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THE MACULAR
DEGENERATION COMMUNITY

Kathy


 

Name
Kathy Stone

Born
1956

Home
Gresham, OR

Diagnosis
Myopic degeneration

Eyes Affected
Right

Eye Color
Grey-Blue

Age at Diagnosis
46

Visual Acuity
High myopia (-20.00+D)

Treatment
None available at this time.

Prognosis or Current State of Vision
Have central and peripheral vision loss plus no depth perception in right eye. Left eye holding its own for now.

Family History
Mother wears glasses for driving only, and dad wears glasses for reading. Have two other sisters who are high myopes, one of whom is legally blind, due to complications from herpes when she was young and also a cataract surgery that wasn't successful. She was also told by a retinal specialist that she has myopic degeneration in both eyes. Haven't been able to figure it out, since there is no family history of high myopia.

Impact on My Life
Being as I have had poor eyesight all my life, and being told in my 20's I might end up "visually challenged" when I was older, it's not nearly as difficult as those who see fine and then lose their vision suddenly. I gave up driving at night years ago, since my contacts cannot fit properly, and I get a lot of halos from lights. I do drive locally during daylight hours. As long as my left eye is OK, it shouldn't have a great impact but once it starts to go, I'm sure it will be an adjustment. My legally blind sister is an inspiration to me.

Positive Effects
It may force me to find a job that I would REALLY love, i.e., working with dogs!

Adaptations
None for now, other than buying a LCD monitor, which I hear is easier on the eyes.

Working
I've worked the last 16 years for the major newspaper here in Oregon in the Classified Department (30 hours per week.)

More About Me
I've been married to a wonderful, supportive husband for the last 20 years. I have a 24-year-old son, who is blessed with normal vision (but needs to move out!!). Interests include hiking (especially the beautiful Columbia River Gorge), West Coast Swing dancing, gardening, cross stitch/needlepoint, reading, and dalmatian rescue. We have two dalmatians ourselves. One is a little deaf female. I trained her using basic obedience hand signals and some sign language, but she definitely has selective seeing at times!



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