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Arizona Council
of the Blind
for sponsoring
VRATE 2007!

Blindness no handicap
Technology, dogs help couple with house, errands
Alison Stanton
Special for The Republic
Nov. 17, 2004 12:00 AM

Michael Ging/The Arizona Republic
Janice Williams and Kevin Chinn go out for a walk with their guide dogs. Janice has Minnie and Kevin has Tory.

In most ways, Janice Williams and Kevin Chinn are like any other couple.

The pair, married about 16 years, enjoys going out to lunch, doing volunteer work and walking their dogs around their Peoria neighborhood.

"We're just an average married couple," Chinn, 45, said.

Williams and Chinn are also both blind. Their dogs, Lenny, Minnie and Tory, are guide dogs. And going out to eat means arranging for a ride ahead of time.

"Everything comes back to transportation. That's the only thing that slows us down," Chinn said.

Diagnosed with diabetes as children, the couple both lost their sight as adults from diabetic retinopathy.

"If you shut your eyes real tight and covered your eyes, that's what we see," Chinn said.

Williams and Chinn met in Chicago in the late 1980s at a rehabilitation center for people who went blind as adults. They hit it off right away.

"We bumped into each other and took it from there," Chinn said, laughing.

"We became friends first because we had so much in common," Williams, 48, added.

One thing the couple shares is a positive attitude. In spite of their visual impairment and other health problems - Chinn has recovered from both a kidney transplant and a heart attack and Williams underwent a kidney/pancreas transplant - they remain upbeat and work hard to help others who are also visually impaired.

Chinn and Williams both spend a lot of time working for groups like the Arizona Council of the Blind and Guide Dog Users of Arizona Inc.

"Right now we're just working diligently to see if we can assist people," Chinn said.

Williams also volunteers at the couple's church. "I'm on a committee at church," she said. "I'm scheduled to cook a meal for a man who has had a liver transplant."

She also does the majority of housework herself.

"As far as the weekly stuff, I do all of that myself," she said.

Williams shrugs off the idea that she or her husband do anything remarkable.

"Once you get used to your kitchen you could do it with your eyes closed, too," she said. "It does take a little longer to do things, but it just seems like the weeks just fly by. I don't know where the time goes."

Chinn agrees with his wife.

"There are a lot of things that are common to both sighted and non-sighted people, like pizza delivery," he said. "We all like getting pizzas delivered. We all put our pants on the same way."

Chinn and Williams said they are both grateful for their dogs, who help them get around the house and out to run errands.

"We use the guide dogs in the neighborhood and use the dogs to go to Safeway," Williams said.

They are also extremely appreciative of the special equipment and technology that has helped them to live independently.

"We have a talking thermometer and a talking blood pressure cuff, and Kevin has a talking glucometer to measure his blood sugar." Williams said. "We have a talking clock and a talking program on our computer."

"Our microwave is labeled in Braille. We have dots on the stove for marking. Our washer and dryer are labeled in Braille, and we have a talking thermostat," Chinn added.

Because Williams and Chinn enjoy learning about new technology for the blind, they are planning on attending the eighth annual Vision Rehabilitation and Technology Expo on Friday at the Phoenix Civic Plaza.

The expo features a variety of speakers and more than 50 vendors, including the Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the Foundation for Blind Children.

The event also gives visually impaired people, their families and people who work in the field the chance to learn about and sample the latest in innovations and technology.

"That's the part of the technology that will be at VRATE - the talking computer," Chinn said. "But it's more than technology."

Rich Kenney, publicity chairman for the expo, said that everyone can learn from going to the expo.

"The expo benefits not only individuals who have vision impairments, but it helps family members, teachers and medical professionals as well," Kenney said.

"It is an exceptional opportunity for people who are blind or visually impaired to learn more about resources, products and services that are available to them."

Chinn and Williams said they encourage other visually impaired people to go to the expo to learn about the technology that can help make life so normal and allow so much independence.

After all, they said they know firsthand the importance of not allowing a visual impairment to take over your life or prevent you from living it.

"Even though you have that first step of depression it is important not to let it go on," Williams said. "You have to really step out there and be a little aggressive to just move on."

Chinn agreed.

"It's scary in the beginning, but you just take baby steps and then before you know it you're out there running."

http://www.azcentral.com/community/westvalley/articles/1117chinns1117Z1.html

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