{"id":6573,"date":"2018-03-18T12:48:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T11:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/bibliotheek\/cataracts-in-children\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T17:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:15:42","slug":"cataracts-in-children","status":"publish","type":"library_pt","link":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/library\/personal-stories\/cataracts-in-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Cataracts in Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2018-03-18T12:48:00+01:00\">18 March 2018<\/time><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I&#8217;ve had an eye prosthesis since 11th grade<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anette explains: \u201cOlder people often develop cataracts. But cataracts can also be a congenital eye condition. I was already born with cataracts in both eyes. Around the age of three, I had surgery to remove the cataracts. The surgery on my right eye went better than the one on my left eye. The ophthalmologists wanted to try to remove a little more of the cataract. They began with a second surgery on my right eye. During or just after this surgery, too much pressure was applied to my right eye. If too much pressure is applied to an eye, that eye becomes completely damaged, and eventually you can no longer see with it. Because my right eye began to look very different and became increasingly bulging, it was removed when I was eleven, and I have been wearing an ocular prosthesis ever since. My ocular prostheses have always been made by the Haags Kunstogen Laboratorium in The Hague.          <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complication<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the complication during the second cataract surgery on my right eye, no second surgery was performed on my left eye. I still find it very unfortunate that the doctors started with a second surgery on the eye with which I could see best at the time. Of course, it would have been better to start with my left eye, which was actually the one with the worst vision.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eager to learn but far from home<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 1966 to 1979, I attended a boarding school for blind and visually impaired children in Grave, near Nijmegen. After elementary school and two years of MAVO, I went on to complete HAVO and VWO at regular high schools. After that, I studied Dutch in Amsterdam.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Disabilities<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to poor vision, I also had congenital leg and hip abnormalities that made it difficult for me to walk. Around the age of 26, I was diagnosed with MS. As a result, I initially had much more difficulty walking and soon needed a wheelchair when I was outside the house. These days, I can hardly walk at all and am completely wheelchair-bound both indoors and outdoors. Because of the MS, I\u2019ve become much more prone to fatigue, and since I started having increasing problems with my bladder and bowels, I\u2019ve had two stomas since 2009. I consider those stomas a huge improvement compared to the situation before that.     <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Active<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of my fatigue, I was able to work much less than I would have liked. I did, however, have a few tutoring students. I taught Dutch to non-native speakers, both at a school and at my home. In addition, I contributed to linguistic research in the Dutch language program at Vrije Universiteit, where I also studied. I was also active in local politics as a party member and party assistant for GroenLinks in Uithoorn, as well as in various working groups of a Roman Catholic parish in Uithoorn.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I get joy and strength from so many things: I read a lot, love to sing, have conversations, go to comedy shows\u2026 Going outside together and getting out and about in my wheelchair. I go on vacation with a group of wheelchair users. I really enjoy that. Every summer, Ton and I take part in a choir week in Castricum. I really enjoy being able to talk to people, and I find it very unfortunate when people are hesitant to approach me because I might look a little strange. Because of both my wheelchair and my visual impairment, I find it a bit difficult to approach people to talk to them. So I\u2019m really happy when they come up to me more often. I can see about 20% out of one eye. Because of that, I often don\u2019t recognize people. I\u2019m happy when people say more than just \u201chi\u201d as they pass by, so I can recognize them by their voices.         <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eye prosthesis<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Actually, my ocular prosthesis has worked very well over the years. When I hear at the information sessions organized by the OOG in OOG Association about the kinds of problems you can have with an ocular prosthesis, I realize I\u2019ve really been lucky. In recent years, though, I\u2019ve noticed that my eyelid no longer opens properly over the ocular prosthesis and tends to droop over it. I find that very unfortunate. Still, I\u2019m hesitant to have eyelid surgery because I\u2019m very afraid that it will disrupt the moisture balance around my eye. The ophthalmologist I spoke with about this downplays the problem, but she also says that it\u2019s not always possible to get an eyelid to close properly after an eyelid correction. Although it looks less attractive with an eyelid that\u2019s almost closed, I don\u2019t have any other problems with it right now, and I\u2019d really like to keep it that way. Since I\u2019m dealing with quite a few other health issues, my eye prosthesis isn\u2019t such a big deal to me in the grand scheme of things.       <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accustomed to seeing with one eye<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t remember being able to see with both eyes for very long, so I\u2019ve actually never known anything other than seeing with one eye. I do understand that it has its limitations. What I see is less wide, less sharp, and doesn\u2019t extend as far. Not being able to perceive depth is very impractical. When I\u2019m out on the street in my electric wheelchair, I can see where the entrances are, but not exactly where the exits are. As a child, I found it very upsetting that there were so many things I couldn\u2019t see. Now I\u2019ve come to accept that I see some things. My boyfriend shows me so many things, and I\u2019m very happy about that.       <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Personal attention from an ocularist<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For all these years, I\u2019ve been going to Axel Franken\u2019s Haags Kunstogen Laboratorium in The Hague for checkups and to have my ocular prosthesis replaced. I\u2019ve always been very satisfied with their service. Over the years, they\u2019ve made beautiful eyes for me and have always been very patient in making sure the ocular prosthesis turns out as well as possible. I\u2019m always impressed by how much care and respect they show toward my eyes. The personal touch is also excellent. I\u2019m always happy to catch up with them again after a year.     <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Well worth it<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think I\u2019ve been a member of the OOG in OOG Association since 2011, but I\u2019m not entirely sure. I saw a brochure for the association at Axel Franken in The Hague, and it seemed like a good idea to get in touch with them. I appreciated that this association offered a way to get more information about ocular prostheses and everything related to them. In the early days, Tonnie Landman told me a lot about all aspects of ocular prostheses during a few phone calls. Even the terminology alone (ocularists and orbital specialists) was completely new to me. She also sent me a stack of the association\u2019s magazines, which I read with great interest. I also find the open house events enjoyable and interesting.      <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coping with Poor Vision<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I enjoy talking with others in the same situation, and I also find the information provided by the ophthalmologist and ocularist who are present very valuable. I also enjoyed the workshops. In recent years, due to fatigue, I\u2019ve often left early and missed the workshops or one of them, but it still feels better to participate in part of the day with enough energy than to struggle through the whole day.  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stories from People in Similar Situations<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I also think the association\u2019s magazine is really beautiful and interesting. I really like that it includes so many photos from the meet-and-greet days, and I enjoy reading the stories from fellow patients. I think it\u2019s important to know what people are going through in their lives, especially when it comes to living with an ocular prosthesis. I never miss an issue!\u201d   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Annette Blommestijn has lived in Uithoorn since she was six years old. She has lived there with her partner, Ton Bakker, since 1993. Uithoorn is a great base for all of her hobbies. Annette sings in an oratorio choir and a church choir. She loves classical music and enjoys going to concerts, the theater, and cabaret shows. She\u2019s not just an outdoorsy type: Annette enjoys photography and reads a lot of books. She uses the audiobooks provided by the Passend Lezen library service.      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6061,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_daextauttol_enable_tooltips":""},"library_cat":[113],"class_list":["post-6573","library_pt","type-library_pt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","library_cat-personal-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_pt\/6573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_pt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/library_pt"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"library_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ver-ooginoog.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library_cat?post=6573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}