bioptic driving Archives

Briarna Dobson’s Journey with Stargardt’s Disease

October 8, 2019/0 Comments/in Stargardt's Disease, Testimonials /by Henry Greene

Ocutech would like to thank Briarna for sharing her story with Stargardt’s and how she gained her independence back with dedicated parents, doctors and Ocutech bioptics!

I always get asked, “What do you mean you’re blind, you look so normal?” Most people find it difficult to comprehend that you can look normal but be partially sighted. We are taught there are three types of vision: perfect vision, vision that requires correction with glasses or completely blind with no vision. So, I do understand the confusion some have when I try to explain my vision.

Losing My Vision

I was born fully sighted and had no issues with my vision. When I was 8 years old, I started struggling to see the board. We went to the Optometrist and I got glasses for reading and seeing the board. I went back yearly for routine check-ups and it wasn’t till I was 13 years old that the optometrist found something at the back of my eye (my retina), we then went to the ophthalmologist in Tauranga, where they referred us for more testing at the Retina Specialist clinic in Auckland. This was when we were told…I had Stargardts.

My parents were devastated. They saw all the obstacles I would be coming up against, would I be able to finish mainstream education? Would I be able to drive? Would I be happy? I, however, didn’t have the foresight to think of any of that. I could see alright for the moment and that was all that mattered. A few months later I understood completely how my parents felt that day.

What is Stargardt’s?

Stargardt’s Disease is a genetic juvenile condition. It affects the macula in the retina. This is responsible for colour and central vision. This results in the whole image not being sent through the optic nerve to the brain. My brain then fills in the missing pieces and compensates with my peripheral vision. The loss of vision starts with puberty and gradually continues to progress through the teens and adult years. As if puberty wasn’t difficult enough.

Losing My Sight and Independence

Growing up I was a very active kid, I got involved in all the sports, netball, volleyball, water polo, hockey, and dance, to name a few. With the loss of my vision that was taken away from me, I no longer was able to play those sports or see the choreographer in dance training. Then it came to the age where I was faced with “you won’t be able to drive.” My friends were getting their driver’s licenses; they were independent and could go off when they pleased. They could get around and did not have to rely on anyone else. These days were dark for me, it just didn’t seem fair as I could not be independent and have the freedom that comes with it.

My parents are continuously working to find the best tools possible for me to live life as a normal teenager. They are always researching Stargardt’s Disease and keeping up to date with everything and anything that could benefit my condition and my life. My Dad came across a video on “stuff.com” of a guy who was visually impaired that was granted his license with a special pair of glasses, he was also from New Zealand and we immediately got in touch with him. He explained how he got the glasses and who to contact.

Finding Hope and Learning I Could Drive!

My Dad got in touch with Peter Neuhauser and Anna Megaffin from the Hamilton Branch Bell Neuhauser & (Matthews) Optometrist. Peter sounded so hopeful and it was really promising. Although I did not want to get my hopes up too high.

We went to Hamilton and they ran a few tests. We were then given the best news of our lives – with these glasses (Ocutech VES-Sport II) I could obtain my driver’s license!

Photo of the VES-Sport II Bioptic Telescope — The Ocutech VES Sport-II

The glasses are ordered from America, so I started to study the road code like crazy and after a few months of waiting, the glasses arrived and the very next day, I took my learner’s license test in 13 minutes and got 35/35 correct. I now have my very own licence.

It really was the best day and feeling ever!

The past 4 years have been the longest and hardest years of my life, but after meeting Peter, Anna, and the team, my life has completely changed in the best way ever and my dreams have come true!

I am so grateful for all they have done and my Ocutech Bioptics!

Back to Testimonials

Floridians with low vision can benefit from bioptics even if they cannot use them to drive.

Image of palm trees in florida with title, Visually Impaired and Living in Florida

There is more to bioptics than just driving in Florida

Losing one’s drivers license or never being eligible for one because of reduced vision is undoubtedly a bummer. There are ways to get around without driving yourself, but the independence and enhanced quality of life one gains from being able to drive (not to mention the ‘right of passage’ of a driver’s license for teenagers) is hard to argue. Most US states have adopted bioptic driving laws, allowing individuals with a certain acuity and degree of peripheral vision to be eligible for full or restricted license privileges.

