h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I had a really depressed day yesterday. I had tp go to the optician in order to have further tests for my eyes, and I suddenly began t realise that my sight is quite appalling. It has got so fairly quickly; I have in fact not been able to read books or newspapers for quite a few years, but now it is pratically everything.

It is apparently due to diabetes. I was supposed ti have further tests yesterday but as the optician was running late I decided to change it to Monday.

and then began thinking.

How on earth does one get used to losing one's sight.? I have a dear young secretary/carer who is extremely kind and is helping me enormously. but how else does one cope?
Do I go to the local loss of sight group - if there is one - ask them for help. Or do I - well what?

Amyway having had a full day of feeling very sorry ofr myself, I decided to try and snap out of it.

With affection

Christiane
Ar80

20/III/2010 4/50 GMT

I'm so sorry to hear about your decline in vision. I'm not sure what I would do under similar circumstances. I think I would lose myself in music whenever I could, but as to the practicalities of day to day living, I don't know. Are there voice recognition programs that could help you on the computer? Finding a support group sounds like a great idea, but I don't know where to start looking. Maybe the local library would know of such a group. I feel helpless to help, but am here to listen at least.

Hello Christiane

I can only echo what JEllen has said.
It's my biggest fear, losing my sight. I could cope with just about everything else, so I can imagine how scared and frustrated you are.

Your friends are here, for as long as you are

andAnnie/GB (Saturday 20 March, 9am)

My dear JEllen and GBl

How kind of you both to reply. It is funnily the thing I have always been nervous of, though I wonder if being deaf is perhaps worse. I know I have always felt incredibly sad for Beethoven. What a dreadful affliction for him to have and when I think that he was never able to "hear" the sublime music that he composed, no wonder that he was occasionally bad tempered, !!

Anyway, I first complained about my eyesight in South africa about 25 years ago. I was examined and they did suspect that something was going on. I always put it down to the fact that I used to teach swimming in Central Africa. Although I always wore dark glasses which had really good lens in them, for the first week of the swimming season the whites of my eyes used to be completely bloodshot with the reflection of the sun on the white tiles.. Then it would settle down. I know I also suffered from snow blindness once. I am just remembering this whilst writing to you

Anyway, I wonder how I am going to keep in contact with all of you. I have just taken on a new young secretary/companion and hope that she might be able to be my "eyes" so to speak.

Anyway, as my darling Dick used to say.
"Another day, another dollar" so I had better get myself jacked up and learn to live with it.

With much affection

Christiane
AR80

Saturday 20/III/2010 9.30 GMT

Christiane, you must feel devastated but you must persevere as long as you can. Like others, I have always feared for my sight since my parents kept saying 'look after your eyes' as they both wore glasses fairly young.

I am not sure if you are aware, but there are at least two people on h2g2 who are blind or partially sighted that I am aware of. I hope they will join this conversation and perhaps give you some consolation.

In the meantime, make the best of every day. I was reading some of the things that appear on the Internet that have been written by you, and you certainly get around. Your life has been amazing, you have overcome so many challenges, and this is just another hurdle which I am sure you will surmount with your usual courage.



Websailor

Dear Christiane,

Have you or your assistant looked at the RNIB website? www.rnib.org.uk

They will have ideas of the sort of help you can access if you wish to.

I know they do a Talking Books service where you can borrow audio books. There is a subscription for this nowadays but you may want to consider it.

I'm sure others will come along with more support. You take care,

Jules

Very dear Ws and JulesK,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful postings and the suggested avenues I can explore. At the moment I am wondering how to break it to darling K. Of course I know he was aware that my eyesight was failing- he was the one who advised me to stop driving over two years ago when I startedf having too many encounters with pavements , and things. Fortunately ne and very kindly told me some time ago that he will look after me the way I had cared for him. Which made me really want to cry. It was so generous. I have not yet contacted any support groups. I am just gettubg to realise exactly what it means, At the moment my eyes get incredibly tired and in the afternoon I really cannot do anything.It seens to be happening so fast.

I am hoping that hewill be allowed to come home so that he can can me around as I really dare not go out on my own.

