Author: One Vision

An honest, warts & all sightloss blog about living with a rare genetic eye condition, Macular Dystrophy, Stargardt's Disease. To track how this progresses in myself. Hopefully help others & bring awareness. Let's see what happens next...
Posted in Useful Information

Malibu and pineapple and blind travel tips

Posted on by One Vision

I’m sitting in one of our lovely pubs, in the centre of the city I live in.

Taking in the Spring Bank Holiday afternoon.

I have, for the first time in decades, ordered a malibu and pineapple drink.

Probably due to just coming back from Tenerife and having a few pina coladas there which have abit more to them, but taste similar. Maybe due to some nostalgia for a time that this would have been a rare treat when I was young and having first nights out with my friends.

Me and my friend Melanie would treat ourselves to a short drink when we got our wages. Hers was a pernod and blackcurrant drink. We were teens and we both wouldn’t have earned much I’m reckoning, but I remember feeling very good after buying my, one and only, malibu and pineapple of the night. A poor man’s Pina colada I call it. Which back then unless it was on offer, and lasted me most of the night, I couldn’t afford to drink regularly. Only on special occasions when we used to go to the nightclub here. It was called Rooftop Gardens. 2 for 1 cocktails first thing.

This has made me reflect, as it’s coming upto 10 years since I was diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy. I think back to those times (late 1980s) and I’m so very thankful for the memories and for the people around at that time.

I’m fortunate and lucky for this slow onset and I now see that person as not me really.

I can’t remember when my mind was so free and easy like that from not having to look at the floor. Escape from the glare. Squint at everything. Fall on the floor. Bang into stuff. Getting frustrated. Not trusting my eyes. Staring at the object to find it. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I’ve nearly finished my drink now and feel happy about my memories. You sometimes have to shove the good memories to the front of your brain, rather than the bad.

So thinking back to my recent holiday and having lovely memories from that too. I thought of something I did so I wouldn’t lose my suitcase or at least I could have a chance of spotting it out against all the others there.

Bit of an anticlimax after that though ☺️

I bought a bright neon yellow suitcase. Brightest bugger I could find.

Then stickered it up with friendly suns, just to make it stand out a little more.

When I went on holiday before. I always sort of panicked when they go around that whirly thing. Can’t think of a name #ThisDrinkIsStrong . Richard is here now I’ll ask him.

“Conveyor belt” bemused stare

I thought I wouldn’t catch it in time. Or have to run around after it, looking a right tit.

Also. I bought myself a neon yellow and white striped towel. So instead of potentially sitting with other people I don’t know. This was to give me a fighting chance to know where my friends were. As I reckoned I wouldn’t see them among the throng of sunbathers. But I maybe able to recognise the bright towel.

So that’s it really.

A bit of a rant and a handy tips.

If you got this far give us a like ☺️

A close up of an orange and yellow drink in a glass with ice cubes.
PD 1 A close up of an orange and yellow drink in a glass with ice cubes.
A top view of a suitcase still with airport tag around the handle. Bright yellow in colour. Colourful Sun stickers placed onto the suitcase
PD 2 A top view of a suitcase still with airport tag around the handle. Bright yellow in colour. Colourful Sun stickers placed onto the suitcase
A neon yellow and white striped towel covers all the frame
PD 3 A neon yellow and white striped towel covers all the frame
Posted in Useful Information

Protect your eyesight

Posted on by One Vision

I cannot stress enough about the use of sunglasses for protection for your eyesight. Now and in the future.

You may not think about this or worry about sight problems at all. Won’t even cross your mind. Or think you won’t have problems at any point. Neither did I.

These are some of the problems that can be caused by direct sun damage.

1. Solar Retinopathy: Damage to the retina from looking directly at the sun, causing vision changes and pain.

2. UV Radiation Effects: UV rays can harm the eye’s surface tissues, cornea, and lens, potentially leading to cataracts and other issues.

3. Photokeratitis: A painful condition caused by damage from UV light exposure to the Cornea often described as a sunburn of the eye.

4. Long-term Risks: Prolonged exposure to sunlight can increase the risk of developing serious eye problems, including macular degeneration and skin cancer around the eyes.

5. Pinguecula and pterygia
Pinguecula and pterygia are growths on your sclera (the white of your eye) due to excessive sun exposure.

A pterygium has the potential to spread onto the cornea and negatively impact vision.

To protect your eyes, it’s essential to wear sunglasses that have full protection and block UV rays and also avoid looking directly at the sun.

So is it worth it having those sunglasses that are really cool but offer no protection at all?

100% UV protection or UV400. This indicates they block all harmful UV rays up to 400 nanometers, which covers both UVA and UVB rays.

Polarized lenses aren’t necessarily UV-protective, but they do reduce the glare from reflected light.

VIDEO DESCRIPTION A blue and white towel rests on a sunbed with a coffee cup on top by a pool.
An animated baby that looks angry, shakes his fist whilst a thought bubble has pink text stating. People aren’t wearing sunglasses. This changes half way through to pink text of protect your eyes.
Posted in Useful Information

Accessible Banking

Posted on by One Vision

2.2 Billion people worldwide have some sort of visual impairment. So the financial organisations realising the blind communities struggle with identification of cards and there orientation is a real step to inclusivity, by making them accessible. Therefore giving the visually impaired their independence to deal with their own finances.

My cash cards each have a different tactile part of the cards design to let visually impaired and blind people know the orientation of the card, where the card would need to be inserted or tapped at the chip end.

3 little raised tactile dots for the Halifax card and a crescent shaped carved indent for Monzo. So they both have different types of tactile designs so I can differentiate between the two when my eyesight progresses fully.

I received my new Halifax card today after putting it in a safe place in my home 🤦🏼‍♀️ because I went away and only took my monzo holiday cash card with me. I can’t find it… Yet.

So this new one has the raised dots on. The old one didn’t.

Well done to these 2 banks for making this inclusion into a seeing world and making things a little easier, that really don’t take much doing really. Many others do the same and with so many of us with sight problems, we really need to be inclusive with everything as much as we can so we have a level playing field. We live in this world too.

PD 1 A Blue Halifax bank card and a neon bright orange Monzo card, rest on a cream coloured purse with a gold letter C.

PD 2 A close up of a blue Halifax bank card and a neon orange Monzo card showing the 3 raised dots on the blue card and the crescent shaped indent on the orange one.

PD 1 A Blue Halifax bank card and a neon bright orange Monzo card, rest on a cream coloured purse with a gold letter C.
PD 2 A close up of a blue Halifax bank card and a neon orange Monzo card showing the 3 raised dots on the blue card and the crescent shaped indent on the orange one.