PDA

View Full Version : The benefit of losing your non-shooting eye



rvpilot76
09-21-2008, 05:32 AM
I lost my left eye to diabetic retinopathy shortly after having surgery to protect same a little over a year ago now. I have found the silver lining in that cloud. You don't have to close your non-shooting eye when firing with open sights. The disability makes my job a little harder, and with no depth perception, knowing just where the mold is under the pour spout on my Lee is kind of a hit or miss situation. Been kinda hairy the last year or so, what with learning my new limitations and all. A note to all the other diabetics on here; please take good care of yourself, and keep those blood sugar levels in check. It took diabetes 24 years to get my one eye; I don't plan on letting it get my last one. It came close, though. My retina was detaching, and I had to have it welded back on, and a lot of scar tissue removed. Please take care of your eyes, fellas. They are a fundamental part of enjoying the sport we love so much.

Thanks for listening,

Kevin

James C. Snodgrass
09-21-2008, 07:08 AM
Sorry to hear of your loss . I have worked with and know a few fellas that have lost the vision in one eye and always been impressed how well they can still do things . I sure hope it gets better for you. Good luck James:coffee:

lunicy
09-21-2008, 06:51 PM
you never realize how careless you are until it bites you. Diabetes ain't pretty. I almost lost my eye to an accident sweating pipe. Had to wear a patch for a bit. Scared the hell out of me. Thought it was gone for good.

A side note, When my Pop was younger he had lost his right eye. He re-trained himself to shoot lefty. Shot pretty damn well too.

rhead
09-21-2008, 07:12 PM
I am impressed by your ability to see the good in a situation. I am also diabetic but so far have been spared all but the inconviences and expenses. I can only pray that I can keep an attitude like yours when the actual physical problems begin. When given lemons make lemonade!!

Mumblypeg
09-21-2008, 08:24 PM
When I was 29 I was turkey hunting and encountered another hunter who for what ever reason thought I was something else. I caught a load of #4 shot in the face and upper body from what I believe to be about 25 yards. One pellet went through my right eye. The good news was the doctor said the location in the eye was about the only place you could punch a hole through your eye and not lose it. The bad news was it took a long time to adjust as I was right handed and right eye dominant. After serveral surgerys and many months I regained fair vision in that eye for a number of years but not enough to sight a firearm with. I had to learn to shoot a rifle left handed but cotinued to shoot a handgun righthanded but sight with my left eye also I still wingshoot (point) a shotgun right handed, sometimes lefthanded. In many ways I have become ambidextrous because of it. I just smirk when I hear someone say " I can't shoot lefthanded". It only takes one eye to line up a pair of sights. It never hurts to practice both ways. You might need it one day. That was 26 years ago and I still want to shoot righthanded if I just react to something but through practice one can do it either way. I became a better shooter in many ways because of it and experience( debateable I suppose). About a year ago my right eye has started to get worse and my left eye ain't what it use to be but most of the time" if I can see it I can hit it" is what i tell myself. I'm gona shoot as long as I can see and I hope you will too. Hang in there I know it takes alot of adjusting cause I've been through all the agrevation that a bad eye can give you. I'm glad I still got one good one.

Doc Highwall
09-21-2008, 09:38 PM
I lost my right eye in 1959 got hit with a rubber dart, vision is 10-400 corrected, not much good for anything. I also hear people say they cannot shoot left handed and know that if they really wanted to they could. I like to shoot long range and travel to Canada where they pair fire and you have to plot your shots as well as score for the person you are firing with, now writing legible with your non dominate hand is a lot harder then shooting left handed.

Throckmorton
09-21-2008, 10:38 PM
I have lost some vision in my left eye,which was always the stronger of the two,but since I am right handed,it's not so bad.
I 've had very poor eyesight since about 5 years old,and it's gotten only worse over the years,but I can still shoot,and that is what it's all about,right?

Take care of your eyes at all costs.

