Seeing with Macular Degeneration

Some of my favorite memories are from visiting with low vision group. Many of the people come to the groups to share stories and experiences that they have had along their journey with vision loss. Stories of being diagnosed with macular and getting shots in the eye to stories of lifetime achievements and great grandchildren. Everyone has a story to share and I enjoy hearing them all. Which leads me to my favorite memory. There is one group that I visit fairly often. It is a group of people who meet monthly, but support each other daily. I was able to locate an affordable Electronic Video Magnifiers or CCTV which allows for increased magnification and the ability to tweak the picture so you can see it better. It works well for many things from reading to painting ones finger nails. You can also look at pictures. On the day that I brought the CCTV into the community the group started to bring pictures of family members. One of the ladies who suffers from advanced macular degeneration with significant vision loss told me that was the first time she had been able to get a good view of her one year old great grand sons face. She looked at pictures from his first Christmas, pictures of him with mom and dad (her granddaughter) and others. It was truely a pleasure to be included in her moment. Her smile and joy that day is my favorite memory.