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Blindness Doesn't Keep Park Worker by Jeanette McMahon Renett Ferns' world is not a lot different from our own. As a receptionist at the West Chicago Park District, she answers phones, types bus schedules and sends out mail. She works with children in the summertime and greets people daily with a smile. But there is one way in which Renett Ferns' world is different. Renett Ferns is totally blind.
Now on any given day, Ferns can be seen listening to a tape recorded list of the senior transportation bus schedule and typing it into the computer. She takes phone messages with the aid of a tape recorder, then types out the messages and puts them into the appropriate Braille-coded mailboxes. Patience is the key, according to Ferns, because there are so many extra steps involved. But she can read Braille as fast as a person with sight can read print, and co-workers say her typing skills rival their own. "Renett does a wonderful job," said Peggy Krauch, Superintendent of Recreation for the West Chicago Park District and Ferns' supervisor. "There is a tremendous amount of paperwork involved with the senior transportation bus schedule, and we have been as much as six months behind. Right now we're current because she is working with us." Ferns' work isn't limited to behind the front desk. For three months last summer she assisted with Safety Town, a park district program that teaches basic safety tips to 4- through 6-year olds. "I was there to help with whatever needed to be done," Ferns said. "I liked it, and I actually learned a lot myself." In one session. Ferns taught an entire section on toy safety. She also read stories to the children from a Braille book while the instructor sat beside her and showed the children the pictures. In another program. Summer Day Camp, Ferns occasionally helped children with art projects. "I liked being with the kids and with the counselors," she said. "The kids had a lot of questions about my blindness. They
would ask why I was blind and how I dressed myself." Ferns explained, "I was blinded at birth." As for dressing herself. Ferns tells the children, "My parents put a shirt and pants on a hanger, and I just hope they match—if not, it's not my fault." Co-workers say it is Ferns' openness and sense of humor that makes working with her so enjoyable. "She doesn't miss a beat," Annette Duffy, a fellow receptionist said. "I don't think of Renett as handicapped. She acts like everyone else." Ferns says she appreciates the equal treatment, even if sometimes it leads to awkward situations. "I'll never forget my first day on the job. The secretary told me to take phone messages and handed me a pad of paper and a pen. I thanked her but then said, I think maybe I better use the typewriter." And Ferns still laughs about the time when she, while stuffing envelopes, accidentally drew from the wrong pile and mailed out a slew of blank pieces of paper. But regardless of the method, Schuetz says she has noted definite improvements in Ferns' abilities since her work at the park district began. "I must say, with her work at the West Chicago Park District, Renett has really grown. Since I've known her, I've noticed an expansion of many skills—taking care of herself, self advocacy and her sense of humor has really, really grown," she said. Just ask Ferns about her growth and her sense of humor becomes evident immediately. "I haven't gotten any taller," she quips. "I'm done growing that way." But Ferns attests to establishing new skills that help her in other areas. "I think I've become more open with people." Talking on the phone was another skill Ferns said she needed to master when she first came to the park district. "The phone would ring and I would think, do I really have to answer that?" But today when the four incoming telephone lines at the park district light up, so does Ferns' face. She handles all four lines alone, transferring calls and taking messages. Ferns has transposed the park district brochure into Braille so that she can answer general questions. "I think it's because the staff is open, they make it easier," she said. But co-workers admit that Ferns is not the only one that has benefited from the experience. "I've realized there are so many things we take for granted because we have sight," Duffy said. "For instance, color doesn't mean a thing to Renett, and that makes you start questioning her about what it is like." "I think we've learned a lot," Krauch said, speaking for herself and the rest of her staff. "With Renett being as open as she is, it has allowed us to see things from her perspective, and it has really been great." With high school graduation set for this June, Ferns has her sights set for the future. She has applied to two colleges in the area but vows once she leaves the park district, to come back and visit her old place of employment. "I like it here; I like what I do," Ferns said. "I've really had a lot of fun working here. Everyone is great and there are a lot of things I will never forget." About the Author Jeanette McMahon is the Public Information Coordinator for the West Chicago Park District.
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