… is sworn in 

Mr. Paterson, the state’s first blind governor as well as the first black one, nodded to the historic nature of his swearing-in.

“I have confronted the prejudice of race, and challenged the issues of my own disability,” he said. “I have served in government for over two decades. I stand willing and able to lead this state to a brighter future and a better tomorrow.”

“Let me reintroduce myself,” he concluded. “I am David Paterson, and I am the governor of New York State.”

… is an ‘inspiration for the blind’

Advocates for the blind have celebrated Mr. Paterson’s ascension in Albany, calling it a milestone for those with disabilities and predicting that it would have positive repercussions for those with little or no vision.

… Dr. [Tara A.] Cortes of Lighthouse International, which is based in New York and offers medical treatment as well as adaptive tools, said that the nation was facing an “epidemic” of vision loss, between the increase in diabetes cases and the aging of the baby boom population. “There are so many people living with vision loss who don’t realize that there are simple steps they can take to enhance their functioning vision,” she said.

Because of Mr. Paterson, she said, “people are going to all of a sudden realize that, ‘Maybe I am legally blind,’ and ask themselves ‘What can I do to get help?’ ”

[Dr. Assumpta Madu, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine,] said Mr. Paterson’s new profile as governor would help her students develop a positive attitude about the potential of patients whose vision does not improve after medical intervention.

“Our objective with ophthalmology is always to maintain people’s vision, but there’s a push to have medical residents understand that people who are visually disabled actually can function and do a lot of activities,” she said. “Many people who cannot see are perfectly happy and very capable.”

Both stories from the New York Times.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 2:34 pm and is filed under blindness/visual impairments, medicine, politics, public attitudes, quality of life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post