Monday, September 11, 2006

My earliest Memory

Is of being rolled up in a blanket tightly as a nurse inserted a thermoneter up my bum. I was in a cot and I know it was moorfields eye hospital (now) and I was about 18 months old.

Later memories of Moorfields is sitting with an opthalmist in front of a big piece of equipment I had to look into. I had to move a handle to put a lion in a cage. She would then ask me to look through the other eye and that bloody lion wouldn't be in the cage!! I had/have a squint and it wasn't until I had it done again at 28 that I realised why the lion kept escaping!!!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think I'd rather remember getting my head stuck in the banisters than having something stuck up my back passage!

But tell... why did the lion keep escaping?

Unknown said...

When you have a squint your eyes work independantly (One at a time) Your eyes work together at the same time so your brain sees two of the same image but ignores one.
When I put the lion in his cage whilst looking through one eye that was cool, but then when I looked at it with the other eye the eye did not follow the same line so the lion was out of his cage. It's how they measure the degree of squint and know how far to move the eye back when they operate to straighten it. They will always work independantly though it's why 3d goggles are no good for me. I don't see exactly the same image out of both eyes at the same time. I see out of both eyes at the same time, but what I am looking at is not in the same position in both eyes at once, so I actually see 2 different images and my brain discards one. Do you understand that?

Anonymous said...

Err... I think so. I've just tried it myself (although not with a lion) and it moves slightly but not to the point where it would have escaped so I'm trying to imagine how much difference there must be in what each of your eyes see simultaneously. I know that your eyes look much better after you had the operation but do you see much better, too? I know I must have asked you that before but it's such a long time ago that I don't remember the answer.

Unknown said...

My eye sight was good in both eyes (Which is unusual with squints) until I hit 40. Now it's glasses for me.

Anonymous said...

At least you're not as bad as me. I can't see for peanuts without my goggles on!