Stereo Sue Summary

When reading Stereo Sue by Oliver Sack in 2006, I realized how important our vision is in multiple ways. The memory of a close friend that passed a few years ago continued to come to mind. My friend named Bill Vickery lost his vision after a surgery on his optic nerve where the nerve was beyond repair and completely damaged. Shortly after his surgery and the loss of sight be started to fall into depression and I was able to see he really needed some help. He lost spatial recognition and then shortly after lost more and more of his ability until he was only capable of seeing some contrast and shapes with very little movement. I remember asking him if he was able to see as he walked and he explained that it was embarrassing but no. He described

From an old Apache medical evacuation pilot, this man had been reduced to not much more than a helpless elderly man that spent his days reflecting of days long past. I started researching ways to help those with vision loss and found many different resources. I bought him a small telescopic cane with a rubber tip on the end and prepared to take it to him in attempts of support rather than forcing help on a determined macho man that would never ask for help. I said my usual hello and said that I had found a really neat gadget which could catch the attention of any tech savvy man. I explained how to use the sight assisting cane and soon after found him taking walks down the sidewalks outside of his home. Being his neighbor and close friend I took comfort in assisting any way I was able. He soon explained that he was struggling to eat because he could not see the food on his plate. I painted a glass plate half white and half black so that when food was placed on either side, he would be able to recognize where the food was. We went on like this for about a year when he went to the Veterans Administration and they referred him to a facility located in San Antonio that taught the visually impaired how to function and

I understand that Sue Barry was capable of some sight but was limited and therefore struggled in some way. I imagine that she must have worked very hard in her life to become successful but even more so with limitations. I personally have been in front of a computer screen long enough at times to provide eye strain and I think I would struggle to live like this always. I was diagnosed with glaucoma at sixteen after my mother was recently diagnosed and reading this really reminded me that I need to take the best care of my eyes and protect my sense of sight to the best of my ability. I would imagine the frustrations and anger towards seeing things flat or not at all would take over and cause me to slide into depression, similarly to my friend. When I had first learned of Bill’s sight loss I found myself, even then as attempting to complete tasks with my eyes closed. I wanted only a glimpse of what life was like with no vision and found that I was lacking greatly in memory. I was unable to find things I had just placed down and therefore grew annoyed. Similar to those times I practiced daily life with one eye covered. The strain on my eye remaining open was great and caused some tension behind my eyes. I found that I felt as though I was going to trip, like my balance was somehow thrown off, but only slightly. I knew where things were in my brain but I felt that what I was seeing