn't work out why people seemed to feel the need to intervene when I didn't need or ask them to. I've realised that people do have good intentions. Sometimes too good. But the problem is the majority of people don't understand about disability. They don't see it as normal. Quite the opposite in fact. They feel pity and discomfort. When I walk down the streets using my cane, I sometimes hear small children asking their parents what my cane is. 99% of those parents tell their children to be quiet or to stop being so rude. I think I am more comfortable about talking about my disability than most others around me. I want little children to come up to me and ask questions. If they don't, then how are they going to understand that I am a normal, capable person just as they are. Instead they are getting the message that something is terribly wrong. This isn't terribly wrong for me. I don't even think about it all that much. I have had this my entire life so I don't know any different.


A lot needs to change in society. I am really passionate about inclusion. That is, no segregation, no special schools, no institutions, no restrictions. I want to see a society where disability is the norm. It's just as accepted as having brown eyes or red hair. In a perfect world all buildings and forms of transport would be accessible. All written material would be provided in alternative formats such as Braille and audio. Schools would be adequately funded to support children with disability, and include them in mainstream classes. Teachers would be trained to adapt the curriculum to cater to these students. Workplaces wouldn't think twice about hiring a person with disability. The parents of little children would encourage them to go up to people like myself and talk to us rather than shy away. I could go on and on… of course, we are progressing but at such a slow rate. I hope I get to experience a society like this in my time. People often ask me if my vision can be "fixed". They talk about laser, bionic eyes etc. and try and encourage me by saying that technology continues to improve so surely there will be a cure in my lifetime. I don't think about that stuff. As far as I am concerned, nothing needs to be fixed. I'm fine just the way I am.

Patience and Persistence

Hi everyone, welcoming you to another blog from Rich Fabend. Just a side note, we in no way enourage the use of guns or promote hunting or anything of the sort. In Australia their are tight rules and restrictions and definite no-nos about the use of guns. I infact love turkeys as I think they are very fascinating creatures. However I think that there is a great lesson and moral behind the words that Rich has presented in his blog posts here, and that is about patience and adapting to change.

The great thing about his stories is that they portray that anybody can do anything, they just need the support, information and determination to do so. I think that Rich is a really wonderful example of someone who has all these values - not to mention his wonderfully creative mind to top it off. He lives in America and it is currently Hunting season there, thus causing the theme of his posts. But from his posts we can see that disability is a daily thing, however if we learn to live with it in our own way, it moves away from something that runs our life, to something that is part of our being.

Rich Fabend

I have waited for this moment for a long time. May 26, 2010 - 9:15 AM. Today I harvested my first turkey in 11 years. I had been an avid hunter prior to my disability. I believed I would never be able to hunt again, especially by myself. Today's success was the result of the labors of many people: my wife, who walked me out and help me set up, my nurse Rhonda, who came at 6 AM the mornings in May so I would have more time to hunt, my neighbor Mike, who allows me to hunt his land, my friend John, who gave me his time to set up blinds made out of snow fence and camouflage material, and so it goes. My wife likes to say "It takes a village".

I am also proud of myself. Over the 11 years, I got discouraged; turkeys often were close enough to harvest but something always went wrong. In the beginning it was my inability to camouflage my wheelchair well enough, then my finger couldn't pull the trigger, or I had a muscle spasm which alerted the turkeys to my presence and were instantly gone. But I persisted and attempted to correct the challenges as they presented themselves. But at the end of each spring I had the same results -- NOTHING. Often it was a process of trial and error, but gradually my efforts began to improve my chances. I created a trigger adapter which allows me to fire the shotgun using my mouth. Not only does this solve the problem of trying to find the trigger, but it also allows me to use both hands to steady the gun. At many points along the way it would've been easy to give up and quit. I know from experience it's a lot easier to give advice to others than it is to take it myself. So get discouraged, get frustrated, but don’t give up.

One of the things I like the most about hunting is that it is totally irrelevant to the game that I am an individual with a disability. To the turkeys I hunt, I am just another predator and that's all I ask for. Today was definitely a day worth waiting for.