Overcoming Visual Limitations

Sport is one of those activities that leads people to overcome their limits. This is particularly true when it comes to athletes with physical or mental disabilities. Not only are the Paralympics a great example of professionalism in sport and willpower on the part of people with disabilities—but the Special Olympics also bring extremely positive stories of resilience and inclusivity regarding intellectual disabilities. However, these are athletes who require special care, especially those with ocular conditions.

One such athlete, who competed in several Special Olympics, receives treatment from cornea specialist Elizabeth Lynn Pinney MD. Her patient is an adult woman born with microphthalmos and glaucoma, with light perception vision in one eye and 20/400 in the second eye. Despite this, she is a swimmer who participated in triathlons and many other competitions. According to Dr Pinney, her job as an ophthalmologist is to help this patient maintain her vision as much as possible.

“Our biggest challenge is to maintain the vision that she has left, which we have been able to do for many years,” she recalled. “Our [goal] is keeping her intraocular pressure under control, especially for her swimming, even if she does not engage in deep or scuba diving.”

Luckily, Dr Pinney reported her patient responds well to pharmacological therapy with eye drops for glaucoma to lower IOP and does not require surgery. Also, she always wears appropriate protective goggles in the pool to avoid chemical agents that may irritate her ocular surface or cornea.

To help patients maintain stable vision and carry on with their sporting activities and independence is a wonderful experience, Dr Pinney said. “In ophthalmology, there are highs and lows: patients cannot always be cured, and there are things where there is nothing you can do. It can be really hard because you always want to be able to give as much vision back as you can to every patient.”

Taking an active role in this care at a young age can help ophthalmologists achieve this vision preservation because these younger patients can adapt very well.

“[My patient] adapted very well to her disability and limitations, overcoming them in almost any way and finding workarounds for her low vision like a guide helping her with the biking part of the triathlon,” she noted.

Dr Pinney added having a patient like this is enriching for her as an ophthalmologist and as a human being. “I love to be involved with a patient like this. It is just a blessing for me to see what she can do because it is an incredible thing. I am always impressed by her—she did not let her disability slow her down in any way, shape, or form. She is so happy all the time and does amazing things.”

Elizabeth Pinney MD is a cornea specialist who practices at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Zion and San Diego Medical Center, California, US. Elizabeth.pinney@kp.org