A Little Red Magic

It's official.....I'm seeing RED!  As of 11/10/09 I'm the proud owner of these trendy red filters!  


Jennifer called me on the 11/09/09 and delivered them on the 10th as tropical remains of Ida stumbled through our state.  The first thing I noticed was how she had a hard time getting the bioptic situated inside the filter opening she cut.  Apparently she fixed it so there was only one way to slide my bioptic inside the filter opening.  On my bioptic, I must slide the left side in first.  It's a tight fit.  I was mortified to see this had already scraped my bioptics some.  Even worse, she explained she accidently scratched the red filters when cutting them, so she will have to get another pair for me.  For now I can use these.  I was in a rush to get back to work.  So I briefly tried my bioptic on with the red filter.  We had to loosen the bioptic because I could not see enough through it.  This prompted me to realize my screwdriver was missing out of my bioptic case.  Jenn realized it was in her car and scurried out into the windy weather to fetch it.  I stood quietly in the lobby contemplating what in the world would come out of her mouth next.  I was hoping it was the news I wanted to hear.  But after so many setbacks, I really just forced myself to keep expectations buried.  Now on to the good news.


After a brief minute or two, Jennifer scurried inside with the screwdriver.  She adjusted them standing up, which seemed a bit awkward for her, but non the less, she succeeded in helping me see out of my bioptic more clearly.  It wasn't perfect, but better.  So once we got that settled,  she told me in a matter of fact way that I can go get my permit.  WAIT!   What did she say?  "You can go get your permit" is what I think she said.  My smile said it all.  There it was, all out in the open, the news I had anticipated so long was now a verbal reality.  This made my day, my week, my month!  Jenn then followed up with me about the necessary paperwork that was needed by the State Department of Transportation.  She asked me if I had it,  I said yes.  She explained she'd look for it at her place first and then fax over what's needed before I show up to the DMV for my permit.  That sounded good to me.  Do you know that she actually did it within a days time!  I know she's been busy, but this turnaround time was nothing short of a miracle.  I was shocked to hear from her Wed. morning with news that everything was taken care of with my paperwork.  Wow, kudos to her.  I'm elated at her new zeal to help me.


With all the excitement came the real test, the road.  I took my new filters with bioptic out for a spin with the city transit service.  Wow, they are magic!  These red filters not only made the red lights and break lights jump out at me, it also helped in seeing the street lights at dusk.  Another major bonus is the red filters greatly shield me from the brazen fall sunlight with the broad arm side protection.  It was so good to feel so confident about seeing what was in front of me.  I never ever would have that level of confidence without the red filters.  They are nothing short of amazing.  


So now for the downfall I've noticed.  With my vision, there seems to be a hardship seeing the stop signs with the red filters on.  You'd think they'd jump out at me right?  But this "jumping out"  only occurs with backlit objects, not solid non lit objects.  I actually could see the stop signs better with my own vision.  This troubles me, but I think we can find a workaround.  I also think my bioptic is not fitting correctly in the filters.  I honestly just would rather have the red contacts now that I see how cumbersome the adjusting is of the red filters with the bioptic.  I've seen other states where drivers use red contacts for bioptic driving.  My doctor asked I not do that because I could never see any green lights.  This makes great sense to me.  At least with the bioptic unfiltered I can see green lights.  Red contacts would filter out everything, including sight through my bioptic.  I am working to contact others who use the red contacts to see how their doctors justified them not seeing green lights.  I'll keep you posted on that project.  


So with all the good news and slight mixed results, I'm still overall very happy and may possibly try to get my permit on black Friday.  As promised, the attached photo at the top is of my new red filters and bioptic fitted together.  Let me know what you think.  I should go, time to hit the books and study to get my permit.  Next stop: DMV!

Fall Filters

Finally I have some real news to report!  It's been since June 18th that anything has really happened.  Lots of factors contributed to this slowdown on my end and the professionals helping me through this process.  After not hearing a word from Dr. DeCarlo's office in over 4 weeks, I started calling....daily.  She got in touch with my driving instructor, Jennifer.  Jenn left me a voice mail last week to pick a sunny day to drive.  Well after some phone and email chase we finally nailed down today for her to test me as a passenger with the red filters.  The goal was to see how well I could see the red lights and stop signs while using the new filters.

I was wearing a generic fitting pair of red filters, so it was awkward at first.  Jenn made some adjustments to my bioptic and kindly taped them together with the generic red filters.  After we got them all taped together, it was test time.  It was very bright out today, so I was a little apprehensive.  Plus, I'd not worn the red filters but once on June 18th, so I had to get used to them again.  Let me explain more about how the red filters work so you'll know what I mean.

