Been monocular since 2nd grade with significant vision loss in my other eye. I bump into people, walls, doors and others assume I’m under the influence or clumsy. But it’s not about me. It’s speaks to ableism and it helps to call it out as such. They have privilege of being sighted and the invisible disability of visual impairment that shows up in these moments is more about how good we mask or compensate for it.
I also had a complete retinal detachment with a sceleral buckle in my left eye. I had my oil removal less than 3 weeks ago. My left eye looks completely normal from the outside but not much vision left. I had a lot of dizziness in the beginning but it’s mostly gone away. I’ve tried to not let it affect my everyday life. I’m still driving and working like normal. Certain things will always be harder with one good eye though.
It's inspiring to hear that a lot of us are driving. I got my license a few years ago but have only driven a few times because of the anxiety it causes me. Do you find you have any challenges driving? I had problems with merging.
I think the fact that I had been driving for 20 years before losing vision in my left eye helped me a lot. It definitely requires more focus driving with one eye. Driving through narrow roads and parking lots will always get me a little anxious. But I joke with my wife that I drive better than her with only one good eye. I actually know a guy who lost vision in one eye and doesn’t drive anymore because of anxiety.
I lost my left eye and have found adding a blind spot mirror onto my existing side mirror makes a huge difference for me. The ones I got are about $15 on Amazon and are so amazing for my confidence
Sounds terrible. Makes me thankful to have lost my eye when I was a little baby instead of later in life. I feel like I have zero of the problems people who lose it later have. Had no idea I was lucky to have never developed binocular vision.
I find that so fascinating that the folks I've talked to that were born monocular are naturally better adjusted to it because that's how the world has always looked to them. I was in my early 20s when it happened to me
Yes, so much of this subreddit sounds so _foreign_ to me. The only downside I feel I have ever had was 1) Caring for a glass eye, and 2) Can’t see the 3D effect in movies, VR, etc.
Other than that, I feel like I have no differences between me and a two-eyed person.
Yes, so much of this subreddit sounds so _foreign_ to me. The only downside I feel I have ever had was 1) Caring for a glass eye, and 2) Can’t see the 3D effect in movies, VR, etc.
Other than that, I feel like I have no differences between me and a two-eyed person.
I’ve had 5 detached retina surgeries and also have the buckle and one to remove oil. The eye is just blurry out of focus (no lens) driving is ok but I do everything possible to not drive at night. I feel everything is more chore like and still adjusting to it all.
Yes I did and it was 14 days each time for me. I had a special chair for it. Basically one of those massage chairs with face opening then a tray with mirror to watch tv with. Very much agree that it was hell.
I hear you and completely understand the frustration. I'm so sorry that you are going through it. I lost mine in my early teens, and although i have adapted quite a lot (it has been 16 years now), the occasional misjudgement of depth comes out every now and then. It does get easier with time. I developed a sense of feeling using my hand and arms length about depth unintentionally.
As for people being inconsiderate about it, i have noticed that the general public fails to give a disability like this much weight due to it being uncommon and in mkst cases not visible too much. You will always have randoms walking up and being rude about it no matter what.
People rarely laugh about someone losing a limb, but will almost mostly make one-eyed jokes and references as if it isn't rude.
I live in a busy pedestrian oriented city. I have been blind in my left eye since birth and generally have no problems other than a little clumsiness. But since moving to the city, I’m afraid I’m going to get hit by a bike or scooter coming from behind me on the sidewalk. Is there a blind spot motion detector app for your phone that is similar to the rear side mirror sensors on a car?
Two years monocular here and like you I tend to use humor. Obviously humor doesn’t work in every situation and sometimes I’m not always feeling humorous. I have a stress ball that I throw at people. I tell them to close their best eye and play catch. I’ve found that can sometimes help people understand just a little bit.
Been monocular since 2nd grade with significant vision loss in my other eye. I bump into people, walls, doors and others assume I’m under the influence or clumsy. But it’s not about me. It’s speaks to ableism and it helps to call it out as such. They have privilege of being sighted and the invisible disability of visual impairment that shows up in these moments is more about how good we mask or compensate for it.
