UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi all,new to this forum.I have had KC for nearly 20yrs now and like a lot of people have it corrected by contact lenses.Along with most people I have found the best ways to make living with this condition as comfortable as I can and my sight as near to normal due to the constant help from my lens specialist,I am well aware there are less fortunate people than myself.
In the last week I have been told that as part of my part time job of which I am a member in a cliff rescue team for the coastguard service we are all to receive health checks.I have never been in a situation in 10 yrs of being with them that I have felt uncomfortable due to KC causing me problems but am now worried that when I inform them of my eye condition that I maybe released from my position.Does anyone else have any similar stories,views or advice for my dilemma.Many thanks all,Martin

Martin

Welcome to the forum.

There is no doubt that you do important work as a member of the costal cliff rescue team. I occasionally went abseiling when I was younger (going down was easier than going up), and I was always aware of how easy it would be to get into trouble on a cliff. Well done, the whole community owes you a debt.

I understand why you are hesitant about disclosing your eye condition, but I do urge you to tell everything. If it means you lose your place in the team, then you will have already given good service and have gone the extra mile for folk in need. I guess that the other part of losing your place on the team, alongside the insight that you will no longer be in the position of rescuing folk in trouble, will be that you risk losing the company and companionship of the other members of the team.

While this must be daunting, I have found that it is when I have risked letting go of one part of my life that other possibilities have arisen. It is a bit like that wonky bird the nut-hatch. Other insect eating birds will crawl up the trunk of a tree or along the upper side of branches looking for insects which they will peck up and eat. The nut-hatch does the opposite; it hangs upside down and crawls along the underside of branches, or it walks headfirst down the trunk looking at an angle quite different from every other bird and catches the insects that they miss!

Maybe this will be an opportunity for you to start "catching the insects" you have been missing so far.

Seriously, all the best and welcome to the forum.

Andrew

Many thanks Andrew for your reply.Without doubt I intend to inform them of my condition (KC) .Like I said in my previous posting,whilst on active service I have always been in a position where I feel my eyesight is as good as any of the rest of the team and this is where sometimes I feel our condition is slightly different from other medical conditions as we are not visually impaired all of the time.In my case and probably like many others when we do have a bad day and a contact lens is uncomfortable I tend to leave it out for a while and basically get by with one in.Over the years I feel my sight has adjusted to this and when one lens is out the other eye has come acustomed to this and does now not feel any different.When I then go to drive or go out I simply put the other lens back in and vision is fully restored again with no discomfort.Anyway will let you know how the medical goes next month and in the meantime I look forward to exploring more from this excellent site.
regards Martin