John Beckman - W4BTX HAM RADIO "A PAST TIME FOR A LIFETIME"W
A ham friend asked me what projects I was working on. Sadly I had to tell him that my work bench was just as cluttered as ever and the shop floor is full of components. But I'm unable to work on anything. I have macular degeneration . It is an eye condition that many people suffer from and it comes with age. It is an inherited disease and runs in my family.
Thousands of people in the US suffer from macular degeneration and there is no cure. It affects people differently. Some folks lose a portion of vision in one or both eyes. Like a "hole" in the middle of whatever they are looking at. In my case I can "see" everything, but it is all out of focus and blurred. And I cannot read print and my depth perception is off. Magnifying objects makes them bigger but they are still blurry so that is really no help.
I can't find the number of people who have MD but I've learned that there are thousands, maybe millions in the US alone. You would think that with that large a group of people with MD that there would be a lot of medical research going on about it. But, sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case. I suppose that is because it is not a "celebrity" disease like cancer. And, unfortunately, there is no such thing as "EYE" transplants."
There are some electronic devices that resemble those "virtual reality" masks that you have seen, that may improve one's vision, and I will be investigating those. They are quite expensive in the order of $4K not including the medial expense to fit and adjust such a device.
Macular degeneration comes on slowly and gets progressively worse. So the person doesn't realize the symptoms until one day you cannot read the paper or your email. But, if you are a young person there is a vitamin combination that can and will delay or prevent MD. It is nonprescription AREDS 2. I have no connection, monetary or otherwise, with the manufacture of this product. But even if there is no Md in your heritage, take this product. I wish someone had told me about it years ago. It won't hurt you, it is just a vitamin, and it may save your vision.
72 FROM JOHN UNTIL NEXT TIME
ps. I have to have my wife proof this page because my vision is so poor I can't see the mistakes..
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