JDFuchs
09-21-2008, 11:02 PM
My mom said that in kindergarten when it was noticed that something was not right my right eye was all most legally blind. After years of glasses patching my good eye and whatnot I can read the computer with my right eye if I'm less then a foot away form it. Being right handed I'm still trying to shoot well with my left eye. I have to say its a lot easier then trying to learn how to read with ether my good eye patched or double vision with a phantom image floating above the text. (Ive just learned to ignore it or mess the images I'm not sure)

Good luck to you all in keeping your vision. I fear loosing it more then death at times.

mooman76
09-21-2008, 11:24 PM
About a year and a half ago the doctors said my blood sugar was too high. I've been getting some reports every year or every other year that they were concerned because my BS (blood sugar) was a little high but they never took it any further. They ran the tests but in the mean time thy started treating me like a diabetic. Anyway my test come back and the doctor said I was ok and not diabetic but they gave me the diabetic stuff anyway and said I need to start watching my BS. Thats fine but next time I go in and see another doctor she says, no, you are diabetic once your BS hits above 140 so now I'm confused. I guess after research and talking to other doctors that I am what they call now adays a prediabetic. Some Drs refuse to believe in this and they think there are no gray areas, you are or you aren't.
But anyway I don't think of my self as one, and I'm not in denile because I realize if I don't watch myself and start taking better care of myself I will end up being one. One of my dads friends just died recently because he refused to take care of himself even though not too long ago he lost bothe his legs due to diabetes.
I went to a nutrition class and have gone too them before so I was no stranger to it but still learned some. One guy there had been reciently found out he had diabetes but unfortunately he found out when it took his sight completely. He was very bitter about the whole thing but it helped me to realize all the bad things that can come from this disease. I never new all the problems that can come from it. The good thing for me is I have been doing better through better diet and I even lost a few pounds and hope to loose more. I'm just afraid to go to the DR any more because now adays it seem like every time I go in they are prescribing me a new medication or telling me something else is wrong!

rvpilot76
09-22-2008, 12:33 AM
Thanks for all the well wishes, guys. Repeating what was said above, you never really appreciate something until you lose it. I have gotten pretty dang serious about my health after this little fiasco. I think the hardest part of this is not having depth perception, and not being able to tell what angle something is at. Either way, I'm not playing the "poor me" card and quitting. I'll tell you this, it really makes you think about your vision "bucket list". Gotta go back east and visit all the Washington DC monuments, at a minumum. Oh, yeah, and watch a space shuttle launch.

DonH
09-22-2008, 05:23 AM
Vision loss can happen to anyone! Sometime in my preschool years I suffered an injury of some sort to my left eye. The result was a hole torn in the retina; the macula to be more exact. That eye has been 20/200 most of my life. Three plus years ago I had a freak accident on the job which ruptured my right eye and resulted in it's removal sfter two failed surgeries.
I am right-handed and now have only a legally-blind left eye (which is further detoriorating) but have found some ways to continue shooting. I shoot rifles left-handed but must use scopes with high magnification. I shoot my pistols right-handed/left-eyed using red dot electronic sights. Needless to say, my shooting ability is not what it used to be but I stay involved because I enjoy it so much and that is where most of my friends are found. Please heed the cautions about protecting your vision. One does not realize how much vision is taken for granted until it is gone!

rvpilot76
09-22-2008, 02:43 PM
And here I thought I was the only one who was one-eyed. You guys are an inspiration!

Kraschenbirn
09-22-2008, 03:26 PM
Nah...you ain't the only one. Lost about 50% of the effective vision of my left eye to AMD three years ago...went from 20/25 (uncorrected) to 20/"Aw, S#%*" in less than 30 days. Laser surgery stopped the spread of degeneration but the portion of my retina burned away by the treatment is gone for good. Screwed up my depth perception to some degree, but, for the most part, I've been able adjust and compensate.

Give you a tip for positioning a mould under your Lee pot: Build (or buy) a mould guide for your pot and draw index marks on the guide rails to help lining up the holes in the sprue plate with the pour spout. I use an old Saeco 12# pot and have made up several (three? four?) hardwood guide blocks to accomodate different height/width moulds. Just build up a stacks of wood strip to obtain the right height and make the guide rails from 1/4" aluminum angle. Sit your mould on top the finished block stack, lay a piece of angle along each side, and drill/screw the angles in place (leaving just enough clearance to allow the mould to slide freely). Draw the index marks for the mould you're going to be casting with a Sharpie and wipe 'em off when you're done so you can draw fresh index marks for the next mould you're going to use.

Bill

rvpilot76
09-22-2008, 03:34 PM
Indexed mold guide; that's a great idea! I'm an aircraft mechanic by trade, so I've got a lot of aluminum scrap everywhere. Shouldn't be too hard to make. Thanks for the idea.