For Polly Swafford, living with macular degeneration, a disease that limits central vision, was not only challenging, but also isolating and sometimes, scary. Polly, an educator as well as an editor and publisher of a literary magazine, is passionate about using the written word to engage, inform and enlighten others. Now, Polly was cut off from the world of words because of her vision loss. An avid reader, she could no longer read books and magazine articles, keep her own calendar or even holiday cards from friends.
Polly was referred to Alphapointe by her regular eye health doctor. After a low vision evaluation from Dr. Anita Sahni and Occupational Therapist Shannon Fugate who both specialize in treating patients who have low vision, a care plan and goals were established. This plan included in-home occupational therapy, training with a variety of equipment and small adaptations to make Polly’s home more accessible and safer. Ultimately, the team’s goal was to get Polly back as much independence she had before her vision loss increased.
Working with her daughter, OTA Becky Dumsky developed a plan to address concerns Polly had with using a phone, organizing her home and of course, reading printed material. Becky recommended a large print telephone with a talking keypad; this enabled Polly to correctly see and hear the numbers on the keypad when dialing. This greatly increased Polly’s confidence when making phone calls and returned her sense of safety when home alone. To help Polly be more independent in the kitchen, large print labels were applied to cabinets and drawers so that she could read and identify where items were located. This new system was a big help to Polly when it came to cooking and taking her medication.
To get Polly back to reading, Becky recommended a large stand magnifier and training so that Polly could use the device successfully to read books in her favorite chair. Due to the generosity of a donor, a desktop closed-circuit television system was provided for Polly, making it possible for her to read holiday cards, her weekly activity calendar, magazine articles, poetry and more once again. For Polly and her daughter, regaining the ability to read the written word was truly priceless. Because of the training and support at Alphapointe, Polly is thankful to be back to reading, writing, and engaging with the world.