Today, I drove Ernie and myself to work. It was nice for my confidence to have him as a passenger, just in case I needed help merging or whatever, but I managed just fine. My gas bubble has shrunk enough to see the dashboard while I look straight ahead, and I have basic peripheral vision back in my left eye - or at least enough to see if a car is approaching on the left side. While my vision is still pretty blurry in my left (surgery) eye, my vision is good enough in my right eye to safely be out on the road, and my doctor did officially clear me to drive at my appointment last week. Though I still intend to limit my night driving, it feels good to regain some of my independence, and like a 16-year-old who just got her license, I find myself creating errands for which driving is necessary to accomplish.
These past five weeks have given me a glimpse of some of the challenges people with limited vision face, and I feel compelled to find a way to help them. After doing some research online, I found the Sacramento Society for the Blind. I plan to let myself heal a bit more, but soon, I would like to reach out to them and see if there are any volunteer opportunities that may be a match to my skills and availability.
I have also discovered that the Lions Club International has taken the prevention of blindness on as one its core missions. Specifically, their SightFirst program's mission is "to build eye care systems in underserved communities to fight blindness and vision loss and assist blind and visually impaired persons." I think this is absolutely wonderful, and I wonder why I did not know about this until now. This is another cause for which I would like to become involved.
I have been reminded through comments on my previous blog posts about how blessed I am to live in a country with advanced health care systems and to have the means to afford access to this care. It easy to take such things for granted when wallowing in self pity during a crisis, but now, while I am more confidently on the mend, I am extra thankful. Even before my retina detachment, I have often wondered what my life would have been like even a hundred years ago with my extreme myopia and astigmatism. My glasses would have been coke bottles, and any thoughts of vanity would have been futile. Today, even my "thick" lenses are relatively thin, and they have done amazing things with gas permeable contact lenses that allowed me to see crisply without glasses at all. I am thankful to live in a place and time where these technologies exist, not to mention retina specialists and hospitals to conduct such delicate surgeries. The Lion's Clubs' SightFirst program envisions a world where such access is universal around the world. To the extent that we can save people from blindness anywhere in the world, we should endeavor to try.
I so appreciate the vision I have now and the vision I still hope to regain, and driving to work today, I felt a lot of hope. Independence is something most adults take for granted... until their own independence is compromised. If there is a way I can help other people who have suffered vision loss feel more confident and independent, I want to take it on.
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