Eye see...

 Yesterday I had an appointment with my optometrist.  Because of glaucoma some years ago (now under control) and other vision concerns my appointments are every four months.  Yesterday's appointment included a visual field exam which, to me, is like a computer game.  With one eye at a time I watch as little lights flash on the screen I'm staring at.  When I see a light I press the button on a little hand held clicker. I have very little peripheral vision in my left eye, due to the above mentioned glaucoma, so it's no surprise that my right eye does much better on this test.  It's also why I tend to bump into people walking up on my left side.  So embarrassing. 

Essentially, I see with my right eye and my left eye is just kind of along for the ride, seeing blurry images and helping with depth perception.  Happily there is no macular degeneration, for which I am very thankful.  

When I renewed my driver's license two years ago, I was told that, because of the limited vision in my left eye I would have a restriction on my license.  When I asked what that would be, I was told that I must have an outside rear view mirror on the left side of my car.  I was amazed that that was the restriction.  Who doesn't have out side mirrors on their cars these days?  Even my ten year old Fiat has them.

My spouse was with me for the appointment and in our discussion with the doctor I mentioned that my eyes get very blurry after I have been working on my laptop for a half hour or even less sometimes. It also happens when I'm reading print materials.  She said that it was because, when we are staring at a computer screen, or a page, but more often while staring at a screen, we forget to blink.  Ordinarily people blink every few seconds, but when we stare at a screen we only blink one or two times a minute, not nearly enough to keep our eyes hydrated.  

So here I am, writing this blog and blinking frequently.  It's a habit I must practice.  I also now have some lovely eyedrops to use two or three times a day.  My wonder spouse is a big help in getting the drops in my eyes instead of rolling down my cheeks. 

All of this led up to some decisions for a few changes here at home.  For some years now, I have preferred to read large print books.  Happily our local library has a huge selection of these which may say something about the age of the general population in our neighborhood.  My wonder spouse decided that, in addition to those books, I could also use a new computer with a larger monitor and a full size keyboard.  The laptop I use now has a 13 inch screen and a smaller than standard keyboard.  I already enlarge the print on computer documents whenever I can but this will improve the situation.  

When my wonder spouse decides that we (I) need something he doesn't fool around.  The new computer will be delivered on Monday.  Meanwhile I'll keep blinking and using eye drops and blogging of course.  I'll always keep blogging.