Spectacles

Amazingly, it’s been five years since Susan got the new glasses that followed visual loss brought on by her brain tumor and stroke. We visited the low-vision specialists at the Southern California College of Optometry at that time and got her fitted for a pair of single-vision lenses. Later, we discovered that a doctor at our usual optometry office specializes in low-vision and neurological patients, and is in fact an instructor at the college. Dr Ikeda arranged for Susan to have vision therapy in 2007 and 2008; but it had been a while since our last visit. 

We fixed that with eye exams a couple of weeks ago. I stayed with Susan for her exam so I could inform Dr Ikeda about her recent health history and other in details. Her aphasia hasn’t improved much and makes it a challenge to communicate. While I wondered how we’d manage when it was time for her to read the eye chart, my concern was realized. As hard as she tried, she got stuck on J. She saw an A said it was J. So was F and D and so on. “That’s a J,” she called R, frustrated it wasn’t what she meant.

Dr Ikeda’s experience with neuro-impaired patients quickly kicked in with a surprisingly simple remedy. He asked her to draw each letter in the air as she saw it. It was perfect. She saw a G and drew a G, even though she still said it was J. No matter. She moved down the chart, drawing each letter on an invisible tablet as the type became smaller and smaller. More surprising than the language remedy is how well she sees. I knew this already by the crumbs she finds on the table so easily, but her exam defined it. It was exciting to watch her work the eye chart so well.

Her visual field test confirmed the visual loss caused by her stroke – her right visual area is just wiped out. She’s done a great job learning to accommodate and has maintained what she learned in vision therapy four years ago. She adjusts by scanning horizontally, moving her eyes and head more than the rest of us need to.

Her new glasses have an updated single-vision prescription; plus Dr Ikeda added a prism on the right side to pull in more visual info to make up for her peripheral loss. The prism bothers her – but she’s getting used to it. She’s worn her new glasses all weekend after refusing them on Thursday and Friday.

We’re thankful for new glasses to replace what I thought in 2007 might be the last pair she’d ever have. We’re thankful for Dr Ikeda’s great help and my company’s great vision insurance. We’re thankful for our abundant life, for our kids, and for the goodness of God.

We'll repeat a blood test this week and will most likely begin Susan's next 5-day course of Temodar chemotherapy if her labs look okay.