Sandy’s Story

I am a 49 year old wife and mother of three (a daughter 25, a son 21, and a son 15). I am a certified elementary and secondary school teacher, but I am not currently teaching school. I do teach diet and nutrition classes to help myself and others with weight loss and management.

When I was in my mid 30’s I was diagnosed with Stargardts. I had worn glasses since age 4, but this was a new diagnosis. I went through the “valley of the shadow” for quite a while. I think the biggest problem was the lack of information. I was afraid of total blindness and nobody could seem to tell me very much about the disease or my future vision.

Many years have passed. I now drive a car by using a bioptic telescope. I read most things by wearing contact lenses, +8 reading glasses, and using a hand held magnifier. There are, of course, many things that I cannot read well. Handwriting is, perhaps, my biggest challenge. I am thankful to God for my periperal vision. I have learned to use this part of my vison to do most of the things in life that I truly want to do.

I love people, animals, flowers, and trees. I have become very fond of the internet since I found the MD Support Group and the MD List. I truly believe that the information we uncover in our search for sight opens our eyes in a whole new way. My husband is a clinical psychologist and has helped me tremendously with all the stages of my grief. He has also continually challenged me to search for answers and enhancement. He is favorite “coping mechanism”.

I have found that the people we meet who are “low vision patients” all seem to be friendly, warm, accepting, and caring. This has been a wonderful blessing.

I live in a small town in Tennessee (Fayetteville). My e-mail address is: pollyanna@angelfire.com.

Please contact me anytime. I love hearing from others who are searching.

Sandy Ge in Tennessee