MD Logo

THE MACULAR
DEGENERATION COMMUNITY

Allan


 

Name
Allan Wise

Born
July 7, 1952

Home
Coventry, England

Diagnosis
Wet MD

Eyes Affected
Both

Eye Color
Brown

Age at Diagnosis
40

Visual Acuity
No central vision in both eyes, poor peripheral vision. Registered blind 1995.

Treatment
Laser treatment on left eye 1994. No other treatment possible. Discharged by Retinal Consultant after being registered.

Prognosis or Current State of Vision
Along with the problems associated with central vision loss I have no detailed peripheral vision. Mobility not a problem unless in new surroundings. I expect my vision to progressively deteriorate, but expect that I will never be totally blind.

Family History
The disorder has been passed through my mothers side of the family. My grandmother had the complaint, as did my mother. She was originally diagnosed with Doynes choriditis. My retinal specialist examined both my mother and me at the same time and diagnosed the same condition. My youngest brother has recently been diagnosed with the same condition. The RS said it is a genetic default that can affect all members in a family generation or skip a generation or appear in individuals within a generation. This appears to be the case with us, as I have another brother that is unaffected.

Impact on My Life
The impact on both my personal and business life has been severe. In both, I believe that having to stop driving causes the main problems and the most frustrations. In my personal life, performing the normal activities (shopping, going fishing, holidays, etc.) are now difficult and inevitably involve making special arrangements. In my business life, getting to work, business travel all provide problems. Career opportunities have disappeared. My employer and working colleagues have been very understanding and in some ways supportive, but I can't help feeling I have been "put out to pasture." Having said all this, the main problems caused by my disability are felt by my wife and family. They have to put up with my tears, moods, depression and, in the main, do this with loving understanding.

Positive Effects
Recognising that there is never only one way of doing things. Examples of this include: free travel pass for bus and train travel; using talking books (I have read more since I was diagnosed than before???); and learning different techniques for participating in my favourite pastime, fishing. This season, I have purchased a season ticket to attend football matches at my local club Coventry City FC. My daughter has an "escort" ticket. I take my walkman radio, tune in with my earphones to the radio commentary, and just sit back and enjoy the atmosphere. Its great to be involved again.

Adaptations
CCTV, using a screen reading system (JAWS) for my PC, voice diary, small hand-held magnifiers for some emergency reading (becoming more difficult).

Working
I am still holding down my job as a Systems Project Manager within a small IT group in a large agricultural manufacturing company. I manage a team of systems developers working on business driven IT projects.

More About Me
I am married with two grownup daughters and one granddaughter (the apple of my eye).



MD Support Home Page
Back to The Macular Degeneration Community