Sarah Blake LaRose

A brief note again–I’m falling asleep at the drop of a hat, whatever that means. I am supposed to sleep sitting up for at least two weeks. Now, I must confess that my favorite sleeping position is on my left side with a gray cat in my arms; and in the middle of the night a black cat gets in my face and yowls until I turn over and pet her until she falls asleep. This routine has been seriously impacted, and I am losing a lot of sleep. Um, I am learning to sleep differently. So are the cats.

I’ve discovered that I can get around ok–that means I can touch what I intend to touch instead of reaching out and grabbing something different. I can’t sit here and describe to you all the things I can see around the room. It is very overwhelming. Before surgery, I could see a large object (like a human body) if it was two or three feet in front of me. I am now seeing very small objects at various points around the room. I even saw a door handle on a car yesterday. I haven’t seen these kinds of details or distance since I was a little girl. Even after my retinal surgery in 1998, things did not really look clear for very long.

I went to choir practice at church last night; and between getting ready and being out and about, I was looking at things for several hours. I think I had too much light exposure–I had a bout of very intense pain at the end of the day. I took some meds, turned out all the lights, and just sat very still until it stopped. Today I’m resting a lot and not looking around much.

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

About Sarah Blake LaRose

Sarah Blake LaRose teaches Biblical Hebrew and Greek at Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry in Anderson, Indiana. She is one of three blind academic scholars who received the Jacob Bolotin Award from the National Federation of the Blind in 2016 in recognition of innovative work in the field of access to biblical language texts and tools for people who are blind. In addition to her work as a professor, she provides braille transcription services specializing in ancient languages. Her research interests concern the intersection of disability, poverty, and biblical studies.

• Learning From My Younger Self - February 10, 2024
• more reflections on ITD - June 30, 2023
• On travel while at ITD: reflections after day 1 - June 27, 2023
• ITD day 1 - June 27, 2023
• ITD day 1 - June 27, 2023
• Job Descriptions, Inclusivity, and Equity for People with Disabilities - October 15, 2022
• Traveling without a Guide Dog: Experience with Cane and Walker - October 14, 2022
• Disability and Church, Intersection - June 11, 2022
• Review: When Chronic Pain and Illness Take Everything Away - June 11, 2022
• Grammar and Style Resources for Writers - June 9, 2022