Tag Archive for: vision impairment

When I was 13 I saw a low vision specialist. He was trying different devices on me to get my vision a little better. Then he told me “you will never ever drive.” Well that about told me what my future was going to be like.

Me and my wonderful Mom.

Me and my wonderful Mom.

But I was going to prove the doctor wrong. My mom took me to a very large, empty parking lot. There I was able to satisfy my need for speed. I would go very fast and then slam on the brakes so the car would spin around. Then my mom would take me out into the country and I would drive fast on the gravel roads. One day she said “Lauren look out for that ditch,” and I said, “What ditch?” I was heading straight for it. My mom said that was enough. No more driving on the country roads or parking lots. My dad asked my mom if I would be a good driver if I could see. My mom said “No. The way she likes to drive fast she would get a whole lot of speeding tickets.” After our driving attempts I think that was when my mom started coloring her hair. Riding with me turned her hair gray.

This week on TV I saw something that may change my life. They are coming closer to having cars that drive themselves. I knew there were already cars out there that could parallel park. Could you imagine me trying to park between two cars? Well now they actually have cars that drive themselves. You just tell it where to go and it will drive you right there. They say it will be a lot safer driving than some of the people on the roads today. This would solve my problems. Right now I am reliant on my mom to drive me everywhere. She takes me shopping, out to eat or go to our many doctor appointments. Now I would be able to just jump in the car and say “take me there.” How cool would that be?

So technology has come a long way. They have come up with things that can really help people like me. They have talking watches, talking alarm clocks, talking scales, talking meters and many more. So there are great possibilities out there in technology that will make our life easier.

The only downfall I can see right now to getting a car that drives itself, is that I would probably visit the ice cream store a whole lot more.

Eye see you…no I don’t! Vision Loss and Wolfram Syndrome

Photo of Adam ZwanOne of the many struggles a Wolfram Syndrome patient will experience, is vision loss. As a young man going through grade school, I noticed my vision quickly getting worse. In a classroom amongst individuals my age, I stood out from the crowd by always sitting in the front row, squinting to see the chalkboard, and having to get close and personal with any reading material. Before being diagnosed with Wolfram Syndrome, doctors were unable to properly treat and diagnosed my visual difficulty.

After grade school, I made it to college where I learned that there are avenues of help; large font textbooks, note takers, and CCTVs for magnifying materials at home. I was grateful for all the help provided by Vocational Rehab and disability resources at school. However, a few months after graduation, my vision continued to deteriorate and resulted in me having to hang up my car keys. I have been told that a driver assist technology is under way and will be marketed in a few years. Let’s hope.

At age 27 I feel a little amputated because I cannot transport myself independently to work, the grocery store, social events, or doctor appointments. Although visual struggles are a part of my life, I know things could be worse. I just tell myself that vision loss is nothing to be ashamed of; it’s just not something worth bragging about on the first date.