{"id":6366,"date":"2020-12-02T15:13:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T21:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6366"},"modified":"2020-12-11T08:09:17","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T14:09:17","slug":"meet-pardy-gill-a-journey-of-denial-and-acceptance-of-blindness-and-his-battle-with-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6366","title":{"rendered":"Meet Pardy Gill: A Journey of Denial and Acceptance of Blindness and His Battle with COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_2163\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6366-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6387\">Full Transcript<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Show Summary:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pardy Gill joins Simon Bonenfant in the Blind Abilities Studio to share with us Pardy\u2019s journey from denying and not accepting his blindness until a few incidences made him quite aware that he needed to address his low vision and face the fact that he was going to have to change his perspective on being Blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of us who are losing vision over time try to hang on as long as we can and Pardy was no different. Until some near-death experiences, Pardy was content on living a life without addressing the growing loss of vision. With some training and meeting others with vision loss, Pardy became confident and his advocacy skills kicked in and is now a Trustee of the National Federation of the Blind United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pardy contracted COVID-19 and talks about his month-long hospitalization. How the staff, family and Pardy worked together to communicate and work through this challenging situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Join Pardy and Simon in this inspiring journey and learn how peers and community allowed Pardy to realize that \u201cNothing is Gonna Stop Us Now\u201d. This is a title of a Starship song that Pardy has taken on as a theme describing his belief in working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact Your State Services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:Sheila.Koenig@state.mn.us\">email<\/a>&nbsp;or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can follow us on Twitter&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/blindabilities\">@BlindAbilities<\/a><br>On the web at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/\">www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a><br>Send us an&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:info@BlindAbilities.com\">email<\/a><br>Get the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/blind-abilities\/id1085849859?l=es&amp;mt=8\">Free Blind Abilities App&nbsp;on the App Store<\/a>and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.blindabilities.android.blind&amp;hl=en_US\">Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/607027582712671\/\">Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BlindAbilities\/\">Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/jobinsightsgroup\">Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a>&nbsp;group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_2165\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6366-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/blindabilities\/PardyGill2.mp3 Full Transcript Show Summary: Pardy Gill joins Simon Bonenfant in the Blind Abilities Studio to share with us Pardy\u2019s journey from denying and not accepting his blindness until a few incidences made him quite aware that he needed to address his low vision and face the fact that he was going to have to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,495,514],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bapresents","category-lifeenrichment","category-transcribed"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-1EG","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7871,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=7871","url_meta":{"origin":6366,"position":0},"title":"Seeing Blind: finding Balance as a Content Creator, Accessibility Tester, a Mom, While Enjoying Life&#8217;s Journey &#8211; Meet Cindy Schaffner the Visionary behind the Seeing blind YouTube Channel","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: In a captivating episode of the Blind Abilities podcast, Cindy Schaffner, the visionary behind the YouTube channel \"Seeing Blind,\" shared her transformative journey with low vision. Motivated by her personal experiences, Cindy embarked on creating her YouTube channel with the goal of inspiring others and shedding light on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5134,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=5134","url_meta":{"origin":6366,"position":1},"title":"Gratitude and Friendship \u2013 Overcoming Anything in Life: Meet Daria Zawadzki, facilitator of Tele-Support Groups for Blind and Visually Impaired Teens and So Much More!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Blind Abilities Teen correspondent Simon Bonenfant sat down with Daria Zawadzki during his recent visit to New York City. Daria works for the\u00a0Lighthouse Guildand facilitates Tele-Support Groups for Blind and Visually Impaired teens and parents of teens as well. And you can find out more about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9328,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=9328","url_meta":{"origin":6366,"position":2},"title":"Blind Abilities \u2013 The Musical: When Lived Experience Takes the Stage","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"January 20, 2026","format":"audio","excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Blind Abilities \u2013 The Musical reimagines the podcast as a live theatrical broadcast, blending news-style dialogue, personal storytelling, and original music into a fully immersive audio stage. Framed as a newsroom, the episode moves through three powerful themes: wearable technology, progressive vision loss, and the enduring importance of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BA The Musical&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BA The Musical","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=561"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image of 5 fictional anchors on a musical stage theater.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blind-Abilities-The-Musical-Image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blind-Abilities-The-Musical-Image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blind-Abilities-The-Musical-Image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blind-Abilities-The-Musical-Image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blind-Abilities-The-Musical-Image.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Blind-Abilities-The-Musical-Image.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2592,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=2592","url_meta":{"origin":6366,"position":3},"title":"Girl Gone Blind: The Unexpected Life of Maria Johnson","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Maria Johnson a.k.a. Girl Gone Blind is a mom, a blogger, radio host, fitness instructor, health and wellness advocate, podcaster, and most of all... Maria shares her experiences and assists others going through the turnstiles entering the journey of Blindness. From learning about her LHON eye condition, losing most of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":98,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=98","url_meta":{"origin":6366,"position":4},"title":"Craftsman&#8217;s blindness doesn&#8217;t hinder his woodworking vision.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Blind Abilities Presents: A BA Teen Cast And today we have George Wurtzel a former resident of Minnesota who now resides in the Napa Valley area of California and is a leader at a camp for youth and Parents of Blind children.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2671,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=2671","url_meta":{"origin":6366,"position":5},"title":"Kevin Key Rises up From His Vision Loss &#8211; Creating Opportunities in the Work Place","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Kevin Key suffered a rare illness that left him with Vision Loss just 3 years ago. Today Kevin has fought back and is now a consultant with the city of Memphis in Tennessee advocating and educating the Business owners, managers and city officials about disabilities and creating opportunities. Kevin has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;BlindAbilities Presents&quot;","block_context":{"text":"BlindAbilities Presents","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6366"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6393,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366\/revisions\/6393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}