By Angela Gartner • Photography by Kim Stahnke
We highlight individuals and families who are inspiring others by sharing their experiences in the workplace, participating in fun and meaningful activities, and demonstrating how advocacy can create a more inclusive community for everyone.
Making a Big Change
— David Rabinsky
After 27 years, David Rabinsky, director of social catering, retired from The Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland. That wasn’t the only change he made as he moved out of his downtown Cleveland apartment to the eastern suburb neighborhood of Orange. For Rabinsky, who is totally blind after being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, this was an exciting challenge.
“It was something I knew that I wanted to do, but very different from anything I had done in the past,” he says. “When I started my job at The Ritz-Carlton, I still had a good bit of vision. I had the memory of what things were, and that was a guide for me. Now that I’m totally blind, finding a new location, going to different buildings to check out where I’d like to live and trying to get a gauge of what the space is and how I would learn to navigate it — it was a whole different experience. It was a very big transition.”
He adds that he has quite a few friends and a good support system in the new neighborhood, as well as access to transportation and shopping. He also has his guide dog Harry, an 8-year-old yellow labrador, who he goes on daily walks with.
Technology has also helped Rabinsky gain even more independence including using a color sensor and Meta glasses. “The greatest addition that I’ve had now are my Meta glasses and I can’t get over how they’ve incorporated AI into these glasses,” he says, adding it allows him to send messages; read books, mail or signs; make phone calls; and get walking directions through voice commands. “It gives me a little bit more independence and has allowed blind people to move ahead more independently. All of these tools have allowed me the ability to make a move like this and have really assisted me.”
So far, he’s enjoying retirement and his new environment and notes there’s a sense of relief and achievement after you’ve gone through the process. He advises that eventually it’ll get easier, you just have to prepare yourself both physically and mentally. “I was happy that I made that change (to move) and I did it.”