Vision

I have amblyopia. Amblyopia, or "lazy eye," is the loss of one eye's ability to see details. I was diagnosed in first grade. (I might have been diagnosed in kindergarten, but when I couldn’t read the eye chart, I thought I would be in trouble, so I peeked with my right eye…)


Amblyopia occurs when the nerve pathway from one eye to the brain does not develop correctly during childhood. This occurs because the abnormal eye sends a blurred image or wrong image to the brain, confusing the brain, and the brain learns to ignore the image from the weaker eye.

In my case I was far sighted in my left eye, and had normal vision in my right… when my right eye is closed, I see only a blur of color. Nothing is defined. And I have no depth perception. (This may be why I had no trouble jumping out of a plane- just can’t see how high I am…)

Glasses don’t help. Nothing really helps. I actually was told by an eye doctor that I would slowly lose vision over my lifetime and eventually be unable to see. I was still in grade school. I didn’t go back to an eye doctor till after college. (The Peace Corps required the visit as part of my physical.) That is when I met Ray Nisi. He told me the other doctor (a man he knew and was not impressed by) was wrong. That my risk was an injury or illness to my good eye, that for me it was more important to have an eye exam yearly.

Oopps…

So I did go… every year I was in New York, I would see Ray and get checked. Until 2006.

Then I moved to Ohio… And my vision plan did not cover Ophthalmologists, only Optometrists… And since I needed a dilated exam…(that in NY can only be done by Ophthalmologists who are pricy)  I didn’t go… The only time I even thought about it is when I renewed my driver’s license.

Then about a year ago, I started having trouble reading. So I bought the cheap readers at Walmart, 3 pair for $15…

Which helped a bit. But I found myself putting down books to rest my eyes. Using the larger font at work and enlarging with the zoom-out on my computer. I increased my lighting and read less at night.

I needed to see the eye doctor. I added it to MyHealthPlan at work- which tracks healthy behaviors. And I made an appointment. And had to cancel. And made a second appointment. And cancelled again.

I meant to read 52 books this year (My record is 83 in a year so it was not an impossible goal) but I just could not get through.

It was becoming a real problem. I love to read.

Not to mention the 50 points I get on MyHealthPlan. Another couple of hundred points and I earn a half day off…

So I went to the Optometrist at the Sears Optical next to Jungle Jim’s. A really nice guy. He did an extensive exam and will dilate my eyes at my follow-up (They have a wider scope of practice here in Ohio).

I have an astigmatism up and down and an astigmatism side to side that almost but don’t quite cancel each other out. So real reading glasses are on the way. And with a 2 for $99 special, I will have a pair for home and a pair for work

45- oh the joy…