MEET DIEGAN – HIS ORTHOKERATOLOGY JOURNEY

Hi, this is Diegan. Diegan is a little special to us, not only because he is Dr. Lyons’ son, but he is one of the youngest members of our Vision Reshaping System/Orthokeratology program. Diegan is 8 and has a passion for eyewear just as much as the rest of us here at Focal Pointe. Check out his wardrobe of eyewear:

You may be asking yourself, “Why is this important?” Well… shortly Diegan will not need his glasses! YUP, you read that right, NO GLASSES, no soft contact lenses, and no surgery. How is this possible?!? The answer is orthokeratology. Orthokeratology is a form of overnight vision correction, similar to wearing a retainer for your teeth, where custom contact lenses are utilized to temporarily reshape the cornea and allow nearsighted folks, like Diegan, to see without correction during the day. The orthokeratology lenses are inserted at night, worn during sleep, removed in the morning and – BAM!- clear vision throughout the day without glasses. The program produces similar results to LASIK, however, orthokeratology is reversible and noninvasive.

The coolest part of the story is to follow, and is exactly the reason why we are introducing Diegan and his orthokeratology journey to you. Diegan is currently 20/100 without glasses and wears -2.00 lenses to correct his vision. Research shows that as Diegan ages and physically grows in height that his
prescription will continue to increase and his vision worsen. Orthokeratology has been found in multiple studies to slow this progression. Meaning, if Diegan continues the program throughout his teen’s and then decides to stop wearing the lenses and return to glasses, his prescription may not be much worse than it is today! For Diegan, this is life changing. Yes, he will always need some correction, but he will never be 20/1600 or a -7.00, like his dad.

To emphasize the magnitude of this difference in prescription, a person with a -7.00 prescription cannot see the well-known “E” on the eye exam chart. In comparison, a person with a -2.00 can fully function without any glasses; life is just a little blurry.

I know, as a parent myself, we try to do all we can for our children. We give them vaccines from an early age to help prevent them from obtaining diseases. We get them braces to fix crooked teeth. Now, finally, we can help change vision and not just aid it. We can STOP their prescription from progressively getting worse throughout their adolescence.

Although we have this amazing therapy available, I have to be honest…Diegan is not thrilled. He likes wearing his glasses (what can we say, he takes after his father) – he loves glasses! Not to mention, he does not want to wear contacts. Nevertheless, sometimes parents know best; and on the night of November 22, 2016, Diegan started his journey to new vision. His story will continue, but for now, I leave you with the knowledge that there is a non-surgical therapy that allows you to have 24 hour vision that keeps your vision from getting worse. How amazing is that?

-Rachel, LDO