Recently Lin steered me to a video by Sam of The Blind Life. Sam was explaining how he sees and taking exception to those representations of macular degeneration that have opaque, black blobs in the middle. Lin was interested in exactly what I see. Maybe we can expand this to what you all are seeing, too.
First of all, a little clarification. Sam has Stargardt’s Disease which is the “juvenile” form of age-related macular degeneration. He has been legally blind since probably his teens [Lin/Linda: actually, since he was 11.]. We are talking 30 plus years. Compared to Sam, I, with my paltry 4 years as a VIP, am very much the new kid on the block. My experience and knowledge cannot begin to match his.
For those who don’t yet know who Sue is, check the end of this page.
That said, it was a relief to discover that Sam with over 30 years of macular atrophy seems to see pretty much what I see. The reasons for the relief are two in number: 1) I am apparently doing this macular degeneration stuff “right” and 2) I am reasonably well assured I am not going to develop a big, honkin’ black hole in my visual field. Hallelujah!
What do I see? I have a fuzzy gray spot in my central vision. It is not opaque as sometimes it seems as if what is behind it is “bleeding through”. I often know there is something there but cannot see it clearly.
That is not 100%, of course. There have been times I have known something was there only because of sound or the perception of motion. If it is silent, stationary and/or not offering contrast to its background, I have been known to miss it entirely. Case in point, I somehow missed three jars of mayonnaise on the shelf. Three! I ordered another one from the grocery. My husband suggested I get a fifth one so I could have cinco de mayo. Cinco de Mayo; got it? [That’s a good one!] Oh, never mind. Anyway, the point is, things can disappear in the “haze” of my blind spot.
Another point Sam makes involves the concept of visual closure, although he does not label it as such. Visual closure is how your brain turns several segments of arc into a circle even though, in fact, the segments are not connected and not really a circle at all. Your brain closes up the gaps.
Sam was talking about how his brain fills in the gaps in pretty much the same way. Sam was talking about how he sees his blind spot as the same color as whatever is surrounding it. For example, the light switch might disappear and all he “sees” is beige wall.
I can get the same sort of thing going on if I look at the sky. The blue fills in and the bird I am watching disappears. If I am looking at a tree, my brain will fill in the sections of the branches that are in my blind spot. Sort of like connect the dots. That branch cannot end and miraculously reappear over there. Ergo, my mind closes the gap and I “see” the middle section of the branch. Brains are weird and amazing things.
And speaking of weird and amazing, we have had conversations with a woman whose brain filled in such a beautiful picture of an empty highway she had no idea she was about to be in an accident! Scared the bejesus out of her. If your brain is as good at filling in the blanks as hers, please be extra careful.
One more point that Sam made and then I will let you go. Although once again he did not refer to it by name, Sam is an expert at eccentric viewing. He has trained himself to use his peripheral retina very well.
I have been working on it for the past four years and it does get easier. I will use it when I need to see what is down the road that the dogs are getting so excited about. I might not be able to see details well enough to see exactly who is coming towards me, but I can see well enough to see a person and, let’s say, a large black blob that I assume is a dog. Time to move Maggie off the road. PsychDog returns!
Another time I use eccentric viewing is in typing my pages. If I put my macular focal point above what I am typing, I can pretty much read what is going on the page.
As Lin will tell you, I say pretty much because a lot of mistakes escape me. You know how they say the devil is in the details? My dears, the details are the devil when you are trying to use eccentric viewing. The peripheral retina was not designed for fine work.
So, that is pretty much how I see. Sam and I are in agreement. Great minds think alike and all that….But how about your great mind? Do you agree? How do you see? Start the conversation.
Written May 15th, 2020.
Who is Sue?
She’s my friend of 40+ years who became legally blind (20/63 to 20/80 in one eye & between 20/160 and 20/200 in the other) from advanced dry AMD/geographic in 2016. After less than a year of learning how to deal with her visual impairment both physically and emotionally, Sue has a ‘normal for her’ life. At age 66 and with advanced dry AMD/geographic atrophy, she works, attends regular exercise classes, rides her bike safely, travels locally and abroad, takes photographs, walks her dogs, kayaks, attends social events with her friends, co-workers, exercise class buddies, and adding new friends she’s been making along the way!