With affection.

Christiane.
Alsoranh80

20/III/2010 13.50 GMT

Christiane,

Having been a glasses wearer since I was very young, losing my sight completely has been a constant fear as my prescription increased (and my lenses were getting thicker) I hope that Monday can give you some peace of mind, and that you can find much needed help.

With love

Mags

My eyes are getting worse, but things are not desperate yet.
My mother had a retina detachment in her early 60s. She turns 90 this year, and still has some eyesight remaining.

I hope that medical intervention can let you level off and keep what you have now, Christiane.

Hi there Christiane AR80! I really hope that this degeneration will NOT happen so fast as you fear ... and that, whatever happens, you will find a way to get by. There are programs that will speak out words on the computer screen; I don't know about speech recognition programs though! Maybe someone else here will know ...

All the best,

Willem

Hi Christiane,

Your computer can read aloud to you. To activate this feature, on my computer, it's just a setting under System Preferences, then Universal Access.

A number of h2g2 researchers are partly or fully blind and can advise you. You might try posting a thread on the Ask The h2g2 Community page A148907 for advise.


Happy Nerd

My computer can read out loud to me too Christiane, and I can choose the voice too. Sometimes it is hilarious, but a great help. It can read what others have typed, and read your own work back to you to help identify errors. Ask your young friend to find it for you if she can.

Websailor

Does it help to have larger print, Christiane? There are gadgets that will magnify print.

There's more information about screen readers here: A11132696

My so dear friends,

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. Amy, Jules K. Mr Nerd and all the others. I have had a long day so am going to relax, and try again tomorrow. I thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

Very sincerely,

Christiane.
AR80

21/III/2010 17.45 GMT

Dear Happy Nerd.

Well the result of the second test was that it was NOT DIABETES BUT MACULA DEGENERATION.

He has asked my GP to send me to hospital. I have looked it up. They seem to say that one can help with 17 vitamins and special veggies. I think apart from the one mineral, and the fact that I have been trying to be a vegetarian, I have all the other recommended things. Twenty five years ago I had problems in south africa and went to see an eye specialist who told me that I only had peripheral vision. I had a cataract in my left eye and that was operated on. Then about eight years ago I had problems again and I had another cataract in the other eye which was operated on in Kent. so I suppose that it is now my poor old body wearing itself out.!!

I said that I am like an old tree - various parts of me slowly decaying and dying off. !!

Anyway, I must now pluck up my courage and see what the opthamologist at the hospital says. apparently they say it is important to do whatever has to be done as quckly as opossible., but as there is the added problem of very high BP I do not know what we can do. Except wait for the inevitable. !!

Oh dear.

Go Well dear friends,

Christiane
AR80
Tuesday 24/III/2010 15.15 GMT

Hello Christiane. My circulation supervisor has macular degeneration. It was discovered about 3 years ago. She has been able to slow down the advancement of the degeneration by having injections of some sort into her eyes every two months, I believe. I'll check with her to learn the particulars and send the information along to you.

We have magnifier settings on the computer she uses. That helps.

Hang in there. We're all here for you.

With affection,
Hyp

My father has had macular degeneration for maybe a decade. It seems to be progressing rather slowly.

Hi Hyp

well that sounds great. The guy never mentioned injections into the eye, and neither does wikipedia. Anyway, I await your news with great interest.

I was sooo pleased to get your news. However I wonder if perhaps I have had it for years and years when they were busy telling me I had cataracts for which I have had operations in both eyes. !1

with much affection

Christiane

24/III/2010 15.56 GMT

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your info. I was wondering whether in fact I have had a good innings and that what were cataccts were perhpas this degeneration process. I used to teach swimming in Zim. and for the first two weeks of every swiming season I used to have the whites of my eyes which were completely bloodshot from the reflection of the sun on the white tiles. perhaps that damaged my eyes. I always used to get good glasses, but in those far off days |I suppose that the uUV rays were not so understaood or their dangers realised.

One lives and certainly learns......

With affection,

CHristiane.
AR80

24/III/2010 16.03 GMT