Adelaide Ortega and Caraway
Adelaide Ortega sheds light on living in blindness
WC: Thanks for your time today. It was great to meet you at Sunday’s Guide Dog event.
AO: It was so much fun! I even had my photo taken with Betty White!
WC: That’s awesome. She’s really something! Let’s start with you telling me about yourself.
AO: My family has lived in Santa Barbara since the 1700s. My dad is of Chumash descent and my mom was from Mexico.
WC: What do you miss most about having sight?
AO: People’s faces.
WC: If you were granted a wish to see one thing – what would it be?
AO: My son’s face.
WC: Tell me about him.
AO: I’m so proud of him. His name is Frank Walter Ortega. He is 32 and works as welder in SLO at the nuclear power plant.
WC: What do you specifically recall about going blind?
AO: I was about 40 and Frank was nine years old. When I went into wake him for school, I had double vision. When I looked at the doors, they looked crooked.
WC: What did you do?
AO: I went to see an eye doctor. He thought it was a virus and it would get better in a few days.
WC: It didn’t, obviously…
AO: No, it got worse. By the time I was able to see a specialist at Stanford; I completely lost the sight in my left eye and could only tell day and night in my right.
WC: What did you do?
AO: My family didn’t know how to cope with me. I had a personality change. It wasn’t pretty. I was so depressed that I didn’t leave house for nine months.
WC: So what prompted change?
AO: My dad dropped me off at the Braille Institute. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t belong there. Before I went, I didn’t know any blind people. Being blind scared me. I thought I either had to stay at home or be on the street corner holding a cup. It was a total misconception. The Braille Institute saved my life.
WC: What was the first thing you learned?
AO: Blind people are just like everyone else. Our kids, who are blind, go to college and we can do anything. I had to re-learn everything – how to dress, cook, shop, etc.
WC: How was using a cane?
AO: I used one for about 12 years. I thought having a guide dog would be too much work.
WC: So what changed?
AO: At Guide Dog School, someone asked me to hold onto their dog. The freedom I felt when I first held onto the dog’s harness was an unbelievable high. To feel the air breezing by. It was total trust. It totally changed my life.
WC: Who is this little guy? (white lab lying by her feet)
AO: This is Caraway. She is a great guide dog. Very smart. I’ve had four overall and have had trouble remembering her name, at first. My friend said, “She takes my ‘cares away.” That’s how I remember because it’s so true.
WC: How has losing your sight changed you in a good way?
AO: I appreciate things more. My life is different. I’m not working. Not running around, going to PTA meetings. I used to love to party … have fun … and enjoy music. But, losing my sight has slowed me down. My friend says that it keeps me more centered. She’s right.
WC: It’s been said that when a person loses one of their senses, the other one are more heightened. Do you find that to be true?
AO: Yes. I’m much more sensitive now. I hear sounds I never heard before. I can tell if someone close to me is upset by their voice, even if they try to disguise it.
WC: So losing your sight has actually helped you to ‘see’ better?
AO: Yes. I think sometimes that people who can’t see can actually see better that sighted people.
WC: Why?
AO: I think it’s because we are more accepting. It doesn’t matter what a person looks like. We are not influenced by that.
WC: What other changes have you noticed about yourself?
AO: I use my hands more to see. When we went to the Getty Museum – it was so exciting! I got to touch the art sculptures – could feel the fingernails and lines in a face.
WC: There are some rumors that you are now quite the athlete – true?
AO: I love golf. I love being in the fresh air. It’s such as feeling of freedom. I have a coach who helps me adjust my grip or my stance. I recently won the women’s title at the recent 11th Annual Lou Binetti Memorial California Blind Golf Classic. I also enjoy bowling every Friday at Zodos.
WC: Anything else?
AO: I love my art – I make ceramic bowls and really enjoy basket weaving. It allows my Chumash ancestry to flourish.
WC: You look so happy. Why?
AO: This is the happiest I’ve ever been. When I lost my sight, I didn’t think I would ever be happy again….
