June 15th, 2010 by Paul
The best resource I have seen for the newly monocular is a book written by Terry Spring called “A One Eyed View of Life” Terry brain stormed the challenges faced by people living with monocular vision with the group “Cyclops Circle”. This book will help you deal with the challenges of work, sports, driving and just about every other aspect of living with monocular vision. This book is also helpful for family and friends who can sympathise but not really understand what it is like to live with monocular vision.
You won’t find his book in book shops or on the internet. Terry self publishes his book and he is not easy to get in touch with. We use a complicated system of smoke signals and carrier pigeons to contact him. If you would like to order a book please contact us through our contact page and we will arrange for him to send you a copy of his book. In Australia he charges $15 which includes postage. For anyone out of Australia it will cost a bit more for postage. I recommend this book to all my clients and is well worth a look.
Categories: Support For Eye Loss
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April 14th, 2010 by Paul
It is my dream to produce high quality conformer shells in the Philippines. How this came about is described in a recent interview I did for university study into innovation.
The study investigates how people have found ways to express their values and ethical commitments through developing innovative business initiatives.
Jenny felt that the interview would be of interest to you so we’ve decided to include an edited version. You can read it here at High Quality Conformer Shell Project.
Tags: Conformer Shells
Categories: Conformer Shells
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April 9th, 2010 by Paul
I am thrilled to publish a new story Live The Dream by Tony Armenti.
He was just seven when he found himself lying in a hospital bed with his eyes bandaged. He would lose an eye. There was concern he would lose sight in both eyes.
In the middle of this dreadful time he was visited by a young girl Francis who had also recently lost an eye. Francis told him, “Don’t worry. It’s not so bad. You get used to it.”
Tony never forgot how much that visit meant to him. All these years later he sends his thanks to Francis and tells his story of how things worked out for him.
At the end of Tony’s story there is a link to a story by Francis about how things worked out for her, I’ve Been Proposed To Five Times.
Both of these stories highlight something Jenny and I see every day. Eye loss is an awful experience but it does not need to define you or your life.
Categories: Stories Of Eye Loss
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February 8th, 2010 by Paul
Pauline Middleton Dolls
Are you having a hard time picking the artificial eye? The truth is they are both artificial eyes.
Take a close look at this beautiful young girl and you will notice that she is not a young girl at all. She is in fact one of Pauline Middletons incredible creations.
Whoopi Goldberg, Thankyou card
Pauline Middleton creates original life sized dolls which are sort after around the world. The great Whoopie Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey are both proud owners of these eerily life like dolls.
We have recently started working with Pauline by providing the realistic eyes for her dolls. It is great to be working with Pauline on this project.
Please have a look at her web site Pauline Middleton Original Dolls.
Tags: dolls eyes
Categories: Making Artificial Eyes
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December 5th, 2009 by Paul
We are very happy to co-operate when journalists approach us to do a story about our work.
This was the case with the Sunday Times who published an article about us yesterday.
We see each story as a valuable opportunity to educate people that there is hope after the loss of eye.
It is not uncommon to meet people who had an eye made decades years ago and who have never got round to replacing it.
As the face changes over time it is often the case that an old prosthesis no long looks natural and it might even be causing irritation to the socket itself.
A newspaper story showing the face of someone happy with their new prosthesis can help these people come forward and have a new eye made.
This can make a dramatic difference to their appearance and level of confidence.
This is the reason why we are always happy to make time to speak to journalists. They help us take away the mystery that surrounds eye loss.
Information reduces fear and makes it a little easier for people to take the step of getting a natural looking prostheis for themselves.
Here is Jasmyn Rullo’s article Eyes Win Vote of Confidence.
Categories: Emotional Response To Eye Loss
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September 8th, 2009 by Jenny
Paul is in Dubai at the moment. He has sent me an email with the link to a fascinating story of eye loss.
Writer Tanya Vlach suffered facial trauma and eye loss after a car accident.
Her story describes some of the feelings experienced during the years that followed.
I just love the way this story is written. This is someone who is really in touch with their emotions. I think being able to put all those feelings down is a great skill to have.
We try to find stories like these and share them with our clients. Eye loss is uncommon experience and reading about how others have dealt with it can be very helpful.
I recommend you take a few minutes to read #21.grow a new eye.
Categories: Emotional Response To Eye Loss
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June 9th, 2009 by Jenny
I’ve had some people come to see me lately who leave me with a sense of sadness.
