KC will never lead to blindness....

[eman samir]

hello my friends...i just remembered 2 years ago..i was sad when i was diagnosed with KC...but i became very happy when i knew that it will never lead to blindness.my happiness is greater than my sadness so that i can go on and enjoy my lifetime.

[piper]

KC may never lead to blindness, if blindness is the inability to differentiate between light and darkness. But, if a person has KC and as a result cannot read, or write out a check, or see their friends faces, or learn new music from the printed sheet, or drive or shop for groceries....and the list goes on.....then that person is effectively blind.

Sorry for the reality check, but blindness is the inability to fully function in a sighted society, regardless of any definition written by some lawyer.

Years ago my wife and children had gone off to work and school and I was alone in the house. I smelled smoke and was unable to SEE if anything was hot.....Except for a mental slap in the face, I would have panicked...... That is the first time I felt BLIND, not just a person with "bad vision".

So, no, we may never get to a point where we cannot distinguish between light and dark.......but BLIND we are. That is why it is important tht we all stick together. here.

Cheers, Piper

[GarethB]

As Piper points out there are different interpretations of blindness.

In the UK you may be able to see to do the things Piper mentions with the use of visual aids and be classes as blind. In this case it is known as 'Legally Blind'.

The common view of blindness is that you are black or white blind that is all you see is white or all you see is darkness.

In my right eye if I were unable to correct the vision with a contact lens I would be legally blind however with the vision remainin in that eye, I would be able to do all the things in Pipers brief list except drive. Uncorrected vision in my left eye leaves me what is known in the UK as partially sighted and this is how I spend most of my evenings and weekends which has no affect on my life at all except the ability to drive.

Eman; the bottom line is that if you have good eye care in Egypt you could well be like most other KC suffers in the UK and USA and cope perfectly well with contact lenses for the rest of your life.

[Andrew MacLean]

You know the old American hymn with the line :I once was blind but now I see"?

Well with Keratoconus I did become legally blind but having had first one and now two grafts I see pretty well, and my sight continues to improve.

The definition of legal blindness may vary across jurisdictions, but I guess that you can find the locally relevant definition by googling the words legally and blind. In my case being legally blind meant having sight that was so poor that I could not recognize a friend who was standing quite close to me. I could not see trains, lorries (UK english for Trucks), busses or cars as they came towards me (but oddly I could see them as they went past).

I know that, at one time at least, there was an article on this site that boldly proclaimed that you would not go blind with KC, but this article was misleading.

For more about what it is to be legally blind take a look at the RNIB site.

Andrew

[piper]

Good Morning.......sorry for my quick and snappy response to the original post. I was in a state of not seeing well enough to tell anything last evening. My vision has gotten worse and to a point where contacts reduce the images from over seventy to just about eleven at distance, my graft, though improving, is still way out of focus and at times shows signs of several images and that is quite scary.

In short, (and you all know what I mean) I am just sick and tired of not seeing properly. It is one thing when we all go out to look at the moon and see just a bright mushy spot with moon shapes in it. But when we look in a book at a picture of the moon and see the same thing it is overwhelming.

Andrew: I can see traffic so I don't think I'll get squashed by a vehicle......but I can knock cups and glasses off the kitchen countertop with ease! And, my wife's favorite cut glass tumblers are first to go, that faceted glass seems to be everywhere and nowhere when placed on the edge of a table.

Well, my day off today. Usually I have a fill-in job for mondays doing maintenance at a Chinese Restaurant, but am holding off till I can drive and climb a ladder safely. So the plan is to sit home and close my eyes a little and "wish" them to heal.

Cheers, Piper

[eman samir]

i just remember a story a friend of KC told me.he said <
in the waiting room area and there was a variety of other people in
their with equally troubling vision problems... I saw a little kid - only
7 or 8 months old, whose eyes were completely white from some sort of
eye disease. He was completely blind and had never and would never be
able to see anything. This image stuck with me... And though my
perspective didnt change over night it did start to change. I realized that we
all have some sort of cross to bare... no one gets out of life without
problems and hardship>so thanks god it is not cancer...

[cherishu2]

I see (no pun intended) what the poster means.
Its the different vision too that drives me insane. Why in the morning for 2 mins can i see, then poof its gone.
I have to admit with discust at myself i cant see traffic and can only cross with my hearing, and yet i still have to take my children to school and cross A road.
At the risk of upsetting anyone, whos actually thought?, just take my sight and then ill have to get on with it. Then ill know where i stand.
Go on ya can all shout at me now

[GarethB]

Piper,

If you want a job to do, you could trace pictures of an Ex-works European Touring Car that raced Laguna Seca, Monteray in August. It is basically a European version of your NASCAR Winston Cup or Busch series. Apparently Speedvision and Sports Illustrated have photos on the RS3100 at Monterey the racing version of my car in the Chit Chat Area; Another trophy.

You could track down this magazine article too; Auto Aficionado, Vol.2 #6 pg. 55.

Next time be careful letting slip you are taking a day off

[brigid downing]

Hi

Though I don't wish away my reamining sight I can identify with what cherishu2 is saying, especially as I sometimes feel that other people must think me a fraud or a liar One minute I can't see large objects and the next I am pointing out detail.

It is very hard for my to explain the extent of my difficulties and so it is very hard for them to understand my needs and support me. This can become fustrating for both sides and even with family and friends, who are trying so hard to help and show they care, they keep getting it wrong.

The fluctuations in my vision can be very rapid and though I can identify this which make it worse it is harder to presecribe what will help. Driving in bright sun light is bad but night driving is worse. The lamp hurts my eyes, but I need it to read. When my eyes are watering I cannot see through my tears but that is better than when they go dry and sore. I can see well enough to drive, but not to read the whiteboard or see who is who on Midsommer Murders!

My mum keeps grabbing my hand whenever we cross a road, but forgets to read any text or subtitles during a film. After several times of asking I get irritated ( more by my eyes than by her - but she gets it). As a result I find it easier to watch TV etc at home rather than at my parents, which is a shame because otherwise I enjoy their company.

For me KC seems to be a life of constant conrtaditions, which I find fustrating and my family find bewildering

Brigid

[Louise Pembroke]

It is the variability of KC which makes it uniquely difficult. Also the difference in visual acuity with and without lenses, being at opposite ends of the eye chart. I too feel awkward about the part-time partial sight number, one minute I can see with the lens, then the minute I take it out I'm fumbling, and I feel anxious and disabled. I hate taking my lens out because it reminds me of what my life would be like without it, having reduced vision for long periods. Not being able to see peoples faces, steps, price tags, read, are very disabling. Without my lens I wouldn't be able to use this site. There are many shades of grey inbetween 20/20 and pitch blackness