A little background about me: with my regular vision I can't see red "lights' in daylight hours unless I open my eyes extremely wide.  Since one can only do that so long, it's not a suitable long term option.  With my regular vision, red lights during sunny hours appear to be turned off;  aka...black.  The red filters actually make any red light JUMP out at me just by magnifying its vibrant color.  The thing you probably don't realize is red filters, filter OUT green.  So the green lights appear black!  Ok don't freak out yet.  The good news is the filters do NOT cover the tiny hole in my bioptic that is unfiltered.  Therefore:  I can see the green lights just by peeking in my bioptic for a split second.  I can see the red lights by using my normal vision and looking through the red filters.  The red filters also seem to work well making the yellow lights jump out.

Jennifer began asking me what color the lights were.  I was a little confused at first having to kind of think backwards.
1. If the light in my normal vision using red filters appears black: then in reality it is green.  I will see black through my filters and green through my bioptic.
2. If the light in my normal vision using red filters appears to be vibrantly on, then in reality it is red.  I will see vibrant red through my filters and and black through my bioptic.

Now if that makes any kind of sense to you, please pat yourself on the back and grab a energy drink.

I was able to easily distinguish how many tail lights were on a car, when they were blinking, and when they were solid.  The stop signs were a little harder to see with the red filter then just using my regular unfiltered vision through the bioptic.  Jennifer seemed pretty relieved with this new revelation.  She could now feel safer with me. She admitted she was confused, given my old erroneous diagnosis, why I had trouble with the red lights.  Now that Dr. DeCarlo gave me a accurate diagnosis it all makes sense.  Another great thing about these red filters is they wrap around the sides of my face blocking out bright side lights.  This greatly enhances my ability to drive safely during the day.  However, the safest time for me to drive will be night.  I would not need the filters at night and could just use my bioptic.

After riding around for about 30 minutes Jennifer dropped me back off at work.  She told me she would have to now take my bioptic back to the office to make sure the cut of my new permanent red filters is an exact fit to my bioptic.  So with that, I was very pleased with today's progress.  I was also thankful that the journey didn't end before I ever got to get in the drivers seat!  Keep in mind I'm still doing passenger vision testing.  I have not ever touched the car.  Now that I've tested multiple times as a passenger with the bioptics, and we've seemed to conquer my color vision problems on this passenger test, the next step should be to get my permit.  I'll let you know when I get my red filters.  I'm going to send photos on my next post of them so you'll finally see what I'm talking about with your own two eyes.

My Red Tail Tale: 06/18/09

I've been waiting since 04/24/09 for this appointment with Dr DeCarlo. If you recall from my last passenger evaluation Jennifer recommended I see my Dr. to get help seeing red lights during daylight hours. I came into the office that day with my bioptics ready to see what she could do. I ended up starting my visit by having her newest apprentice observe my vision with and without bioptic use. She was very pleasant and we easily found common ground to talk about. Too bad though, I think she's married. I should have used my bioptic to scope out a ring. Anyways, after testing and some interesting chatter, Dr DeCarlo waltzed in with her usual calm, well put together demeanor. She and I reviewed what Jennifer told me. But it was not until this point I knew that Jennifer told her she was "scared" to ride with me because I wasn't seeing red lights well in day. This seemed out of character for someone who works with visually impaired people for a living. I think communication there could be misconstrued, so I dismissed it. Of course, the very next thing my Dr tells me is that if this doesn't work, we can't continue. This is something I thought about , but her putting lip service to my thought pierced my soul. Why had I not worried about this more before my visit? I assumed I could at least drive at night. The problem with my assumption is I must still pass the drivers test during the day. Oooops.

Dr DeCarlo explained that she had successfully fitted a patient who had similar color vision problems with these red filters. She then really boosted my spirits when she told me this person is driving with them now. I became elated again. However, my test was yet to come. No one knew if the red filters would work or not. My Dr found a little flashlight type device and asked me what i saw. Then she gave me the red filters to try. This flashlight had several spots, or sources of light. My job was to ID which light sources were in use at a particular time. Dr DeCarlo quickly learned more about what colors I had a problem with. She told me the ironic thing is the red filters block out the green light, yet enhance any red lights. So how would I see traffic lights that are green? Simple. I will look through the unfiltered bioptic for green lights. OK, so it may not be so simple to you, if you are a trained driver, but I'm all new to this, so it's a trivial matter. I really could not gage how well the filters worked inside her office. She said the red filters seemed like the natural next step for me, but there's no better test then the real thing. What is the real thing?

The real thing is the test using the filters outdoors to see red lights and tail lights. This was my absolute last chance. I wanted to do whatever it took to make these things work for me. But ultimately God was going to decide, as He always has, exactly how well this would or would not work. The closer we got to the bottom floor of the Eye Center the more nervous I was. The doctor did not go with me, she sent her apprentice. I know we all must learn at some point, so I followed her every instruction. We joked that she was so new she was not too familiar with the area my Dr. told her to take me to. So about 4:30 that Thursday the bright sun greeted us for the test that had the potential to change my life. So simple, yet so important. I was really facing a lifelong enemy: harsh sunlight.

