Eyesight issues

[Cataboo]

There is a lot of help out there for people with low vision or disabilities - just often the problem is getting plugged into the system or knowing who to ask or where to start. A low vision clinic or contacting your state or county programs is a place to start.... If she's still in high school, call the school system... Public schools are required to provide for children with issues, and they usually have a fairly good program and know where to point you. The lions clubs do a fair amount for low vision/disabled people, so they're another potential contact. The low vision clinic at Hopkins is supported by the Lions clubs and named after them. I know Maryland state runs a low vision drivers education type class on the weekend to help people with low vision that are still qualified to drive drive more safely.

Most people will say that you get better health care going to a teaching facility as a hospital/medical center. Johns Hopkins is number one in most and it's a teaching facility.

There's drawbacks - you don't want to get stuck with the unsupervised first year resident in June right after they start... But they are supposed to be getting proper supervision.

It's useful in that a resident is typically going to give you a far more thorough exam than someone who's been a doctor for years - yes, they are sort of just practicing, but they're also paying close attention and catch things that other doctors might not.

And if you've got an interesting medical history, you end up being show and tell for all the residents in the area, because, yes, they will flock to respectfully gawk at you.... But you also tend to learn and understand a bit more, because when the supervising doctor sees you, they're going to point out things and explain things to the residents... which has the added bonus of keeping you a bit better informed.

And definitely - always get 2nd or 3rd opinions on things like this - because her eyesight is so important to her daily life and some doctors are really going to offer you what they're comfortable with or what they know how to do.... The average opthamologist basically just sees people who need help with their prescription or glaucoma, anything more complicated they probably refer on... So you want to get to the referred on state, to someone that sees lots of people with vision problems and has a bigger quiver to help them.