Recently I was speaking to a Lion’s Club on the Southside. An older gentleman asked me if there was a cure for his wife’s macular degeneration. She was really struggling with her vision loss and he had heard there were vitamins she could take that would reverse the disease. I have heard this question many times. People have been struck with vision loss and they and their loved ones are grasping at any solution that may provide some hope of regaining their sight.
It is always painful to have to admit there is nothing medically that can be done to help someone regain vision loss. I do mention that there are treatments for the wet variant of macular degeneration including laser and injection procedures. But these only work on the wet variant and only stop more damage from occurring.
This does not mean there is nothing that can be done about macular degeneration, especially for those at risk of developing macular degeneration. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) sponsored by the National Eye Institute found that taking high levels of antioxidants and zinc can reduce the risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration by about 25 percent. For more information on the AREDS, please visit: http://www.nei.nih.gov/amd/summary.asp.
But sadly for this man and his wife and the millions of people with irreversible vision loss, once the damage is done there is not much medically that can be done.
But in that moment between question and answer is truly the challenge facing the Guild and all agencies that serve people with vision loss. What we offer is the skills and confidence to live a rich and productive life with vision loss, what people want is to get their sight back. From a promotion standpoint, it is lose-lose. We are offering programs and services that people inherently need but do not want.
I, for one, would never deprive anyone of the hope of a cure for vision loss. In these times of medical advances, it would be foolish to assume that the current situation predicts the future. But, on the other hand, I think one should not simply wait for the cure. There is too much life to living that can be accomplished by receiving visual rehabilitation.
So while the Guild offers a wonderful array of programs and services, our greatest challenge remains convincing people that there is value in visual rehabilitation. While we cannot restore your vision, we can help provide a richer life with vision loss.
