Vision Rehabilitation Success Stories
Today, Tom and Jeanette are seeing more than they ever expected ...
Tom Aldridge
Tom Aldridge of Concord, North Carolina, is a typical 61 year-old macular degeneration patient. He began losing his vision in 1986 and was legally blind two years later. Tom was resigned to a life in which he could only distinguish the faces of his grandchildren if he stood within a few feet and looked with his side vision.
Then, in 1996, Tom was shown a newspaper article that described how the Center for Vision Rehabilitation in Durham was treating macular degeneration patients with a new AutoFocus Telescope, specially designed for the visually impaired. This computer-controlled, battery-powered miniature telescope sits atop a pair of eyeglasses and magnifies objects four times their usual size. The 2.5 oz. device, like an autofocus camera, sends out an infrared beam that bounces off the object being viewed and triggers a computer chip that calculates the distance to the object. A motor the size of a child's fingernail focuses the lens, and the entire process happens within a third of a second.
After Tom spoke with his ophthalmologist about the AutoFocus Telescope, Tom's doctor called the Center for Vision Rehabilitation. After a 45-minute telephone interview with the Center's Dr. Henry Greene, Tom scheduled an appointment for an evaluation. Since Tom qualified for, responded well to, and now wears the AutoFocus Telescope, his life hasn't been quite the same.
One of Tom's passions is feeding wild birds, and it has been many years since he's been able to see the birds in his backyard. Thanks to the AutoFocus Telescope, Tom can now tell a cardinal from a bluejay. And when he isn't birding, Tom can now recline in his easy chair to watch his favorite team compete, instead of sitting within two feet of his television.
Most satisfying of all, Tom can now focus on each one of his rambunctious grandchildren and watch them grow. And that makes a grandfather very proud.
Jeanette Hundley
When Jeanette Hundley of Nashville, Tennessee, was diagnosed and successfully treated for a brain tumor a year ago at age 45, she was thankful to be alive. As her recovery progressed, however, she noticed that she had virtually no vision on her right side. While this disability was not life threatening, it nevertheless became a major obstacle in getting back to a normal life.
Jeanette was referred by her neurologist in Nashville to Duke University Medical Center for further testing and to learn if her overall condition could be improved. While there were no medical treatments available to improve her vision, they did refer Jeanette to the Center for Vision Rehabilitation in Durham. The Center had been successful in the past in helping other patients who had suffered similar visual impairments from tumors, stroke and head trauma.
At the Center, Jeanette was evaluated by Dr. Henry Greene; and he told her that although her vision would never be normal, he could dramatically improve her ability to see to the side.
With a special pair of prismatic glasses, which function similarly to a side-view mirror on a car, Jeanette is now able to accomplish things that most of us take for granted. She can see people sitting with her in a group, she can more safely walk through crowds, and she can more fully enjoy going to the movies again.
Thanks to Jeanette's trip to Durham, seeing is no longer such a great challenge. Sometimes we don't think about some of the simple things until we lose them -- like seeing our friends, family, and even strangers around us. Fortunately, the vision care expertise and technology that Jeanette needed was available at the Center for Vision Rehabilitation.