Unfortunately, Florida is one of the few remaining states in the Union that does not allow visually impaired individuals to obtain a driver’s license while wearing a bioptic telescope.

What is the current licensing requirements in Florida?

Date last verified: August 2018

Bioptic driving is NOT allowed
Bioptic is NOT permitted to meet visual standards
Minimum visual acuity of 20/70 for an unrestricted license
Minimum visual acuity of 20/40 if one eye is 20/200 or worse
Field of view must be at least 130 degrees

So, if I cannot use a bioptic to drive in Florida, why should I use one?

There’s more to life than driving… really! And bioptic telescopes for low vision can be part of making your life experiences as positive and enjoyable as you choose to make it. Can’t see your friends, family or co-workers from across the room? Can’t read the sports score on TV? Can’t read the menu on the wall of the restaurant? Can’t read the computer screen or play music or card games. Can’t see well enough to play shuffleboard or bowl? Don’t want to go out because you can’t recognize people at a distance? Feel left out because you don’t feel visually connected? Bioptics can help in all these ways and even more.

Bioptic telescopes can help individuals with 20/200 see 20/40, and maybe even better. You’ll see virtually as well as a normally-sighted person. Granted, they look a little weird (most folks think they’re cool once they realize how much better they can see with them… promise!), and there a few things you’ll have to learn. Bioptics have changed the lives of the visually impaired whether they are in their teens, twenties, or even nineties! You owe it to yourself to check them out. They may not get you behind the wheel in Florida, but at least they will help you see where you’re going and when you get there!

For more information on Ocutech bioptics visit our webpage at www.ocutech.com or email info@ocutech.com for a referral.

Tim Goetz – Opportunity by Ocutech

December 27, 2017/in Testimonials /by Henry Greene

Tim Goetz

Call it “Opportunity by Ocutech”

It’s Thanksgiving 2017, and I’m sitting here at work thinking over the last 20 odd years. Yes, I can’t believe it either, but it was actually autumn of 1996 when I received my first bioptic device from Ocutech. I was married, had a son, and living mostly in the cash economy of a disability check, when my back gave out. The doctor said no physical labor for a year or more, potential employers were still laughing at all attempts to find a job.

I’ve always said that the good Lord looks out for the fools and the ignorant and since I’m chief in both categories, He does look out for me. I called Voc-Rehab of North Carolina, with the thought of going back to school to get an engineering degree. I met with Georgena Clayten and I’ll never forget the smile, and her statement, “I think we can do this”.

I had no idea how difficult it would be, there was no money, my son was a teenager, and it’d been almost 20 years since I’d opened a Math book. My first day in class convinced me that my old tactic of writing what the teacher said as fast as he said it, was not going to work. You see, I never had seen what was written on the blackboard. Today’s math teachers are notorious for moving ‘this’ to ‘here’, from ‘there’ and doing ‘that’ again. I had to figure out how to see what he was writing, there was no alternative.

That night I talked with my brother, who has the same vision issues that I do, pretty convinced that I wasn’t going to make it. He knew Dr. Greene, and he was using an Ocutech device every day to help him see to drive a moped back and forth to work in Raleigh, NC.

Time flies, I graduated six years later, with an honors degree in mechanical engineering. I think I’ve tried most, if not all, of the tools Ocutech offers. The auto focus got me through school. The manual focus allowed me to work, as a civilian for the Navy. Ocutech even had a ‘two-eyed” solution ready when the Navy said I’d have to have depth perception, at distance to handle high explosives.

I learned to drive automobiles with this device. Little did I know what ‘driving’ could bring. I’ve held a few jobs since then, Engineering Manager for a huge corporation, among others. Chief Operating Officer of a small start-up, and now, as the hair is turning gray, (what hasn’t fallen out), I’ve slowed down a little and work as a Projects engineer for the world’s largest producer of natural preservatives for our food.

I should probably mention that I still depend on Ocutech every day. I have several ‘Sight-Scopes’ which are now my tools of choice. I’ve driven well over a million miles since I got that first license. I live in Nebraska where nothing is next door, it’s 20 miles to the nearest grocery. My grandkids are in North Carolina, and I still drive across the country to see Dr. Greene every other year to keep my license in this state. I almost titled this article “From a Disability Check to a Six Figure Income” but that would not give credit where credit is due. So, how about “Opportunity by Ocutech”.

I am thankful.

Tim Goetz