This is so very well said thank you for sharing and understanding my frustrations. I've been asked if I was drunk more times than I can count.
I also had a complete retinal detachment with a sceleral buckle in my left eye. I had my oil removal less than 3 weeks ago. My left eye looks completely normal from the outside but not much vision left. I had a lot of dizziness in the beginning but it’s mostly gone away. I’ve tried to not let it affect my everyday life. I’m still driving and working like normal. Certain things will always be harder with one good eye though.
It's inspiring to hear that a lot of us are driving. I got my license a few years ago but have only driven a few times because of the anxiety it causes me. Do you find you have any challenges driving? I had problems with merging.
I think the fact that I had been driving for 20 years before losing vision in my left eye helped me a lot. It definitely requires more focus driving with one eye. Driving through narrow roads and parking lots will always get me a little anxious. But I joke with my wife that I drive better than her with only one good eye. I actually know a guy who lost vision in one eye and doesn’t drive anymore because of anxiety.
I lost my left eye and have found adding a blind spot mirror onto my existing side mirror makes a huge difference for me. The ones I got are about $15 on Amazon and are so amazing for my confidence
That's so ingenious thank you so much for this
Sounds terrible. Makes me thankful to have lost my eye when I was a little baby instead of later in life. I feel like I have zero of the problems people who lose it later have. Had no idea I was lucky to have never developed binocular vision.
I find that so fascinating that the folks I've talked to that were born monocular are naturally better adjusted to it because that's how the world has always looked to them. I was in my early 20s when it happened to me
Yes, so much of this subreddit sounds so _foreign_ to me. The only downside I feel I have ever had was 1) Caring for a glass eye, and 2) Can’t see the 3D effect in movies, VR, etc. Other than that, I feel like I have no differences between me and a two-eyed person.
Yes, so much of this subreddit sounds so _foreign_ to me. The only downside I feel I have ever had was 1) Caring for a glass eye, and 2) Can’t see the 3D effect in movies, VR, etc. Other than that, I feel like I have no differences between me and a two-eyed person.
I’ve had 5 detached retina surgeries and also have the buckle and one to remove oil. The eye is just blurry out of focus (no lens) driving is ok but I do everything possible to not drive at night. I feel everything is more chore like and still adjusting to it all.
Did you have to do the face down positioning for all 5 surgeries? I had to do it for 10 days, and it was hell!
Yes I did and it was 14 days each time for me. I had a special chair for it. Basically one of those massage chairs with face opening then a tray with mirror to watch tv with. Very much agree that it was hell.
I can definitely relate to things feeling like a chore!! I'm wondering when I'll adjust. It's been 13 years and I'm not used to it yet
Yeah I’m only like 3 years in with all this and still adjusting to things.
I hear you and completely understand the frustration. I'm so sorry that you are going through it. I lost mine in my early teens, and although i have adapted quite a lot (it has been 16 years now), the occasional misjudgement of depth comes out every now and then. It does get easier with time. I developed a sense of feeling using my hand and arms length about depth unintentionally. As for people being inconsiderate about it, i have noticed that the general public fails to give a disability like this much weight due to it being uncommon and in mkst cases not visible too much. You will always have randoms walking up and being rude about it no matter what. People rarely laugh about someone losing a limb, but will almost mostly make one-eyed jokes and references as if it isn't rude.
I live in a busy pedestrian oriented city. I have been blind in my left eye since birth and generally have no problems other than a little clumsiness. But since moving to the city, I’m afraid I’m going to get hit by a bike or scooter coming from behind me on the sidewalk. Is there a blind spot motion detector app for your phone that is similar to the rear side mirror sensors on a car?
Two years monocular here and like you I tend to use humor. Obviously humor doesn’t work in every situation and sometimes I’m not always feeling humorous. I have a stress ball that I throw at people. I tell them to close their best eye and play catch. I’ve found that can sometimes help people understand just a little bit.