Dr DeCarlo's assistant asked me to first look for a traffic light. I stepped to the edge of the street that was lined with parked cars to peer up at the light. I only saw part of it. I looked into the distance wondering why it was not changing colors. It looked like it never turned green. She asked what I saw. I told her it the light seemed red but never turned green. Then I realized I was looking at the orange back part of the traffic light not the front of the light. Where was the one she was seeing? I peered back noticing she was not standing at my angle. Then walking closer to her we realized the tree in front of me was hanging over the light. She could see it from her angle but the traffic light was completely obscured by the tree silhouette from my angle! What a RELIEF! I was so scared it wasn't working. Now I had a second chance.

Then it happened. The green light changed to red and I could see the red light so intensely magnified. It was like magic glasses. The red just jumped out at me, no longer blending in during harsh daylight. I was elated. Then the assistant asked me to look the other direction.....no problem, I could see them very easily. We needed more test. So she had me monitor the red tail light on a car that just passed us. She asked me if it was blinking or solid. I could clearly see when it stopped and stared blinking without any hesitation! This is incredible! Then we spotted cars further away and she put me through additional similar testing. She could see how excited I was. Even more awesome, I did not get ONE test wrong. Dr DeCarlo appeared on the street after about 10 minutes to check our progress. Her assistant told her I was batting a million!

The three of us walked back inside, where Dr DeCarlo called my driving instructor Jennifer, who was along everyone else, happy to hear that this last crucial effort worked. Now my big question is how will I wear these AND my bioptics. The answer: Dr DeCarlo says Jennifer and her can arrange to have a hole cut in the red filters large enough to have the bioptic fit though. That way one pair can be worn over the other. Another great advantage for me is the red filters offer much more sun protection then the regular sunlight filter Ocutech provided with my bioptics. The red filters have SIDE sunlight protection too. Now on to the next step: bioptic passenger testing with my new red filters. I can't wait!

My Old Diagnosis: Optic Atrophy: 04/22/09

Many of you may be wondering what exactly my eye problem is. Today I'm going to address this topic. Most doctors have labeled my eye problem as trauma at birth. Optic Atrophy is usually accompanied by color vision loss. Optic Atrophy commonly develops during early childhood. Since the optic nerve runs to the brain, there is currently no cure for this eye problem. On the other hand, since it's not a physical eye disease my vision should not deteriorate further. For years my eye doctors have shrugged shoulders and said anything from he's undiagnosed to he's got Optic Atrophy due to trauma at birth. I was 2.5 months premature when born. My lungs were underdeveloped so it's possible there could have been a lack of oxygen to my brain that may have caused this condition. The doctors actually told my mother I'd never live. hahaha They're SO smart aren't they?

Not only am I classified as legally blind, I'm also partially color blind. Now lets get this straight, I DO NOT see in black and white! Oh sorry, touchy subject. Yes, I detest that question as much as the "how many fingers am I holding up question", even though I fully understand why someone would ask. Bright colors are more easily discernible in bright lighting conditions. When colors get close to the same value is where my problems lie. At that point, confusion sets in. When I open my eyes very wide and more light gets in the bright colors jump out at me. But this is useless because I can't walk around with toothpicks prying my eyes wide open daily.

With these things in mind, my new specialist, Dr. De Carlo, took great care in providing me with any diagnosis. She didn't rush to any decision, nor did she buy into what other doctors had told me. After looking closely with some really bright lights around my eye, she had an idea. She said she has a hunch that I have a different eye problem, but we will not know for sure unless I agree to undergo additional testing. I told her to sign me up. I agreed to have a Electroretinogram done. I won't bore you with the medical definition unless you want to click the different links.

On April 22 2009 at 8:30 am I went to the Eye Foundation for my Electroretinogram. I had forgot my insurance card that day, but God takes care of fools and blind people. lol Anyways, this nice lady with a (I'm guessing here) German accent tested me. The electrodes were placed on me, I was dilated, the lights turned out and the fun began. Well that doesn't sound right in print. After dilation was complete, (Dr De Carlo says I'm a fast dilator) my testing began. I stuck my head in this thing pictured above that looked to me like a space helmet with a red light in the middle. We did a spot test where I looked and a tiny light flashed soft to bright. The ERG machine measured the electrical activity of my retina in response to light stimulation. It's actually a pain free test of my rods and cones. I tested with the lights off and on. After testing I walked out with those fashionable dilation shades to meet with the ERG doctor who would examine the results. This guy looked at my eyes extensively with more bright lights. Are we having fun yet? After all that, I noticed him flipping though my test results. When I asked, he stated he thinks he knows what I've got, but doesn't want to say until he examines my results more extensively. No shocker, I know how these people work. Now the waiting game beings again until Dr De Carlo gets my Electroretinogram results back from the ERG specialist.

The Ganzfeld Electroretinogram machine I was tested on looked exactly like the one pictured at the top of my blog. They had it connected to a laptop and my eyes to the electrodes. It was painless and a extremely simple test.