Gerald Morris gets his eye treatment from Dr Rehman
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For Gerald Morris, a keen golfer in Huddersfield West Yorkshire, the term 'blind tee shot', had to be taken literally. While he could just about make contact with the ball he needed a spotter to play with him to see where it went.
The 70-year-old from Holmfirth suffered with macular degeneration, the most common cause of sight loss in the over 50s - which was also preventing him from even recognising faces in a room, let alone find a golf ball in the fairway or the rough.
However, he made the decision to become one of the first in the UK to have telescopic lenses implanted in his eyes - the pioneering IOL VIP (intra-ocular lens for visually impaired patients) treatment taking place at the Yorkshire Eye Hospital in Bradford.
Under the care of Dr Shafiq Rehman, a consultant ophthalmologist in this ground-breaking treatment, he received advanced lens implants to divert any image on which he wanted to focus away from the damaged macular and onto a healthy part of the retina using the principals of a Galilean telescope.
IOL VIP treatment is also a potential lifeline among many thousands who suffer from macular degeneration and, says Dr Rehman gives hope to those whom, up until now, there has been no effective treatment.
Gerald, a retired mechanical engineer with ICI, says: “Playing golf, I couldn't see the ball and had to rely on spotters to help me play the sport I love. Together with now being able to watch golf on TV, it's a major bonus for me.”
Commented Dr Rehman: “Gerald's sight has improved significantly. Each year in the UK around 17,000-18000 are registered partially or severely sight impaired due to AMD. It's now possible that around half could be able to benefit from these implants. I think telescopic implants and further developments in the future will become an important part of the management of these conditions.”
Tell us on the forum if you've had to play golf with a handicap -other than that you achieve by submitting scorecards. Share with other forum members how you have overcome your difficulties to give inspiration to others.
