*Note*
This was originally posted on Facebook Thursday evening, September 24.
My Experiences at the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired
By Patty L. Fletcher
September 25, 2026
Learning and Relearning Braille, Orientation and Mobility (O&M) with and without Blue
I began my journey on Sunday September 20, at around 10 AM when a friend of mine, her granddaughter, Blue and I sat out for the Virginia Department of the Blind and Vision Impaired.
So far, this week, there has been chaos and confusion. Tears and Fears, but these are only a product of growing pains. You see, a lot has changed for me over the years. I am now identified as a person who just happens to be deafblind.
What does this mean? It means that I have a significant hearing loss now added into the mix of being totally blind. As this week of learning and relearning skills has progressed, I find myself sitting here on Friday morning, simply amazed that I survived.
But wait! There’s more!
Many may remember that in 2017, I became ill, and that illness left me with many issues. One of those issues—not that I needed any more, mind you—was that even though I could read and identify Braille signs, I could not comprehend or retain anything I read.
This went on for many years.
Then I moved to Leisure Park Towers, and suddenly there was Braille in the elevators, Braille bingo cards, and a friend got me some new Braille tarot cards.
Next thing I knew, it was coming back—but only in fits and starts.
One thing led to another, and flash forward to now. Suddenly, it’s coming back.
I am in class, and I am reading, comprehending, and retaining The Velveteen Rabit.
I brought it home with me to the dorm. That’s my homework for Friday’s independent studies: to read this book.
I cannot wait.
I’m too tired tonight to finish it, but I read partway through it in class. While everyone was chattering around me, from time to time I found myself lost in a world I thought was long lost to me.
Can I get this skill back?
Is it truly possible?
I cannot believe it might really be so.
How I have missed lying in bed at night with music playing, reading a book, and not having to listen to audio for a while.
I love my audiobooks, and they will never go away from me. But there are times when you just don’t want to hear anything. You just want to read. You want the words to be there so you can enjoy them, lose yourself in them, and not have to hear another soul.
I haven’t held a real book in my hands in so long I almost cried.
I am so proud.
I am so happy.
It made it worth it.
On the Chief Seeing Eye Dog Blue front, he is beginning to adjust to his new routine.
He stays in one of the workers’ offices while I am cane traveling and learning skills. I think he is happier and better off doing this.
Right now, I am confused a lot. I lose my way. I have to backtrack, ask questions, get directions, and put it all together.
For a guide dog, that can be very frustrating. They expect you to know where you’re going and to tell them.
Well, I can’t do that until I figure it all out.
So Blue and I are doing this in a strange way.
He takes me to and from class. He takes me to lunch. But while I am busy doing cane travel, daily living skills, and other things where he would be lying under a desk or table anyway, he is in an office where he can be at peace, get petted, and, when others come in, be the center of attention.
LOL.
He doesn’t mind at all.
Today, he showed me just how much he does not mind.
After lunch, we spent our hour together here in our room, playing, snuggling, talking, and loving. We went out to relieve, and he had a little snack.
Then I went back over to the main building for afternoon classes.
When we hit the lobby, I stopped and signed in. I started around the corner, and Blue put on the speed.
Next thing I knew, he was dragging me down the hall at top speed, and I was slowing him down to keep us from mowing down others who were trying to learn their way, just like me.
But Blue was on a mission.
We got to her office. He pulled up short, sat down, looked up at me, and said, We have arrived. Open the door. Let me in.
I knocked and opened the door.
He marched right over to his place, stood there, and waited for me to take off his harness.
Then he lay right down, took up his bone, and said goodbye.
I took up my cane and went on my way.
A little corner of my heart was sad. I mean, we go everywhere together. We do everything together.
But I really do need these skills.
So I put that sadness away and went on my way. I stopped and asked directions at one junction where I wasn’t sure, and then I went to class.
The rest of the afternoon was a little hairy for me.
My hearing aids decided they were going to die. They began beeping every few minutes to tell me the batteries were low, and I did not have my charging cord.
Pretty soon, they were not working correctly, which caused me even more confusion.
But I told everyone what was happening, and they were understanding and helpful. Anytime I got turned around, someone was there to help me get reoriented.
We talked about the face of the clock and cardinal directions. We discussed where things were in relation to where I was. I used my cane and found doorways, hallways, and little twists and turns.
I felt anxious at times.
It was frustrating.
But I made it through.
And now I have this lovely book to enjoy.
This is going to be OK.
I am going to learn what I need to learn to make it in this new world of mine.
It is not going to be easy. There are going to be days when I do not like my instructors.
I already told my O&M instructor at the first of the week that I did not want to like him.
I changed my mind on Wednesday.
LOL.
One of the other students here told me I would probably change it back before this was over.
There is another guide dog handler here, but I am not going to name them. It is up to them to write about their experience—or not.
I am glad to have another kindred spirit here. They are in a different program than I am, so we do not see much of each other.
But our dogs did speak to one another this morning.
Very friendly.
Anyway, I am going to go now.
I am extremely tired.
But tonight, I have a Braille book waiting for me.
And that is something I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to say again.
For more on this amazing Center please see: https://disabilitynavigator.org/program/40912/independent-living-skills-blind-vision-impaired-and-deafblind-richmond#main-content
Patty L. Fletcher – Author and Content Promoter.
About Patty L. Fletcher
Updated November 2024
Patty L. Fletcher is a woman of passion and exploration.
She studies the art of manifestation and is a seeker of knowledge and the wisdom to know what to do with it when it’s learned.
To learn more visit: https://pattysworlds.com/about/
If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start from any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.
Mary Pickford