April 18th, 2022
On April 18th, 2022, I applied. This was not after a trip to Chicago with a few other guide dog users as part of the National Association of Blind Students Midwest student seminar. During this trip, I realized it was really time for me to apply for a guide dog, especially because I couldn’t keep up with the other guide dog users. After completing this application, I texted @shelbi_nichole saying “ok, I bit the bullet.” Her response was almost immediately with “Yay!” As she knew exactly what I was referring to.
On the Chicago Riverwalk with a few friends.
February 2022
As a result of starting and stopping my application several times the Guiding Eyes admissions team saw this, so in about February 2022 they randomly called me and said, “we see you have a started application, if you would like to proceed, please finish the application because our lists are kind of long right now.” Although I did get the call, I was still extremely on the fence, so in about March 2022 I sent an additional text to my local GDMI asking her to look over some documentation about my eye conditions to ensure that I would be qualified. After doing so, I realized that most likely I would be.
July 2021
Fast forward to about July 2021, after I mentioned several encounters to @shelbi_nichole where I had almost got hit by cars because I did not see them coming. She was tired of hearing these encounters, so she said here, let me just give you our local Guide Dog Mobility Instructor’s (GDMI) contact information, so you can at least have a chat. I took that information and sent a text to schedule a call. After that call, I felt like it really could be possible, but there was still a thought in my mind as to what if I got a second denial? As a result of this call, I didn’t apply right away; rather, I started my application. Then I stopped, then I started my application again then I stopped.
Fall 2020
It really started in fall of 2020 when I met over zoom @shelbi_nichole for a college of education meeting. During this meeting, I casually said “oh yeah, I have low vision also.” Her proceeding question was “how do you navigate campus?” I naïvely said, “just with my cane.” I was not expecting her response, which was “why, how, no. Have you thought of getting a guide dog?” I was more expecting the answer of “oh, ok” when answering her question of have I ever thought about getting a guide dog, I responded “it’s not for me.” You see, I applied for a dog early in my vision loss journey, but it didn’t go well, as a result of my additional mobility needs, so I never thought it would be possible. During this meeting, she explained that there was a guide dog school in New York that offered this thing I had never heard of called specialized training for people like me, who have additional disabilities. When this was first mentioned, I thought it could be possible, but I was still extremely on the fence.
What I did not realize during that initial call was that @shelbi_nichole had just graduated with her first guide dog in February 2020, so she understood firsthand how life changing having a guide dog is and how this particular school adapts to each individual student’s needs.