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According to Egidijus, blindness started with complications of diabetes after finishing school and working as a dental technician. “Working as a dental technician required a lot of care, and the demands and burdens were enormous,” recalls Egidijus. – I think it affected my health. Gradually, one eye started to fail, and then I felt it was getting worse with the second. But I kept putting off the operation, I didn’t want to lose my job. “
Operation in Kaunas and consultations in Denmark
But it wasn’t long before the time came that Egidio’s vision was so weakened that he was forced to see the doctors. I could no longer work. “He operated on me in Kaunas,” recalls the man. – During the operation, gas was injected into the eye, which presses on the retina of the eye, but this did not help. I went completely blind. “
However, Egidijus did not give up and went to see the Danish ophthalmologists. “After examining me, the doctors in Copenhagen said that ‘the doctors had already done everything’ and that the new operation would not help at all,” recalls the man sadly.
When he returned to Lithuania, the man had to accept a new reality: total blindness and job loss. I had to start living again.
“It is very difficult for a blind person to find a job,” Egidijus shares his thoughts. – As I continue to talk to the employer on the phone, it seems that everything is normally agreed, he tells me the work tasks that he could do completely. But when you come to the place and see that you are blind, you immediately find many reasons why you are not fit for work, although it seems that we spoke on the phone not long ago and as if we agreed on everything … “
“I entered a two-year medical school in Baltupiai, where I trained masseurs,” recalls Egidijus. – There was one of the few places where the blind had some prospects. I was young, I wanted to work and not be a burden to anyone. “
White wand
Egidio also had to learn to walk with a white stick, which the blind use when they walk through the city. According to Egidijus, white stick is a really cool invention. Helps to recognize object properties well, provides information about object shape, surface structure, helps blind people to identify objects by sounds.
“As soon as you touch the stick, learn to distinguish between a traffic light and a road sign in front of you,” Egidijus shares his experience. – One sound is a wooden door, another – a metal door. The stick can recognize the floor and floor structures, the warning surfaces on the streets, and you get the information you need to protect you from injury and collision. “
Very happy to help people. Feeling that you are doing something really special that gives them health, he relaxes.
“The white stick helped me a lot to get out of that impasse and loneliness,” recalls the man. – I started to walk, to communicate. Of course, deciding to walk with a cane still requires a lot of desire and courage, but I had it … Of course, there were also curious situations when I got lost in the city and heard the way of the people, and they took me by the hand and They turned in the right direction. They honestly thought he was helping me this way, but they didn’t realize that I had lost all my orientation when I turned around … “
Misunderstandings often also arose when Egidijus poked his head around the open door of the bus and asked what the bus number was, where he was going. “I felt the passengers were looking at me like that then stomach, without understanding what is happening here, – recalls Egidijus. – A healthy and drunk man, while asking obvious things. They didn’t understand that I didn’t see anything … “
Egidijus has no blind friends. “They just fell,” recalls the sad man. – And I really would have needed your help during that difficult time in my life. A couple of friends retired again only after a good decade, but already on my initiative. “
He became a masseuse
After graduating from medical school, Egidijus started working as a masseuse, then he and his friend established a “Matantys rankos” social enterprise in Vilnius.
“Blind people are famous as great masseurs and that is the true truth,” says the man. – The blind person really feels the heat and tension in the body much better with his hands, regardless of whether it is his arm, leg or back. Very happy to help people. Feeling like you’re doing something really special that gives them health, relaxes. “
According to the man, patients with various ailments approached him: back, neck, shoulder girdle, spinal problems, headaches. “Massage alone, without a special exercise program created by a physical therapist, can’t help much,” says Egidijus. – It is necessary to perform adequate exercises regularly, eat well. Therefore, I never limited myself to massage, I always taught the patient the exercises that he has to do himself. The results were really good, I have many grateful patients. “
Computer literacy can not only help a blind person find a job, but it is like a window to the world, an important source of information.
