Myopia

Don't try to adjust your screen! The image REALLY is out of focus!

Since I was in the fifth grade, I became myopic: nearsighted. I had been a voracious reader and would try to read several books a week; sometimes one a day just to see if I could do it. I think between having the genetic disposition for being nearsighted and totally exhausting my eyes beyond reason is what tilted the charts for me. Each year I needed a new pair of glasses in a stronger perscription. My mother found this very alarming (since I was a teenager, I was numb to thinking it was wierd that my eyesight was rapidly deteriorating). She did research and found that if I wore contacts, it would slow down the deterioration. So, I got contacts. And, it did slow it down. But, over time, I ended up with being beyond the number determined for legally blind. Since my eyesight was correctable with lenses, I wasn't considered legally blind. I asked my eye doctor once (when I was in my twenties) what my vision really was. He said it was about 20/20,000 (I swear that's the number he said). Anyway, it equated to what a normal person can see at twenty feet, I would have to be within less than three inches to be in focus.

Several years ago (gosh, I think it's been six years), I had lasik surgery performed on my eyes. My glasses at that time was minus 10. It's been hard for me to describe what my vision was like without correction. I think I can do it best via my camera by throwing the image out of focus. Actually, my vision was WORSE than the blurry image you see here. I just can't get my camera to go beyond that range!

And there you have it. That's what it is like to be severely myopic in the literal sense!