Archive for August 13, 2017

Less than 5 degrees looks like…

A question I am regularly asked is “What can you see?”  It’s actually a tricky question to answer, because I can answer it medically (with percentages and terminology) or literally (I can see your face, but not the colour of your eyes!)

Facebook has been throwing around an image that may help.

My vision currently sits at just under 3 degrees (some call percent) central vision, with nystagmus (involuntary twitch) and a distance vision that is classed as ‘finger counting’ (I can’t even read the top letter of the eye chart, just fingers that the nurse holds up-as long as she does this against a contrasting background)

Complicated right?

The image that many friends have shared lately on Facebook is quite helpful:

Images shows visual field on a semi-circular diagram, breaking down the different parts of the view. With the centre 5% highlighted and standing out from the main diagram.

This diagram details what an eye can see while looking forward and focussing in on a spot or image, without moving the eyes or head the majority of people will have a good range of ‘far peripheral’

where as I have just the central vision (just 5 degrees of overall sight) and thus stands at less that 3 degrees for me.

Despite common misconception this doesn’t mean that the rest of my vision is black or dark, it just isn’t there.  Many RP (retinitis websites show photographs for a sighted person and for an RP sufferer.

Two images side by side, left image is of a lake with waterfall surrounded by autumnal trees. The right side of the image has all but a small proportion of the image blacked out, just showing he waterfall part along with the caption "view for someone with Retinitus Pigmentosa

They show the RP view of the same photograph with the outer area blacked out, many friends took these images literally I thought I saw a lot of black.

I can see the whole picture; only it takes concentration, scanning and an element of memory to get the same result.  Or what I believe to he the same result as someone without my eye condition.

 

Summer showers

I can’t be the only guide dog owner this relates to?  Surely there are more like me?

This is what they call a ‘3rd world problem’

when irs humid and it rains in the summer months, I can but only GET WET!

Yku see. When everyone around me is reaching for the umbrella, I have to make a decision;  do I put on a coat with a hood (which even a lightweight jacket is too hot) or so I get wet?

When I was trained with both Vicky and Fizz, the importance of hand signals with a guide dog were just as important, if not more important that the words I spoke.

I can, just about get away with carrying a bag or pulling a suitcase when I am working my guide dog, nuts en this isn’t easy.

So, when it rains I don’t even carry a umbrella.  Which in the summer mo the means making the decision between sweating in a plastic mac or getting wet.

Most of the time, I choose getting wet!

However, saying that, this summer is different.  This summer I have hearing aids, this summer I have looked at other options, none have been feesable, so now on a day that is set to rain, I am dressed with a jacket, a thin top and the hope that I can dash between places instead of getting stuck in a rain shower.

Like I said, 3rd world problems ….

Can you see me?

A friend asked me yesterday what I saw when I looked at her face in person not by looking at a photo.

We were sat only a coffee table width away from each other, so not far from each other.

As someone who has always had poor sight (although not as bad as it is now) I have no ‘normal’ memories of sight to refer to.

I usually explain it as. I can see the shadow of your eye, but not the colour or even the white in them.  I can see the darker colour of your mouth, but no detail or if you have food in your teeth.

 

But this doesn’t really help.

So, a quick look for an app at that App store and this is what I came up with.


A photograph of my face blurred to look the way I see it.

Can you see me?

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