Woman With Macular Degeneration Is Able To Return To Driving

When she came to me for a low vision evaluation Laura Stanley's goals were:

1. To be able to read letters, newspapers, medicine labels

2. Return to driving
3. See the television picture better
4. Recognize peoples faces

As a result of her low vision evaluation I was able to help Mrs. Stanley achieve all of those goals.

Mrs. Stanley suffers from macular degeneration and with her glasses was able to see only 20/120 with her better eye. Not sufficient to drive in Virginia. She hoped to be able to obtain telescopic glasses and get a Virginia driver's permit allowing her to drive with   them.                                                            

Through testing her vision with various types of low vision glasses I determined that 1.7X bioptic telescopic glasses which included her eyeglass prescription allowed her to read 20/70 letters with each eye. That meets the DMV requirement to drive with bioptics. The same glasses help her recognize her friend's faces from a greater distance.

For television I prescribed wide angle telescopic glasses adjusted for the distance of her TV. A cap with a convex lens can be placed over the left telescopic lens and is used for reading.

Two months after receiving her telescopic glasses Mrs. Stanley returned to me for certification to apply for the special drivers permit. She passed that easily wearing the bioptics and was able to return to driving.

Mrs. Stanley told me, "These glasses are really worth the money. I can read and see TV better. I have used them at meetings and was able to see the person leading it better. I am looking forward to getting back to driving."

If your vision is keeping you from doing the things that you'd like to do give me a call. I'll talk it over with you and tell you on the phone if I can help you. I do not accept low vision patients unless I feel that I will be able to help them achieve their goals. Call me toll free at 1 866 321-2030.