Peggy Wolfe:Here
are twelve important questions about living with Macular Disease.
1.
Is there anything I can do to get over my feeling of hopelessness
upon receiving my diagnosis?
Yes! Develop a positive attitude and
realize that although your life may be taking a different course
from the one you had been expecting, but you can still do the things
you have been doing—only in different ways. If you feel powerless,
be active in finding solutions to the particular difficulties you
may face. Realize that life is change and accept your new path
with a fighting spirit.
2.
What can I do to care for my eyes and my vision?
The most important thing is to monitor your vision regularly and
if you notice any changes in either eye, see your doctor right
away. If there is a problem, there may be a treatment that is most
effective if given promptly. Also, follow all instructions your
doctor gives you such as taking special eye vitamins or eating
certain foods.
3.
Reading has become very difficult. Should I just quit trying?
A welcome surprise may be in store for you. Sometimes all that
is needed is properly placed, adequate lighting. Proper lighting
provides the contrast that is required to distinguish the letters
in words and to distinguish the type from the paper on which it
is printed. The correct placement of lights can help those who
are bothered by glare.
4.
What about living a healthy life style? Can that be helpful for
my eyes?
Yes, nurture your body by developing senses other than sight--especially
touch and hearing. Eat a nutritious diet and start a fitness program
to improve your balance and body awareness—so you don't have to
rely so much on your eyes to know where you are in space.
5.
I'm embarrassed to go out to eat because I can't read the menu
and I can't see what's on my plate very clearly. Do you have
any ideas about this in the book?
There are many ways to decide what
to order, and your choice can solve the problem of not seeing the
food on the plate. You may be able to read by using a small flashlight
and aiming it at the menu. You can also ask a companion to read
sections of the menu to you—this can bring some fun interchanges.
One good trick is to ask the server about the specials of the day,
and then pick one of those—no menu required. Choose finger foods
or foods with contrasting colors. Ask meat to be cut in the kitchen.
One of my funniest experiences was stabbing the table with my fork
when I was aiming for a shrimp—after my plate had already been
removed. Be ready to start the laughter at your table!
6.
What is something important I can start doing right now at home? Organize
and downsize! Start sorting through all the stuff you've accumulated
and keep only what you really need. Organize documents in folders
and mark the topic with a bold pen. Keep clothing you still wear,
and donate or otherwise dispose of those old things in your closet.
7.
Do things seem to vanish after you've put them down somewhere?
Do you have trouble finding the right button on controls?
There are solutions to these stressful situations that can happen
throughout your day. Your sense of touch is going to become very
important. Use special products such as tactile bumps and marks
to identify objects. White reflective tape is another great way
to identify things like glasses cases. The book even has a trick
for finding a keyhole in the dark when you can’t see it at all.
8.
Writing checks to pay my bills is getting very frustrating—I
can't fit the words into the space on the check and can't make
out what I've written in the register.
You can get large-size checks with
bold printing from almost any bank. Large print registers are also
available, or you can make your own. Many people find it even easier
to have payments deducted automatically from their checking accounts
for utility bills and other recurring bills. For shopping, you
can reduce the number of checks you write by putting all purchases
on one credit or debit card.
9.
Are there things that are more in the legal area that I should
be thinking about?
Yes, a health care directive and an
up-to-date will. My own experience in the story, "One Day
Too Late for My Husband," illustrates the importance of having
prepared documents that let your wishes be known.
10.
My grandchildren live all over and they keep telling me to start
using e-mail to stay in touch and that they'll even send me photos.
I've never used a computer and think I'm too old to learn.
Now is the time to start using a computer!
It will open new worlds for you and keep you in touch with the
outside world as well as your family members. Chances are one of
them will have an old computer to give you and get you started.
Also, classes are offered at senior centers, community education
centers, and vision rehabilitation centers. There are ways to increase
the size of the type on the screen and there are programs that
will even "read aloud" what is displayed if your vision
should reach the level where that's easier than reading.
11.
This is the toughest, most dreaded question of all: How long
can I keep driving?
