I spoke with Phyllis Jamison yesterday. She wanted to let me know how well she is doing with her new low vision glasses. She has had them for a month.
Phyllis has had diabetes for years and has required laser treatment to her left eye in hopes of slowing vision loss from diabetic retinopathy. In addition to that, she has been treated for a retinal detachment in the right eye. The vision is much poorer in Phyllis' left eye. "I see almost nothing with my left eye" she told me.
When she came to me she was seeing only about 20/120 with the right and much poorer with the left eye. She had no glasses and had to sit about 4 feet from her TV to watch. She was not able to read her large print Bible or anything else. Most of all she wanted to be able to go back to driving.
I was able to prescribe special low vision glasses that allow Phyllis to read a large print Bible easily and she can also read the newspaper. Phyllis told me yesterday that she is now reading her church lessons easily and when she looks at photos with the glasses they have much more color than before.
I also prescribed telescopic glasses that Phyllis will be able to use for driving when she has met the DMV's requirement of using them for 2 months in order to get used to them. In the meantime, she told me that with them she can recognize her friends faces across the church sanctuary and she can read the words on her TV. Now she does not have to sit so close to the screen.
"All in all, Dr. Armstrong, they are wonderful. I am ecstatic about them. I am doing great with my special glasses. I have been bragging about you, Dr. Armstrong".
Phyllis Jamison is an example of someone who has benefited from low vision glasses. In addition to helping those with diabetic retinopathy, like Phyllis, they often help people with macular degeneration, Stargardts Disease, inoperable cataracts, glaucoma and many other conditions which cause reduced vision.
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