BILOXI, Miss. \u2014 Keith Bynum, a blind Army veteran, lives by this rule: Life is not over just because you can\u2019t see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have a positive mind to keep yourself going,\u201d said the 55-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bynum is one of 18 veterans at the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System\u2019s Blind Rehab Center in Biloxi. The facility opened in 2011 and has served 173 veterans in those six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt opens those doors for independence once again,\u201d said Debra Gilley, chief of the facility. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see somebody who has been sitting at home on the couch thinking that life is not open to them anymore, and to see them out crossing the street and getting out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilley began working in blind rehab field as a certified orientation and mobility therapist 26 years ago. \u201cIt was my passion,\u201d she said. She is now also a certified low vision therapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veterans are trained in five fields: computer access, living skills, orientation and mobility, vision skills and manual skills. Veterans generally stay at the center for four to six weeks on their first visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of individuals when they\u2019re losing their vision start to become stuck at home because they don\u2019t feel safe getting out anymore,\u201d Gilley said. \u201cBy teaching them independent travel skills, they get out again and the universe opens up to them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo many of the things we do day-to-day, we take for granted. So many of the things we do rely on our vision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An optometrist may tell them, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing more I can do for you,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they come here and we\u2019re able to give them adaptive equipment that opens that world back up again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Few of the clients who have been served at the Biloxi facility lost their sight to combat injuries. Most suffer from degenerative conditions, and some still have minimal sight, but are considered legally blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I first came here, I knew absolutely nothing about computers,\u201d said Robert Mixon of Sims Chapel, Alabama. \u201cThey introduced me to a computer, taught me how to use it and it just opened up a whole new world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mixon, 81, was on his seventh visit to the center last month. Many veterans make multiple visits to hone old skills and to learn new ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEach time we incrementally increase their skills,\u201d Gilley said. \u201cThey\u2019re getting better and more independent and enhancing their skills each time they come in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are 13 blind rehab centers in the VA system, and veterans can choose which one they attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like going to school,\u201d Gilley said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re losing your vision, there\u2019s a lot to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everybody has different needs, and there are different types of vision loss, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe work hard to make sure that your instruction is individualized. We want to teach you what you need to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vincent Higginbotham of Ocean Springs was practicing walking up and down stairs during part of his training. The 61-year-old Marine and Air Force veteran has suffered a gradual loss of vision since 1995 due to Stargardt disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have learned a lot (at the center),\u201d he said. \u201cSome things I have learned on my own just by dealing with the vision, but they\u2019ve given me a lot of different types of technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey can\u2019t cure my eyes, but they can help me deal with the situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about increasing their independence,\u201d Gilley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what blind rehab is all about. It\u2019s giving that hope back and it\u2019s saying that just because you\u2019re losing your vision or you\u2019ve lost your vision, it\u2019s not the end, it\u2019s just a bump in the road and we\u2019ve got your back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keith Bynum, a blind Army veteran, lives by this rule: Life is not over just because you can\u2019t see.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":91420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,26,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6366],"class_list":["post-52750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JUW74CGCSRDJDJIIADNK43KJNQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2017\/11\/19\/blind-veterans-find-their-way-in-a-dark-world\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n