Hope springs eternal despite glaucoma diagnosis

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Winnipeg Free Press, Saturday September 26, 2009
Reproduced with permission.
Photo: Ruth Bonneville/Winnipeg Free Press

Busker sings praises of CNIB, United Way

Busker Rostant 'Rico' John entertains downtowners on a recent sunny day with his reggae-style drumming and singing.

The 64-year-old native of Trinidad and Tobago has lost most of his eyesight to glaucoma, but thanks to the United Way and its partner agency, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, he has been able to reclaim the independence, confidence and sense of dignity that allow him to function as a fully contributing member of the community.

"If I'm giving a fully honest answer, I would say no," John offered when asked if he has fully regained the level of self-assurance he possessed before losing his eyesight.

"But I have come so far, and I'm continuing to go so far, that I feel comfortable with where I'm at and with the expectation that I'll be even more comfortable as time goes along."

During an interview earlier this week -- squeezed in between a morning at a regular support-group conversation at CNIB and an afternoon spent drumming outdoors outside Air Canada's downtown headquarters -- John described the difficult descent into blindness and the revelation he experienced when he first sought the assistance of CNIB.

John, who arrived in Canada 33 years ago and spent a couple of decades in Toronto before relocating to Winnipeg in the mid-'90s, was working as a community outreach worker in the West Broadway area about a decade ago when he started to experience changes -- very negative changes -- in his vision.

As his eyesight got continually worse, he worked harder at trying to conceal the problem from his co-workers. He says he remained in a state of deep denial for several years -- until the day a colleague watched him walk head-on into a wall.

"He asked me, 'Are you blind?'" John recalled of the in-your-face moment, about three years ago, that changed things for the better.

"That sort of shook me up a little bit. After that, I reached out to CNIB, and they helped quite a lot."

As it turned out, the answer to that mostly-in-jest "Are you blind?" was yes.

But CNIB services helped John to accept his situation and adapt his lifestyle in ways that would allow him to cope with his vision deficit and resume a mostly normal life.

"CNIB helps you to help yourself," said John, referring to the variety of personal supports and technical tools CNIB offers its clients.

"It helps you get out of that rut that you may have started to go down into in realizing that you're blind. You need help; there's only so much you can do yourself. CNIB shows you how to help yourself, and how to help others help you."

This year, John is part of the United Way's speakers' bureau, appearing at a variety of public events to help get the message out about this year's fundraising effort.

"They provide opportunities for people to improve themselves in life," he said. "I think that's especially true through their partner agencies; some of those partner agencies depend on the United Way quite a lot, so whatever I can do to support the United Way also supports those partner agencies, whether it's CNIB or otherwise.

"It's important -- a lot of people who don't have the opportunity to better their lives will get that opportunity through United Way and those partner agencies."