The FDA has approved a treatment for what I have. It's not something I'd want to pursue at this point, but that's the first time I can say anything remotely close to the previous sentence, which is pretty damn cool.
My friend Andrew, who has the same condition, pointed me to the article (short and easy to read):
Implantable Telescope for the Eye
There are several reasons this isn't something I'd jump to get. First off, after about 19 years of having the exact same quirk in my vision (namely, a blind spot), I've gotten used to it. I can't really imagine what it would be like to see big things in one eye and the whole picture in the other. I already have spotty depth perception, and this probably would exacerbate the issue. I also can't imagine having to constantly switch from one eye to the other. Plus, there are the usual risks associated with any invasive surgery, especially one that involves as sensitive an organ as the eye.
I have the luxury of what is generally functional vision, so I have the choice. There are others with much worse cases of macular degeneration who could really benefit from this. And, hey, maybe I'll opt for it at some point. It's nice to know that it's out there at all, and that people are actually working on fixing this.
Showing posts with label macular degeneration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label macular degeneration. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Shining Stargardt's
Q: So, What exactly is wrong with your eyes?
A: First of all, I like to think of myself as "differently sighted." (JK, LOL.)
I have what's commonly known as Stargardt's Disease. Okay, maybe not "commonly known," since barely anyone has ever heard of it... but there are other names, and that one happens to be easy to say (if not spell).
I wanted to link to the Wikipedia page to explain it, but it's not very helpful. SO here's how it's been explained to me:
If the eye were a camera (a traditional camera, not one of those stupid digital things), the retina would be the film. Light bounces off an object and travels through the rest of the eye to hit the retina to make the image.
The macula is the center of the retina, and it deals with everything in your central vision, including the most accurate stuff that you use to identify words, faces, and random twisted metal on the side of the road. While you use your peripheral (outer) vision to perceive a moving object coming from the side, you use the central vision to identify things.
SOme of us are lucky enough to have "macular degeneration," where the macula -- clearing house for all that useful central vision -- gets eaten away. Most people with macular degeneration get it when they're older, and the onset is pretty fast. In my case, Stargardt's, it happens before the age of 20 -- or, in my case, before the age of 10 -- and sticks around for the rest of your life.
One advantage of STargardt's, as opposed to the older and more common kind, is that the damage is often pretty limited. In my case, I just have a small blind spot. I've met other people with the same condition, and it seems to affect everyone a little differently; mine stopped its progress when I was about 12, and some people get progressively worse. So, actually, I'm pretty lucky.
At the moment, there's no treatment, and I don't really expect one. Most of us Sytargardt's people do pretty well; we're reasonably successful, often a little bookish (ironic, because we can't really read much), and unusually friendly. There doesn't seem to be any great urgency to find a cure, and I'll probably be OK as is for the next several decades Still, the thought does cross my mind of what it would be like to have normal sight. Now, what exactly does that mean, again?
A: First of all, I like to think of myself as "differently sighted." (JK, LOL.)
I have what's commonly known as Stargardt's Disease. Okay, maybe not "commonly known," since barely anyone has ever heard of it... but there are other names, and that one happens to be easy to say (if not spell).
I wanted to link to the Wikipedia page to explain it, but it's not very helpful. SO here's how it's been explained to me:
If the eye were a camera (a traditional camera, not one of those stupid digital things), the retina would be the film. Light bounces off an object and travels through the rest of the eye to hit the retina to make the image.
The macula is the center of the retina, and it deals with everything in your central vision, including the most accurate stuff that you use to identify words, faces, and random twisted metal on the side of the road. While you use your peripheral (outer) vision to perceive a moving object coming from the side, you use the central vision to identify things.
SOme of us are lucky enough to have "macular degeneration," where the macula -- clearing house for all that useful central vision -- gets eaten away. Most people with macular degeneration get it when they're older, and the onset is pretty fast. In my case, Stargardt's, it happens before the age of 20 -- or, in my case, before the age of 10 -- and sticks around for the rest of your life.
One advantage of STargardt's, as opposed to the older and more common kind, is that the damage is often pretty limited. In my case, I just have a small blind spot. I've met other people with the same condition, and it seems to affect everyone a little differently; mine stopped its progress when I was about 12, and some people get progressively worse. So, actually, I'm pretty lucky.
At the moment, there's no treatment, and I don't really expect one. Most of us Sytargardt's people do pretty well; we're reasonably successful, often a little bookish (ironic, because we can't really read much), and unusually friendly. There doesn't seem to be any great urgency to find a cure, and I'll probably be OK as is for the next several decades Still, the thought does cross my mind of what it would be like to have normal sight. Now, what exactly does that mean, again?
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