Okay, that is a pretty dramatic title. It was low vision rehab. Just like Lindsay Lohan, I don’t think my rehab will work either. Today at Dr. Astorino’s office, Dawn had me try prescription glasses for distance, stand magnifiers, and contrast enhancing glare filters — basically sunglasses but with amber, orange, plum, and light gray lenses. My vision was worse than normal today and my eye was watering quite a bit, so I was eager to see if anything would make a significant impact on my sight.
I was really surprised at the difference the glare filters made on both contrast and depth. I tried about 34957285 different colors, with amber working out best. I guess it really is the color of my energy… Last week during my visit, Dr. Astorino put a few lenses together to help me see for distance. Today, I tried them on to watch TV in her office, walking around her office, and then looking around outside. Since the lenses were in one of those bulky lense holders, it was hard to get a good feel for them while walking around. Watching TV and looking around outside it was slightly better. At $205, I did think about not getting them since it was a slight difference. In the end, though, I thought any improvement was better than nothing.
I go back tomorrow to have a look at portable electronic magnifiers, Kindle, iPad (like I need a doctor to tell me I need on of those,) and a couple other things. I’m kind of excited to check out the Kindle, though you can’t reverse the screen to do white text on black which is about the only way I can comfortably read. I’ve missed reading magazines and would love to read a book. Of course, I can do that at my desk on my computer, but it’d be awesome to sit on the porch on a nice day and read.
While I was somewhat happy that there are things to help me out, it is only a small step forward. Like my dad says when I tell him his stock was up a penny, “at least it didn’t go down.” Forward is better than backward, but I want more.