Devon Raney - Still Sideways

Contents

Devon Raney nailing a turn in the 2012 Dirksen Derby. Mount Bachelor, Oregon. Jeff Hawe

Sensing a tube and hoping to find it. Mexico. 2018. Colin Wiseman

Tom Herron and I stop for a wave check in October during a 100-year stormIm not seeing much, but Im certainly hearing the rumble. Oregon. 2013. Jeff Hawe

Following Tom Burt down the course at the 30th annual Mount Baker Legendary Banked Slalom. Washington. 2016. Kevin McHugh

Devon Raney, 2013. Jeff Hawe

Still Sideways

Riding the Edge Again After Losing My Sight

Patagonia publishes a select list of titles on wilderness, wildlife, and outdoor sports that inspire and restore a connection to the natural world.

Copyright 2019 Devon Raney

Foreword Tom Burt, Jeff Hawe

Photograph copyrights held by the photographer as indicated in captions.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher and copyright holders. Requests should be emailed to or mailed to Patagonia Books, Patagonia Inc., 259 W. Santa Clara St., Ventura, CA 93001-2717.

Hardcover Edition

Printed in Canada on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

Editors Sarah Morgans, John Dutton

Photo Editor Kyle Sparks

Designer/Art Director Christina Speed

Project Manager Jennifer Patrick

Production Rafael Dunn

Photo Production Sus Corez

Creative Director Bill Boland

Creative Advisor Jennifer Ridgeway

Director of Books Karla Olson

Hardcover ISBN 978-1-938340-89-5

E-Book ISBN 978-1-938340-90-1

Library of Congress Control Number 9781938340895

Published by Patagonia Works

Contents

CHAPTER 1
This Is How Ive Always Seen It

CHAPTER 2
I Want to Marry You

CHAPTER 3
Red Herring

CHAPTER 4
Down the Hill From Baker

CHAPTER 5
Tandem Snowboarding

CHAPTER 6
Raised by Skaters and Surfers

CHAPTER 7
Go to Know

CHAPTER 8
Its Time for an Adventure

CHAPTER 9
Bikes, Boards, Blind

CHAPTER 10
The Medicine of Laughter

CHAPTER 11
Work Ethic and Heart

CHAPTER 12
Slow Down

CHAPTER 13
I Have Run as Far as I Can Go

CHAPTER 14
Ride Powder With Family and Friends

CHAPTER 15
A 41-Year-Old Sixth-Grader

Nose to the grindstone. I have to supersize the type on the computer screen to write. 2016. Jeff Hawe

Tom Burt, World-Renowned Pro Snowboard Rider and Designer

Jeff Hawe, Adventure Sports Photographer

Tom Burt: Make a fist with each hand and put them right up close to your eyesalmost touching your eyes, with your thumbs touching your nose. This is what I imagine Devon can see from his description of his vision. Try it before you read any more, just to get an idea.

Devon obviously doesnt see much. His central vision is gone. Just his peripheral vision is left. This means his brain only catches contrast and motion, but only out to about twenty feet away. His only vision in focus is within about six inches of his eyes. An example: when he crosses the street, he doesnt know where to step off the curb because there is no contrast to the street, everything looks flat, but as he walks to the other side, the vertical of the curb creates contrast due to the shadows and he knows something is there and steps up it.

He uses his eyes differently than you or me by moving his eyes up, down, or sideways to move his peripheral vision where he wants to look. If he is following me snowboarding, he never looks at me directly, but moves his eyes so his peripheral vision catches my contrast and motion. He then just has to trust me and follow. But we still have to be in that twenty-foot range. He can read off a computer but he has to sit within that half foot of a large screen and blow up the image to read only a couple words at a time across the screen. Emails are manageable, but a book would take painstakingly long to read, so audiobooks are now his staple.

If you meet Devon, you might not even be aware that he cant see you. He doesnt use a cane. He will walk into the room, shake your hand, and walk around the room without running into anything. Most people are fooled by this charade and it puts him at a disadvantage. The water is the most comfortable place with his vision loss because a wave has contrast and motion as it stands up and breaks. He surfs amazingly well by reading that motion and contrast of the wave to dip under the lip for a quick cover up, hit the lip, or cut back, usually riding the wave to its end. Most people in the water have no clue that they are invisible to him. But since he cant see if someone else is on that wave when he takes off, he sometimes drops in on another surfer; a no-no in surf etiquette, so people can get pissed at him. If Im in the water, it is easy for me to defuse a pissed-off surfer by explaining Devons vision, but he is often surfing by himself, and doesnt say a word. Instead, he leaves the water, not wanting to cause more of a scene.

Devon has a try-it-and-see-what-works attitude that lets him get away with this style of approach. He is not afraid to go for it, but at the same time, he pays the price when something goes wrong. It can be mental, like dropping in on someone, but it is usually a physical price, like when he is following me snowboarding and the snow changes from flat to bumpy. He of course cannot see it and gets tossed. He takes brutal falls, but Devon always gets back up, tries to shake it off, and keeps going, even when he is obviously in pain.

He rarely gets discouraged, but sometimes all the challenges get him mentally beat down, frustrated, and discouraged by not being able to accomplish something because he cant see. That is where it is important to consider what he wants to do and that it may have to be done in a different way. Whenever Im around and I see the frustration, I put my fist to my eyes, imagine what he can see, and try to figure out how we can come up with a way to get it done. We have overcome a few things together, but he is the one who really has to deal with his lifes new challenges. And in most ways he has. He has swallowed his pride over not being able to provide for his family, being dependent upon others, and accepting that certain things he just cannot do anymore. He now needs help for many things that are no-brainers for a sighted person. At the same time he is always reinventing new ways for himself to lessen those burdens by trying new ways of doing things and thus be more independent.