Giving up driving is not something
that happens overnight; rather it is a gradual process generally
spread over a period of years. You may have already stopped driving
at night. The next step may be avoiding freeways, and then driving
only on neighborhood roads. Take a driver safety class, and be
sure to check both yourself and the car before leaving home. If
the day comes when you, or others, know it is time for you to give
up the keys, relax and enjoy your trips as a passenger with no
worries of what could happen with you behind the wheel.
12.
I want to stay independent even as my vision is declining. I
don't like the idea of having to get help, but I've heard there
are agencies that serve people with vision loss. Am I being too
stubborn when I don't want to make that first call?
It is easy to be stubborn. Who wants
to admit that they need help? And the idea of contacting a low
vision agency can be scary and seem like admitting defeat. But
I hope you won't wait as long as I did, because working with a
counselor and taking classes where I learned new skills and met
others with my same problems transformed my life. My seeking help
actually maximized my independence while helping me sustain my
positive attitude. I wish I hadn't waited so long.
Press
Release
As Vision Fades,
Adaptive Strategies Offer Solutions, Hope
New book shares effective, practical techniques for
maximizing independence and living well with macular disease
Millions of Americans currently live with
some form of macular disease—a progressive, typically age-related
affliction that can result in the loss of central vision. Many
who live with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic
retinopathy, and other diseases that affect the macula believe
that, as their eyesight diminishes, so, too, will their ability
to remain self-reliant, productive, and active participants in
the world.
In Macular Disease: Practical Strategies
for Living with Vision Loss (Park Publishing, Inc., May
2008), author Peggy R. Wolfe—who has lived with macular disease
for eight years—offers reassurance, hope, and invaluable insight
on living well with macular disease and declining vision. Filled
with personal stories that illustrate the author’s own challenges
and adaptive strategies as well as hundreds of constructive,
easy-to-follow techniques on everything from performing everyday
tasks to selecting assistive tools and technology to maintaining
an optimistic, fighting spirit, Macular Disease offers those
facing vision loss invaluable wisdom, empathy, and guidance on
maintaining an independent, productive, vibrant life.
Included are such topics as:
• organizing living space and finding
hard-to-spot items learning new ways to cook, clean, shop, and
perform other everyday tasks
• strengthening other senses
• deciding when—and when not—to seek or accept help
• sharing feelings with friends, family members, and others
• selecting helpful products
• embracing technology, from video magnifiers to screen readers
and other adaptive software
• making driving decisions
• preparing for the future
Printed on glare-resistant paper in large-print
format, Macular Disease is an authoritative, empathetic,
personable guide to meeting each day’s challenges and sustaining
a positive, realistic, “can do” attitude in the face of vision
loss as new ways of living well are developed and mastered.
Peggy R. Wolfe spent her working life as
a research librarian at a major university. Diagnosed with macular
degeneration eight years ago, Peggy has worked tirelessly to discover
and share creative, practical techniques that allow those with
vision loss to maximize their independence and continue to enjoy
productive, creative, joyful lives.
MACULAR
DISEASE
Practical Strategies for Living with Vision Loss
Peggy R. Wolfe
Park Publishing (Distributed by Independent
Publishers Group)
ISBN 978-0-9792-9451-8
Trade Paperback, 240 pages (30 photographs)
$17.95, May 2008
Contact: Joanne
McCall Public Relations
e-mail: joanne@teleport.com
top of page
And now, twenty-five years
later, the author herself has been living with the disease since
1999. Her longtime exposure to macular diseases has left the author
with an accepting spirit, filled not with fear but with the will
to do battle to make the best possible life now and later.
She holds a B.A. degree in
English and philosophy and a M.L.S. degree in library science. She
created the corporate library at a major food company and worked
as a research fellow/librarian at a major university. She has had
a parallel career working in the small publishing company started
by her father in 1939 and has been its president for the last twelve
years. She volunteers in her church's music library where she has
developed databases listing music scores and compact discs. She lives
in Minnetonka, Minnesota and has two adult children; her husband
of forty-four years died early in 2007.
