I have put off writing this post for seven months. Right now, I am feeling the anxiety surrounding this subject. I did not know how much this affects me until now.
Struggling to Read
During first grade, I experienced eye surgery and months of eye patching. After the patch treatment ended, I dealt with double vision. Because of all of this, I failed to learn to read.
My struggle with learning how to read eventually resulted in my being held back (flunked) a year later.
Reading Books from First Grade
These are the reading books I remember from first and second grades. The dog’s name was Flip.
Lazy Eye or Amblyopia and the Treatment
Even with eye surgery and patch treatment, I still did not have any depth perception. The surgery only corrected the crooked or wandering eye. It didn’t restore depth perception.
I wore glue-on patches like this. I remember them being uncomfortable and painful when removed.
I also wore glasses with the eye patch.
Nowadays, there is an alternative to the glue-on eye patch, one that is attached to the eyeglass frame.
Lack of Depth Perception
Without depth perception, I couldn’t catch, hit, or throw a ball with any accuracy. Because of this, my peers, the other boys, rejected me and refused to allow me to play with them at recess or other times.
I wanted to play with them, but they all said no and told me to play with the girls.
That rejection hurt.
Due to the lack of depth perception, I could not see 3-D in View-Masters and 3-D movies.
My brain would alternate between the two different images and they would never merge into one 3-D image.
Effects of Rejection
I didn’t have to throw or catch a ball to play football with the other boys. I was bigger and taller than the other boys and could have played on the line being a tackle or blocker. However, in the impromptu game of recess football, there was the often self-appointed team captain, who took the role of quarterback. He expected all the other players to be wide receivers to catch his throws. No other positions were even considered.
When I was a kid, there weren’t any cute cartoon characters on the eye patches.
Perhaps with a cartoon eye patch, the other boys would have thought I was cool and would not have rejected me.
The rejection by the other boys hurt.
Fifty-plus years later, it still hurts.
More to come…
Lazy eye (amblyopia) – Symptoms & causes – Mayo Clinic
Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) | National Eye Institute (nih.gov)
facebook.com/AmblyopiaSupport/
facebook.com/Friendswithpatches
Without depth perception, I naturally failed at dodgeball.
Click on the image for that story
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