LETTERS FROM FRIENDS (page 7)
We get a lot of letters from folks, but
these are a few letters
which may help you understand what people go through.
Hi, I just came across your site and have a few questions and comments.
My story is that five years ago at the age of 19 I was driving at night and
hit off-set head-on by a pickup truck, punching the hood of the car through
the windshield into the shape of a spear, and into my left eye only short of
death. Amazingly my miraculous surgeon had recently been to a medical conference
and, unlike many surgeons at that time, he decided to repair what was left
(not very much) instead of removing the entire thing (there was a common thought
that sympathetic opthalma is a greater risk if the eye is left on a serious
eye-trauma patient-- it turns out that the risk of getting sympathetic opthalma
is no greater than the risk of dying under general anesthetics, so it would
have been pointless to have it removed. But this is one issue it could be helpful
for you to raise. Soon after the accident I started going to see some specialists,
one of whom was a 'top' guy for Lion Eye. He looked at me with shock and proceeded
to tell me horror stories, and insisted that I must have my eye removed immediately
(by now I was recovering from the trauma, with practically no eye, but enough
to wear a scleral shell). I was devastated at the idea of more surgery so soon
after the accident. The next specialist I saw confirmed my surgeon and said
he is amazed at how many doctors, in post-trauma situations, think they must
remove the entire eye, when recent studies show otherwise. The Lion guy was
trying to convince me to schedule the surgery before I even got out of his
office. For a 19 year old I think it is good that I was able to keep what could
be saved, as somehow I didn't experience a complete feeling of loss, though
I am completely sightless in that eye. In addition, the scleral shell I am
fitted with goes unnoticed by 99% of all people I meet. It was comforting to
read your description of the surgery though, because it remains a possibility
that one day I may have to have the rest of the eye removed and have it posted
(at this point I have little more than the socket, but it is enough to allow
the shell to track almost perfectly). Anyways, I think your site is great,
and I wish there had been something like that after my accident (though the
book you recommended was the first thing I read back then).
One question, have you ever heard of the possibility that a loss in sight of
one eye can physiologically contribute to any sort of attention deficit? I
find I really have problems focusing mentally at times, more than in the past,
and wonder if there is a relationship?
Also, if you want I could recommend an amazing ocularist on the east coast for those not out in your area-- jahrling prosthetics is a family operation in Boston-- they are highly rated nationally, and give amazing service and support-- and they are perfectionists, as I said, even my own family forgets which eye it is, and have to search for the scars on my cheek to tell. Even in photographs I think the fake one often looks much better than my other one if anything.
I'm rambling on, it isn't often I encounter people with the similar experience of one-eye sight, though its amazing how common it actually is. Anyways, I have promised myself that when I have the money to burn I'm going to have a prosthetic made and painted with an 8 ball to scare the hell out of people when I'm playing pool (I'm better than most with two eyes at this point). Also, I think it would be cool to have one with an LED in it so that at night you could do "Terminator" impressions, or star in B movies as a robot or an alien. Anyways, that's it. Take care,
Gabriel
I just read through your letters which you have posted, and as my earlier letter was not in a form which would be suited I'll write another one and forward it soon should you wish to post it. I would like to pass a message on if I could-- that gentleman with the son who has a scleral shell asked what he could do, as it was painful and the son doesn't wear it. For starters he should get a new ocularist. A good ocularist should be on top of those things, have given the proper information, etc. It is true, with less traumatic trauma (like a BB) a scleral shell is not always feasibly as there are a lot of nerves that remain highly active in the eye-- I was fortunate to have enough trauma that my damaged eye provides more shape for my shell to grip (texture and scar can almost be good in this case) and to have enough nerves damaged that it doesn't hurt. However, even for me I don't relish having adjustments made, but more importantly, I had my second shell made a year ago, and just like the first, it hurt like a mother for the first month as I got used to it. He should check with his ocularist (or get a new one, though usually that means a new shell, as most 'artists' that I've heard of won't work on shells they didn't make, for obvious professional standard reasons). There is still a good chance that if he really tries wearing it as much as possible that he will get used to it. (I'm amazed that evidently he was never fitted with a "practice" shell, clear plastic worn for the first month to get an idea of how good a fit to go for (the less pain the better the fit, more pain, slightly worse fit, but better than nothing). anyways, I just figured that scleral shells may be a bit different from the complete prosthetic so thought I'd share the advice.
Gabriel
Hi Jay
I was really pleased to find your website, which I've just found. I lost the sight in one eye after an accident when I was 9 years old; I'm now 47.
I have had quite a successful professional career (I'm in rocket propulsion),
but have never been good at making/keeping friends. Someone once told me that
it was a "fact" that because people with only one eye have a reduced
field of vision, that our "survival instinct" means that we are less
secure and less trusting of the world around us. That makes a wonderful piece
of "bar-stool" psychology, but I have never managed to find any professional
opinion that supports it. Have you ever heard or seen anything that supports
that idea?
Re your "Success After..." page; here in the UK the (much respected)
Chancellor of the Exchequer (~US equivalent - Secretary of the Treasury?) is
a guy called Gordon Brown. In our Government, this puts him in the No2 slot
directly after the Prime Minister (PM), and there is a pretty good chance that
Brown could be PM someday. You might be interested to know that he lost the
sight in one eye after a sports accident at school.
Regards
Barrie
hi - I wonder if you have any perspective on this: I'm researching what it means to have ZERO depth perception, and I believe that losing an eye after having once had depth perception is very different from never having any depth perception to begin with.
Do you know anything about this? Or do you know of anyone who would?
We found out (by accident - it's kind of an ugly story) that our 11 year-old son has ZERO depth perception. Never had it. Which explains everything - why so many physical things have been SO difficult for him to learn (riding a bike, throwing/catching a ball, etc.).
He's a really incredible kid - very bright and very happy, social, well-adjusted. But now that we know what his issue is, we're trying to find out what this means. Can vision therapy help teach him to compensate even better than he already is? What are the other experiences of people who have zero and have never had it? Can they safely drive? etc.
Any help at all would be so huge - any ideas?
Thanks!
Doris
Hi Jay;
Found your website very interesting. I'm a 2nd year PHD student in Applied Social Psychology. I have decided to do my practicum project on the psychological impact of enucleation. There really isn't much information on this topic in the psychological/medical literature and I wanted to devise a study from the perspective of individuals who have experienced the loss of an eye (i.e., don't want to follow the traditional "medical" model). In your opinion, what are the major psychological issues that individuals who have undergone enucleation face (based on the e-mails you receive)? Any information would be really helpful. I really want to conduct a study that reflects the experiences of the individuals who have been through this, instead of making my own assumptions. Thanks and take care.
Good luck with the website. It appears to be a resounding success.
Surbhi bhanot1103 [bhanot1103@rogers.com].
