I Have No Patience with Macular Degeneration...What is it, anyway?

I was giving a presentation to a group of business professionals and training them on how to better serve their senior customers.

One of the topics was the issue of low or reduced vision…a nasty condition that gradually takes over so slowly that you may hardly realize it. Usually, a visit to the doc enlightens us. Or blurred vision or small black dots.

I presented a series of pictures that indicated the various stages of one aspect of macular degeneration. This silent eye disease takes away the central part of your vision. Imagine a photo of your grandchild’s face and the center of the face is simply not there…a black spot takes the space. Devastating!

One participant, who had my same name, Sue, came up to me after the program with tears in her eyes. She said she had been so frustrated with her live-in mother-in-law. As Sue went to work each day, she left her MIL with numerous books, a new television and remote control and recipes for some easy, quick meals to fix if she wanted. The goal was to keep her MIL occupied and happy. Sue was aware of her MIL’s diagnosis of macular degeneration. However, Sue did not fully or even partially appreciate the severity of the disease. She didn’t realize all the activities she was putting in front of her MIL were not only impossible but were extremely frustrating. And, most importantly, Sue realized she was not listening.

Have you really listened to the issues your senior is experiencing?

Sue couldn’t wait to get home and help her MIL with a new way “to see” things such as audio books and magazines, a special magnifying computer screen, a handheld low vision television remote and magnifying glass and even a watch that had an extra-large face. And Sue immediately signed her MIL up for a spoken Rx Reader that was available at her local pharmacy.

Have you really listened to the issues your senior is experiencing? Have you seen things or heard things from their perspective? Keep in mind that this is training for your own senior years.

Check out the Resources Tab for help (www.acb.org/resources).