UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

hi everybody,currently i don't wear lenses.I wear only glasses.I am afraid the next step is the transplant.I can't tolerate rgp lenses.my left eye is legally blind.My vision depends mainly on my right eye.but it is so bad.i don't know what to do.i am confused between 2 choices;satisfying with my vision or taking the risk of transplant to make use of my left eye because it is useless for me now.

Eman,

I am so sorry to hear where you are. Yes you can live with vision in just one eye, as indeed for the driving standard you can get away with vision in one eye at 6/12 so long as you have good peripheral vision. I have only had vision in one eye until I had a graft two years ago, I was lucky though that my other eye was 6/9. Now I see 6/15 with my grafted eye when I couldn't see the light box before so there is hope!

I really do hope that you can work something out. I had a graft on my left eye as I couldn't see anything and thought that there was nothing to lose. Now I can read four lines on the chart and it evens up my eyesight so I would say to try getting surgery as you can improve things.

Take care and hoping to hear your decision soon! Love Sweet X x X

Eman,

Like you, I waited until I was blind before having any surgery. I reckoned that if things went wrong, that way, I'd be no worse off!

Actually I am still legally bline in my left eye, although I expect this will change when I have the sutures out and I can start wearing a lens in that eye, or have some power introduced to the left lens of my glasses.

I know that this is a difficult decision to make, but I am sure that everybody here will support you through whatever decision you do make. Many of us have been to the point you have reached, and know exactly how difficult this is.

In answer to your question, yes many people do live with the sight of only one eye. Indeed our Prime Minister in the United Kingdom has had one of his eyes removed, so he not only lives with the sight of only one eye, but he actually has only one eye.

Andrew

A child hood friend of mine has never been sighted and one of the presenters at my local hospital radio has been partially sighted for most of his life and runs the local RNIB center.

Both have achieved many things in their life including driving Under controlled conditions of course

They have succesfull carears.

In a nutshell, yes yuo can live and have a very fulfilled life with no vision or just one eye.

It is how you decide to overcome the issues you face that dictates if you can live with one eye and how succesfull you are. The help and support of others help no end, but part of that is they must know what support you need.

Unless they are visually impaired like you, they are not in a position to appreciate or second guess the things you need to put in place to overcome vision impairment.