The Things You Learn

 I don't often talk about my health issues here but I'm making an exception today. I have macular degeneration which means I am slowly losing my vision. I'm lucky that in my case it has been very slow but over the past year I've been beginning to really notice deficiencies in what I can see. Macular degeneration is when the macula, which is the part of the retina that gives you clear vision through your line of sight, disintegrates meaning you lose the central part of your vision. In my case at the moment this means I have blurred bits in the middle of whatever I'm focussing on and other things are distorted. So far it's not too bad because my peripheral vision in my better eye is compensating to some degree but this isn't always the case so sometimes I can see with only slight blurring but on a bad day I might not be able see the face of someone who is only a a relatively short distance away from me. This can change quite fast so at one time I can see relatively well but within minutes it can change so much of the world is a blur. Because it's so erratic I've had to give up driving because I can't be certain that I'll be able to see consistently enough to drive safely. 

All this makes life more complicated and I'm having to find ways to live with this condition. These are things like making sure that everything is put away in the same place in the pantry for instance so that on a bad day I can still find it and insisting that nothing is left out where it can be tripped over. I'm not yet at the point where I need much assistance but things like reading can be problematic if the font is small for instance. My laptop and Kindle are a great help here because I can enlarge the font and I've put magnifying glasses strategically around the house, even carrying a small one in my handbag, to make this easier.

Largely I've been working out these things for myself but now I've had a visit from an occupational therapist who works with those who have mobility and vision problems and I can see  a whole new world opening up. One thing she suggested was to upgrade our lighting and she made her point by bringing in a lamp with a much stronger whiter light than we've generally got around here. I'm still in shock as to how much difference this made. I had thought the lighting around here was perfectly adequate but it seems I was wrong The reading sheet she had me do at the beginning of the session where I struggled to read the last lines became clear enough for me to read them, not perfectly clear but good enough. This was only part of what she suggested and we now have a list of changes to work through. Some are expensive but most are relatively cheap. Who'd have thought there was so much we could do to live with this condition.

The OT was also very helpful with regard to my back problems which have morphed over the last few months from somewhat painful which is inconvenient but manageable to very painful and debilitating. It turns out there are things out there which she thinks will help and I have to say I hope she's right. One of these is a new bed. Apparently mattresses only last seven years.  I've no intention of telling you how old mine is but let's say it's quite a lot older than that. There's also a stool that I could use in the kitchen for less standing and she says I need a new office chair (that last is not a surprise but I realise now I cannot put it off any longer). There was much other food for thought and I'm actually looking forward to my next appointment which is to be at a speciality shop aptly named The Back Shop.