The Power of the Web Provides Welcome Sight for Tired Eyes by John Lund On June 28, 1996 I had a phone call from a gentleman who introduced himself as Ross Tremblay. He was a local writer and he had a problem, "Did I have a minute to spare," he asked. During the week he'd read an article in a local newspaper about the introduction of Malaspina's new web site in which Mary O'Neill and I were enthusing about all the wonderful things it would do for Malaspina and the community. The last paragraph in the piece offered the public a chance to develop links and resources in concert with our site and included my name and phone number as Malaspina's WebEditor. Ross' problem was that he had been diagnosed with 'subretinal neovascularization' RNV), a serious eye affliction more commonly called 'wet macular degeneration' (WMD). Vision loss is caused by abnormal blood vessels that grow under the retina and lift the retina up, causing blurred vision. If SRNV is found in one eye, then the chances are very good that it will appear in the other eye, as well. If the affliction is discovered early then it can be alleviated by laser treatment, but there is no guarantee that vision won't be lost. In Ross' case the problem was compounded by his having SRNV dead centre on the macula of his right eye and a cataract forming on the left where signs of SRNV were also appearing. As a result both eye specialists he visited diagnosed his case as being inoperable. "I think I am going to be totally blind in a year's time if I can't find a solution," Ross told me on the phone. I have my own vision problems stemming from being born with strabismus and could well understand the concern I heard in his voice. "How can I help," I asked him. "I would like to learn to search the world-wide web for the latest information about this eye problem to see if anything can be done about it," he responded. Ross had no experience on the web and was limited to an old XT-PC capable of running his word processor and not much else. I was thinking "Now what?" to myself knowing that I didn't want to say "no," yet to say "yes" was to obligate time I didn't have. It was then that I flashed on James Turner, a fellow-student in Media Studies 113, a course we were taking from Marsh Soules. James has taken every computer course Malaspina has to offer, he was a lab monitor, and he was no stranger to physical hardship himself having suffered for years from an industrial accident. "Ross, hold on, I have an idea of someone who just might be able to help. One of us will call you back," I said and signed off. I immediately called James who kindly said, "Sure, I think can help him." And said he'd call Ross to see what he could do. I hung up thinking, "All right, job done," and thought no more of it. Periodically James reported to say that Ross was learning how to use Windows, Netscape, and search engines. The two of them were meeting in a Malaspina computer lab two or three times a week for several hours each time and working through the complexities of getting up to speed on the information highway. Weeks later James broke the news that Ross had found some information on the web that was to change his life dramatically for the better. Almost right away he discovered that macular degeneration alone does not lead to total blindness, and that people with even severe cases are capable of taking care of themselves. "This was a tremendous boost for my spirits. Suddenly the future was not as black as I was led to believe," Ross said. His next discovery came from an on-line journal, called, European Journal of Ophthalmology. Here Ross discovered that the sooner cataracts were removed, the better for eyes afflicted with WMD. Armed with this new information his ophthalmologist agreed to perform laser treatment to remove the cataract and restore the retina with an implant. As a result, Ross' left eye regained 20/20 vision. In the same journal Ross discovered a surgical approach that uses a new tool to drain the viscous content forming in subretinal spaces; and that the treatment has been tested on 32 people, with visual improvement in 26 of the 32 cases. While it has not been decided to operate on Ross' right eye, he is much more optimistic about his chances for saving, and perhaps even restoring, some vision. In fact, his ophthalmologist gave him the duty of informing him of the latest developments in regards to WMD, so that they can undertake surgery when the time is right. To enable Ross to keep up, James found a good used 486 PC and set it up with all the software for Ross to research the Internet from home. "Now I have a new lease on life and can keep up on information and developments in preparation for surgery. Much needs to be done yet in the medical approval process, but I'm hopeful, said Ross. "If you're going to write this up," he adds, "I'd like to give my heartfelt thanks for the assistance Malaspina has given me, particularly James Turner." ***