What An Eye! Ideas for Low Vision

Monet had cataracts. Although he was not officially diagnosed until he was in his 70s, he experienced the effects of low vision years before. He railed against his fate. "I was forced to change my tune," he wrote a friend with despair. "My poor eyesight makes me see everything in a fog." And so in that fog, he painted anyway. Cezanne, called Monet "just an eye…Oh, but what an eye!" Do you know someone with a condition causing low vision?

If so, you are well aware of the frustration and, sometimes, despair, that comes along with diminishing vision. While not everyone has the talent of Monet, everyone with low vision can take a lesson from Monet, who in spite of feeling very negatively about his condition, kept moving forward. He would not stop painting, his passion fueling him and his imagination. He used the changing light, the mix of colors he could see and those he only remembered, and his fury to create some of the most exquisite paintings of all time. As I stood before one of his works in the Denver Art Museum the other day, I found myself awestruck, as always, with his painting, made all the more poignant by his battle.

What is your passion? When you are challenged with cataracts, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt's disease, or any other condition that causes low vision, you may face your own fury and the need to "change your tune." Monet finally had surgery in one eye (that did not go well) and finally was fitted with glasses that helped slightly. Nowadays, the array of tools available for low vision is extraordinary. Keeping up with "state-of-the-art" in this field is our job.

High quality magnifiers can make a world of difference. If you are already beyond what a handheld magnifier offers, consider electronic options from The Looky to the Acrobat. In the spirit of helping us all through this economy, we have a couple of video readers that either were pre-owned or demo models in our store that we are offering at reduced prices. See our write up on pre-owned products or contact us for more information. If you are ready to take a closer look at how you can continue to do the things you love, contact us. If you are in the Denver metro area, please come visit us and try out some of these extraordinary tools for yourself. They won't turn you into an artist (unless you are already one), but they might just give you that "eye" you need to be passionate again.