Given that my vision was so bad for the past two and a half years, I could not, nor would I have even attempted to drive a car. Yet I still had my driver's license. Occasionally, I could see well enough to drive but I never knew when my only good eye would blur to the point I could not read highway signs. But a couple of months ago I felt like I could drive to the local hardware store about four miles away. I did, but my wife had to drive the return trip.
And so it became a frustrating waiting game to see if my final option, a Scleral Lens, would give me back my vision when all other attempts did not.
Meanwhile, my driver's license was due to expire in a few weeks. I started to get nervous and kept trying this and that doctor until I finally ended up in an optometrist's office. She specialized in Scleral Lenses. And for the past four months, she has tried everything she could, including ordering multiple 're-shaped' lenses, each offering a slightly better result.
I'm wearing my fifth lens while waiting on my sixth and probably final lens that will get my vision about as close as it will ever be.
Meanwhile, yesterday morning, I woke to a very good vision day. And I decided it was a good day to visit the driver's license office.
I had already armed myself with completed forms from my doctors attesting to my visual acuity being 20/40, the minimum for being issued a driver's license. So I asked my wife to drive me to the state's driver's license office in Bogalusa about an hour north of us. The local office here is always crowded and uncomfortable. I thought Bogolusa would not be so stressful.
We both returned home with renewed driver's licenseSeconds. Judy's was easy, but mine was complicated, and even with the doctor's certification, the very nice agent gave me every bit of slack she could without pressuring me. I still could not read the numbers. She asked if I bought my Scleral Lens, which I did, and told me to install the lens. I installed it right there at her counter.
I promptly read the numbers to her. And just like that, I qualified for my driver's license renewal.
It was more than the stress of worrying about passing the tests, it was a validation of my vision returning to me so that I could live a normal life.
No, I didn't drive home from there. And today the eye is painful from the stress yesterday. But I hope to drive to the grocery tomorrow. It has been a long time since I thought I could do that.
A very special thanks goes to the nice lady at the driver's license office for being patient with me. I wish all government employees could follow your example when dealing with those of us who have challenges that we wish we didn't have.
