Glaucoma Simulation (12:30pm-1:30pm)
This is the first mask. It was pretty hard to focus my vision. I tended to focus more out of the left eye because the hole in the mask was slightly larger. My neck was strained a lot too because of the limited vision. I had no peripheral vision which made it awkward to look at people. I tended to keep my head down and it was very hard to be aware of my environment. I did not interact with anyone because it was too hard to focus on them. Even when I ate my lunch I didn't even realize I spilled food on the front of my shirt till later. As I did homework during this time and it was very hard to focus on the computer screen and it made typing really difficult. When I do my homework, I normally have both earplugs in listening to music but I took one out to heighten my sense of my surrounding so people wouldn't scare me every time they walked into my vision and I didn't hear them coming. It would be so hard to be deaf and have limited vision! I had to over-exaggerate turning my head to see what is on the side of me. I wanted to be invisible. I had to hold my phone or other objects farther out in front of me so I could focus on them better. It was interesting what effects this had with my normal routine.
Loss of an Eye Simulation [Causes loss of depth of field-limits dominant eye] (1:30-2:30)
This simulation was very interesting because my mom cannot see out of her left eye. It was interesting to put myself in her shoes to see what she experiences every day. I continued doing homework and this mask made it much easier to focus and read. I ended up switched my one headphone to my left ear to hear what was coming from my right since I couldn't see that way-as you can see in the picture. I enjoyed being able to have peripheral vision again, even if it was just in one eye. This mask wasn't that bad. It didn't effect my learning or ability too much. I recognized that my left eye became a little more strained. But that's about the only disadvantage I noticed.
Problem with the Lens Simulation [ie. astigmatism] (2:30-3:30)
This mask was my least favorite. Luckily I was in my Exceptional Students class. So I was able to have their help to know what was going on. But I could not see a thing. Everything was blurry and I could not see anything or read anything, It was a joke to even try to read the power point or read the handout. When class was done I still had 30 minutes left, so I just went and sat in the hallway and talked to another classmate who was wearing the same mask. We could hardly see each other or those that were passing us in the hall. I felt as if I was blind. There were two spots in the mask that I could see a bit clearly but I had to move my head into an awkward position to see. By the end of this simulation my eyes were tired and I had a bit of a headache.
Macular Degeneration Simulation (3:30-4:30)
This one wasn't that bad. I was supposed to focus on the green pieces of paper and only use my peripheral vision. It was hard to not focus above or below the paper. I was able to type and text and do other homework. The time seemed to go by faster and I wasn't as shy when I talked to people.
Wearing these masks reminds me of the Phantom from the Phantom of the Opera- my favorite musical! He was invisible and hid himself and that's what I did. I hid in the education building on campus and did homework and had class till my four hours were up. I thought about the individuals in the Bible who were blind. How amazing it would be to see again and have vision restored! We rely so much on what we can see. I am so thankful for my ability to see and that we have technology and resources to correct our vision. I wear contacts and when I take my contacts out I can see but things that are about 5 feet away are blurry.
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