To the Question: Do You Mind If I Ask About Your Eyes?

Sure. I have retinitis pigmentosa and was diagnosed at five. It ran in my family. My older sister, Janice, has it the worst. My middle sister is mildly affected; she still drives and raises two kids. My Dad did not have any symptoms until he was in his 40's and only in one eye.

The disease referred to as RP effects both acuity and field of vision. You are first effected at night and then eventually during the day. Each individual progresses differently. But, ultimately, you can lose all your vision like my Uncle and my Grandfather did.

It is hard to explain what I see. I have small "islands" that I see out of. Therefore, if you are in my field of vision, I may see it and if not, then it is not there. But, if I move my head I may see it. So I do ALOT of scanning!
It is a challenge for people because sometimes I see something and sometimes I do not. Even when I do see something, it is very unclear with no details. So, for example, if I look up at a tree and see something moving, I may say I saw it! But really, I only saw "something" move. I could never identify it in a line up. But, if someone tells me to look into the tree and look for something, the chances of me finding it is slim to none. Ironically, this is frustrating to people...how funny is that!

I get by with the attitude to "just go for it." There is a safety factor but I do OK 90% of the time. The other 10% I just have to laugh and say, "didn't see that, oops!"

At least I stopped driving almost nine years ago. First, I had just stopped driving at night, but continued during the day. Then, I started only driving during the day in familiar areas only. Then, when cars starting appearing out of thin air (my islands were getting smaller) I had VERY strong intuition to stop. And I did. Cold turkey. That's the best way to break a habit. I actually felt so relieved when I stopped driving, it was scary. I'll tell you another time the adventures of no longer driving as a young adult living in a rural area.

Jodi