Reprinted from Webrn-maculardegeneration.com
A recent e-mail from a reader shares how her uncle has benefited from a low vision practice that utilizes neuro-optometry and optics.
“My uncle who is 82 has macular degeneration. He requires continuous injections in one of his eyes and can no longer drive. A friend of mine whose 90-year old Mother is legally blind from AMD told me about a low vision doctor in my state of NJ who made her Mother a pair of glasses which not only allowed her to see her daughter’s facial features, she can now read the newspaper.
So, I made an appointment for my Uncle; there is a six month waiting period, however, we were lucky enough to get a cancellation appointment. After two hours of testing, the doctor gave my Uncle a pair of loaner reading glasses which allowed him to read tiny print.
This was amazing as previously he could only read with a magnifying glass or with his Kindle set on one of the largest fonts. The doctor uses prisms to make his glasses. He locates the area of the retina that is healthy and redirects that area to the front of the eye with the prisms, and the result is amazing. Apparently, he is the only low vision doctor in the country doing this type of work.
My Uncle was given several handouts with various size print as “homework” and was told to read them for 30 minutes every night. Apparently, you need to practice with these glasses to train your brain to be comfortable using them. The doctor’s wife told me that people who read a lot seem to do better with theses glasses. The process is called “Retinal Image Translocation” (RIT).
If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’m bringing my Uncle back in six weeks to pick up his new bifocals; the doctor said these bifocals will improve his vision to 20/40 so he’ll be legal to drive again. Needless to say, my Uncle is thrilled. He told me yesterday that he’s reading the newspaper with his loaner readers everyday and that he was able to put his Kindle on the smallest print.”