Daniel L. Roberts – United States
The visual spots that I first thought were caused by temporary “burn-in” from the bright light of the copy machine turned out to be much more. When the spots didn’t go away and I started noticing cars on the highway disappearing into them, I decided it was time to see a doctor. The next bright flashes were into my dilated eyes as the examiner took photographs of my retinas. The diagnosis that followed was the most difficult news I have ever received. My central vision was deteriorating. To help slow down progression of the disease, the doctor injected a steroid into the tissue around my worst eye and told me there was nothing more that could be done. I asked him if my vision might last until retirement. He gave me my answer by smiling sympathetically and crossing his fingers as if to say “good luck.” Then he left the room, making that the last time I saw him, because I chose to look elsewhere for the answer to my problem.
PHOTOGRAPH OF
DANIEL L. ROBERTS
The Internet was still new, but I thought perhaps I could find help through that strange invention called the World Wide Web. After weeks of searching through the tangle of disorganized information and dead ends (I was sure that’s why it’s called a “web”), I discovered a little group of about a dozen people who had found one another and formed an e-mail support group called MDList. They had all lost central vision from macular degeneration, and they took me under their wings.
Daniel Roberts is the founding director of MD Support, Inc., and the National Low Vision Support Group. Mr. Roberts wrote the book “The First Year”, an essential guide for newly diagnosed AMD patients.