Their anxieties about their artificial eye have taken a huge toll on their self esteem.
Even though years have past, I can feel that they are still carrying a great burden, as if they had lost their eye recently.
What is even sadder is that these people have fantastic looking eyes. They are attractive looking people with a natural looking eye.
It is often very difficult to communicate with people when they are burdened. They are very protective of themselves.
I would like to suggest they see a counsellor or a psychologist. It would be great to see these folk freed from the anxiety they carry about their appearance.
I am reminded of a song I am learning to play on the ukulele. The song is called This Eye by Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians. The chorus goes:
This eye looks with love
This eye looks with judgement
Free me, take the sight out of this eye.
If you are left with only harsh judgement about yourself and how you look, you are indeed imprisoned.
Losing an eye is very difficult. Carrying angst for many years can be a far greater disability then living with an artificial eye.
If living with an artificial eye is the most important part of your life still, a year or two down the track, then maybe a couple of sessions with a psychologist may help.
Tags: anxiety, appearance
Categories: Emotional Response To Eye Loss
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June 2nd, 2009 by Jenny
Most kids don’t use the word “bullying”.
For them, the problem is more about unwanted attention.
What is most important is fitting in.
If an artificial eye is well fitted and polished it should look natural and not draw unwanted attention in the playground.
As children are constantly growing the prosthetic eye will need frequent minor adjustments to keep the natural look.
For parents this means the extra effort of more frequent visits.
For kids it means being noticed for your great smile rather than your artificial eye.
Tags: bullying, Children
Categories: Children, Emotional Response To Eye Loss
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May 4th, 2009 by Jenny
I had an email this week from a woman who has had a new prosthesis made interstate.
She was happy with the look of the eye but unhappy about the constant discharge she has been experiencing.
She told us that she felt the prosthesis was comfortable and her specialist said there was no infection. Why then was the discharge continuing?
I thought it might be worth setting out the types of questions I would want to explore in this sort of circumstance.
When did you have the eye removed?
Sometimes it can take a few months for everything to settle into place. Especially if you had a derma fat implant. They are a fantastic implant once settled but it does take a long time before the discharge stops.
Is it possible that the eye prosthesis is too small?.
When an eye prosthesis is made from an impression of the eye socket, all the spaces are filled nicely so that the tears evaporate the same as your other eye. If the prosthesis is too small, the tears pool into the spaces in the eye socket, turn milky then come out as a gloop when you blink.
Does the eye close properly?
If it is only in the mornings that there is muck then it could be that the eyelids are not closing properly over night. Get a friend to check if the eyelids close when your eyes are closed softly.
Do you find that you suffer a bit of dryness during the day as well?
This could indicate that the prosthesis is a little too large and by having it hollowed a touch it may help too alleviate both problems.
Is there any pressure points or tenderness in the eye socket? Or a spot which feels a bit itchy?
Sometimes when an eye prosthesis is not polished properly it can cause a discharge. The scratch or a sharp edge on the prosthesis can irritate the tissue which makes the eye socket produce extra tears to flush out the problem.
Who made your eye prosthesis?
A well made professionally fitted prosthesis will cause very few problems. It is worth hunting down a reputable and experienced ocularist. Click here for O.A.A. Member List.
Tags: eye discharge
Categories: Artificial Eye Facts
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April 28th, 2009 by Jenny
“I’m relieved to see that you are not as sinister in real life as you are in your website photos” That is what a new client told us this week.
Paul and I were amused as we had actually gone to some trouble to have photos taken that would look professional, demure and the like.
We don’t usually get that response from our website. Usually it acts as a bit of an ice breaker for us. People feel like they have already met us.
While we have very high standards for our work, we do try to keep the atmosphere pretty relaxed in our clinic. There are children who come and go so we have toys about the place.
There is also a ukulele and a guitar in our lunch room which we bring out if we know our client is musically talented. I’m a keen uke player and often have sing-a-longs with clients.
We like clients to feel at home here. Sometimes a client might bring in their cherished doggie friend. What is important is that our clients feel relaxed when they are here.
If a person is relaxed it helps us animate an eye prosthesis into life when painting it.
So if you agree with our new client that we look a bit shifty please let us know. It might be time to update our photos!
Tags: painting prosthetic eyes
Categories: Making Artificial Eyes
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