This is a rather long self thought I had with my self, and it involves vision problems. Its not your common nearsightedness where you can just wear glasses and boom, problem solved. It is much more serious so bear with me here.
So I have this condition called Amblyopia, where in childhood my brain kind of chose my left eye to be dominant, and by consequence neglecting my right eye's image, to the point that everything it sees is blurry, even with glasses.
The doctor told me that this had to be corrected when i was young, ideally before the age of 6. Of course, I didnt realize or remember my right eye being bad until after a surgery I had when I was 8. Of course, I never remembered my right eye as being any good, so it sort of stayed the same to this day, which sees me as 16 years old and otherwise physically healthy.
Basically what this means is, that unless some Vision Therapy program works for older people with the problem(there has been one advertised, but it is Singapore based and I dont know how effective it is)
Anyways, until a proven Vision Therapy program emerges, or doctors come up with a magical treatment,(of which Stem Cells could be involved) I'll be stuck with one good eye(my left), whose vision is almost perfect with or without glasses. And one bad eye(my right), whose vision is so bad that its almost legally blind, with or without glasses. Again, this is because the condition involves the brain rejecting the right eye's image at an developmental age(2-6 years old.)
I honestly didnt care all that much that my right eye's vision was really bad until a couple of weeks ago, where a harsh reality smacked me dead in the face. I realized that because my right eye's vision was unlikely to improve to usable conditions, and because I can only depend on my left eye, if anything happens to my left eye, I’ll be practically blind.
Ive talked to several friends and peers about this issue, and they all pretty much said “Its not the end of the world, at least your not completely blind, or have mental problems, or are missing arms/legs.”
And to them, I responded “At the same time, I could’ve easily been perfectly healthy with no problems.”
So because of my realization about my eyes, I have gone into a depressed mood. Not clinically depressed where I’m borderline suicidal, but more of a state of mind where I find it very hard to enjoy things. Like I’d be watching some comedical character (like Johnny Drama from Entourage) I’d be laughing, but then I’d remember that I only have one good eye and it sort of kills the fun.
Some other thoughts I had about this is how big of a factor it plays into my athletic and recreational life. I play basketball, and every time I miss a shot or something like that, I can’t help but think that if my right eye were better I would focus on the rim better. I also play video games, mostly shooters, and every time I choke in a game like Halo 3, I also go back to the thought of if I had 2 good eyes I would perform better.
This is not to say I flatout suck at basketball and Halo 3, in fact quite the opposite but Im just asking is my visual condition a limiting factor to how good I can become. Surely, I’ve encountered a few people who are in the same boat as me(not in real life, I cant just go up and ask someone is your eye messed up. Rather, I go to forums and had a lot of responders there.) So they responded, yea it sucks, but you have to learn to adapt and soon it wont be so bad.
Then I think, well I wouldn’t have to adapt if I never had it, and out of everyone, why me?
So I have this condition called Amblyopia, where in childhood my brain kind of chose my left eye to be dominant, and by consequence neglecting my right eye's image, to the point that everything it sees is blurry, even with glasses.
The doctor told me that this had to be corrected when i was young, ideally before the age of 6. Of course, I didnt realize or remember my right eye being bad until after a surgery I had when I was 8. Of course, I never remembered my right eye as being any good, so it sort of stayed the same to this day, which sees me as 16 years old and otherwise physically healthy.
Basically what this means is, that unless some Vision Therapy program works for older people with the problem(there has been one advertised, but it is Singapore based and I dont know how effective it is)
Anyways, until a proven Vision Therapy program emerges, or doctors come up with a magical treatment,(of which Stem Cells could be involved) I'll be stuck with one good eye(my left), whose vision is almost perfect with or without glasses. And one bad eye(my right), whose vision is so bad that its almost legally blind, with or without glasses. Again, this is because the condition involves the brain rejecting the right eye's image at an developmental age(2-6 years old.)
I honestly didnt care all that much that my right eye's vision was really bad until a couple of weeks ago, where a harsh reality smacked me dead in the face. I realized that because my right eye's vision was unlikely to improve to usable conditions, and because I can only depend on my left eye, if anything happens to my left eye, I’ll be practically blind.
Ive talked to several friends and peers about this issue, and they all pretty much said “Its not the end of the world, at least your not completely blind, or have mental problems, or are missing arms/legs.”
And to them, I responded “At the same time, I could’ve easily been perfectly healthy with no problems.”
So because of my realization about my eyes, I have gone into a depressed mood. Not clinically depressed where I’m borderline suicidal, but more of a state of mind where I find it very hard to enjoy things. Like I’d be watching some comedical character (like Johnny Drama from Entourage) I’d be laughing, but then I’d remember that I only have one good eye and it sort of kills the fun.
Some other thoughts I had about this is how big of a factor it plays into my athletic and recreational life. I play basketball, and every time I miss a shot or something like that, I can’t help but think that if my right eye were better I would focus on the rim better. I also play video games, mostly shooters, and every time I choke in a game like Halo 3, I also go back to the thought of if I had 2 good eyes I would perform better.
This is not to say I flatout suck at basketball and Halo 3, in fact quite the opposite but Im just asking is my visual condition a limiting factor to how good I can become. Surely, I’ve encountered a few people who are in the same boat as me(not in real life, I cant just go up and ask someone is your eye messed up. Rather, I go to forums and had a lot of responders there.) So they responded, yea it sucks, but you have to learn to adapt and soon it wont be so bad.
Then I think, well I wouldn’t have to adapt if I never had it, and out of everyone, why me?