Later Egidijus started to work independently according to the individual activity certificate. “I agreed with the companies and went to have a massage right at his house. This makes it more convenient for employees, since they don’t need to go anywhere, the man recalls. – My father took me, helped me go where I needed to go. We also carry a folding massage table. When I got the order, I worked at the company non-stop all day, because there was generally a group of about a dozen people who wanted my massage. After that, I went to the same company for a few more days to do a full massage course for them. “
Computer program for disabled JAWS
According to Egidius, in case of vision loss, it is also very important to learn to work with a computer keyboard on a blind system using a special JAWS program. The man learned to use it at the school for the blind and visually impaired A. Jonynas in Vilnius.
“It is a great ‘smart’ program, very well suited for the blind,” says Egidijus. – Put on the headphones and listen to which key you press, it also reads the information on the screen. So how much learned can a computer use in the same way as a person with normal vision. Computer literacy can not only help a blind person find a job, but it is like a window to the world, an important source of information. You can learn to work with this program pretty quickly, there are special courses and teachers who teach it. ”
Orthopedic footwear for the disabled.
Egidijus mentions the lack of special orthopedic footwear and its quality as one of the main problems for people with disabilities in Lithuania.
“I made orthopedic shoes three times, but I couldn’t make them suitable,” says the man. – Very uncomfortable, pressure, very heavy. After that, I unexpectedly discovered the “Orthopedic Shoes” company in Kaunas. There, Mr. Eugenijus made me (perhaps more precisely, created) wonderful orthopedic shoes that I cannot enjoy: beautiful, light and very comfortable. “
Osteoporosis and kidney failure.
When Egidijus got involved in the work, there were big problems, it seemed how far he had retired. The man did his favorite job, supported himself, knew how to walk around town with a white stick, learned how to use a computer blind system, was not a burden on others.
But soon the man was hit by other severe tests. “I suddenly lost consciousness, fell and broke my shoulder and hip joint,” says the man. – My father came and found me lying under the table. When I was taken to the hospital, it turned out that surgery was not possible because I had not only diabetes but also osteoporosis (a systemic bone disease characterized by low bone mass due to a decrease in bone density, which increases bone fragility and risk of fractures). That’s why I lay in bed for half a year without surgery and even a special splint until those fractures healed a little. I could no longer walk on my own, my leg was shortened by seven centimeters. I was locked in a wheelchair.
According to Egidius, he suffered many other bone fractures due to osteoporosis. “Due to this insidious disease, I had many more bone fractures, about 30 in all,” says Egidijus. “There was a fracture at first, then another shoulder, vertebral compression fractures, both shoulders, clavicles, forearms …”
Diabetes complications from diabetes have also caused kidney failure, so the man has to go to the hospital for dialysis three times a week (dialysis removes metabolic wastes and fluids that the kidneys cannot remove to balance the body adjusting the amount of various toxic substances). In addition to dialysis, all patients with end-stage kidney disease would die from toxins accumulated in the blood.)
I suddenly passed out, fell, and broke my shoulder and hip joint.
Maltese Aid
“We discovered the Maltese” Važiuojam “transport service for disabled people with my mother when we had to return home from the hospital,” recalls Egidijus. – We call, we speak very kindly and we agree everything. After that, the Maltese took me on dialysis three times a week. “
“Dialysis with all procedures takes about five hours,” says Egidijus. – Going back and forth contributes to that. It is very difficult to physically lift all this, but I would not have survived without it … “
According to the man, the uniqueness of the Maltese transport service for the disabled “Važiuojam” is that the Maltese took him on dialysis and transported him back alone, and not with other disabled people.
“At other disabled transport companies, the bus picks up several disabled people at once, taking them out of town after various procedures,” says Egidijus. – Well, if they bring you first, then things happen quickly. However, there are times when you are the last to be taken. In this case, you must be in the car for a couple of hours, waiting for everyone else to get you out. Not only does it take a long time, but it is also extremely physically difficult, the whole body hurts a lot from previous fractures … I can sit in a wheelchair for no more than half an hour … “
According to Egidius, without the help of the Maltese, it would be extremely difficult for him. “It’s hard to find words to thank them,” says the man. – First we became friends with Robert Svidinskas, but I agree perfectly with everyone else. They are my rescuers, first I would ask for help in all cases … “
Maltese people in 42 Lithuanian cities are currently cared for by more than 2,600 people in need of help, such as Egidijus.
We kindly invite you to support the activities of the Lithuanian Maltese by allocating 1.2 percent. from GPM. More information here.
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