The Strabismus Institute
Part 6 - A very nasty shock
I seemed to have no more trouble with the dizzy feeling and I really enjoyed the stroll and watching the people. We went back to the Food Court for lunch and then went back to the Institute.
Jim was in the reception area. “Ah, you are right on time. I just picked up your new glasses from the lab. Let’s get them adjusted and you can tell me about the mall visit while we check your peripheral vision. Betty, this should not take more than 10 to 15 minutes.”
Jim and I went to a different exam room where there was a strange looking device that resembled a big protractor like we used in school. The degree markings were a little different. 0 was straight ahead with 90 on the left and right plus marks up to 120 degrees on each side.
Have a seat Jack and I will adjust your new glasses. How was the mall?
“Interesting, perhaps in the Chinese sense! I had a little dizziness at first, but that went away. Later, as we walked along, I noticed that there were more people than usual apparently noticing my glasses.”
Jim chuckled and said, “I forgot to mention that many of our clients visit that mall wearing their glasses, some even wearing the trial frames. It seems that people who are fascinated by eyewear have decided that mall is a great venue. Some have even had enough courage to ask our clients about their glasses and where they got them. Sometimes they are people who are having double vision problems and have been unable to find an Eye Care Professional that really understood the problem and how to fix it. Some of those have become our clients.”
The adjustment only took a few minutes and Jim said, “We need to do two tests, one with each pair of glasses. Since you already have your 39/39 glasses on, let’s do that one first. Notice that there is a notch in the middle of the device. Place your face up close with your nose in the notch and concentrate on the green LED that is straight ahead. Concentrate on that, while I bring lights or other objects into your peripheral vision from either side. Let me know when you can detect that there is something there. We will start with a red LED. It is easy to spot and it will give you an idea of what to expect. Some of the objects are intentionally hard to see and others are pretty obvious. Please do not try to look at the object, but keep looking at the green LED that is straight ahead.
The test was not hard or uncomfortable, but it was obvious that my peripheral vision was better with the 32/32 glasses than the 39/39s. It turned out that I had reason to NOT be happy with the outcome of either test.
“Jack, I’ve got some bad news for you. While you see very well with either pair of glasses, your range of peripheral vision with the 39/39 glasses is definitely not enough for you to legally drive with them. The 32/32 glasses, are a little better, but they are right on the border of being legal if you pass a special driver’s test.”
“Damn, Jim! After that brief bout of being a little dizzy, I didn’t have any problem at the mall except for some funny reactions the other people had, trying to figure out which way I was going or looking.”
“The mall is NOT high speed freeway traffic and there are NOT side-street threats trying to T-Bone you. Good peripheral vision is very important for driving safety.
“I understand that, but what am I to do? Not being able to drive would be a major hardship in this town.”
“Jack, we have dealt with that problem before. About a third of our clients came here because they could not pass the driver’s license requirements and I have some ideas of ways to handle your problem, but I need to discuss your tests with my colleagues. I would like you to wear any of your glasses that keep you from seeing double, over the weekend. I suspect you may find the 39/39 glasses work best, but it does not really matter. I suspect, you may be tempted to drive with your old 20/20 glasses, but please don’t. It is highly likely that if you CAN manage to fuse the two images, you won’t be able to keep them fused without seriously concentrating on that task. Talk about distracted driving! I don’t want you in an accident. You don’t need bigger problems to deal with.”
I sat in stunned silence.
“I would like you to come back Tuesday morning for an MRI. You have excellent eye muscle freedom and tone and I would like you to practice moving your eyes fully left and right, up, down, and around about every 10 minutes. I would prefer that your eye muscles do not get too used to demanding or even accommodating your eyes turning inward.”
“I will explain all this to Betty, and hopefully she won’t mind being Chauffeur, a bit longer. She seems like a very good friend. Will Tuesday morning be OK for you?”
I mentally swam up from wondering what the hell was happening to me. All I came here for was to get some glasses I could see with and now, they want to do an an MRI, probably of my head, but I was not even sure of that. “I think so, Jim. I had something planned for next week, but I think this is more important. We need to see if Betty can drive me.”
It turned out that Betty was more than happy to help. All I had to do from now until Tuesday morning was worry and brood, in sort of a ‘blue funk’. I was NOT a happy, cross-eyed camper.
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