S1E1: I Have MacD, Now What?

Shawn interviews leading retina specialist Dr. Timothy Murray as the episode’s special guest. Dr. Murray offers details and information about macular degeneration as a disease. He also shares what new treatments to look ahead to, as well as provides tips and strategies for patients and their caregivers, including key questions you should be asking your doctor.
Published On: January 20, 20210 CommentsTags: , ,

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In this episode…

Welcome to Our Podcast

My Mac D Life focuses on macular degeneration and its devastating impact on millions of people and their families every day.

Macular degeneration is a visual impairment that leaves a blind spot, severely obscuring the central field of vision. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in people over 50, with statistics that are astounding. Millions of Americans with Mac D struggle to read their favorite magazine or newspaper. They also have difficulty driving, watching a movie, seeing a sunset, enjoying an art exhibition or even recognizing the faces of loved ones.

My Mac D Life is powered by The Support Sight Foundation (TSSF), whose mission is to save sight for millions of people who suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and lose their precious vision. Support Sight Foundation founder and executive director Dawn Prall joins Shawn Doyle, professional speaker, trainer and book author to co-host the program. Together, they bring hope, optimism, perspective and education to listeners touched by macular degeneration in each episode.

Episode Summary

Hosts Dawn Prall and Shawn Doyle begin the episode discussing how people with Mac D and their family members maintain hope. They share examples of how individuals see a bright horizon and future hope in new treatments—and eventually a cure. They also find hope in data, information and research from driven scientists and medical researchers committed to discovering new treatments, medication, cures and eye care.

Dawn and Shawn introduce ways to maintain independence with Mac D. One example is innovative assistive technology by Vispero to make individuals’ lives with Mac D easier and better, which they revisit toward the show’s closing. Later in the episode, they cover simple tools you can integrate into daily Mac D life to enhance the ability to see. They clarify and offer suggestions on three types of magnification: relative distance, relative size and angular.

Shawn interviews leading retina specialist Dr. Timothy Murray as the episode’s special guest. Dr. Murray offers details and information about macular degeneration as a disease. He also shares what new treatments to look ahead to, as well as provides tips and strategies for patients and their caregivers, including key questions you should be asking your doctor.

The podcast closes out with a featured segment from Bill Kilroy, Vispero Senior Sales Director for the Northeast, and Mike Woods, Strategic Accounts Manager for Education for Vispero, the world’s largest assistive technology for the visually impaired serving people who are blind or low vision. Throughout this podcast, they highlight key Vispero products that can enhance people’s lives.

In this episode, Bill and Mike talk about the recently released Optelec Compact 10 assistive technology—a portable electronic video magnifier with a 10-inch display and touchscreen, among other key features they share. Hosts Dawn and Shawn wrap up the episode with fun trivia and information on additional resources.

What We Discuss in This Episode

“We’ve got Dr. Timothy Murray, who’s a leading retina specialist…he’s going to give a lot of great information about the disease of MACD plus is also going to give people some tips about things like what are three things you should ask your doctor. (1:29)

“We also have some ideas about maintaining independence with MACD.” (2:05)

“We have some great stuff from Vispero. They’re talking about some of the incredible assistive technology that they have to make your life easier and better.” (2:10)

“Wet macular degeneration, which is what 15 to 20% of people have, there are treatments for that called anti-VEGF. And more and more treatments are on the market now to help people.” (6:52)

“The American Society of Retina Specialists is an organization that includes virtually every retina specialist in the United States that also has international presence.” (9:50)

“The cause of macular degeneration is aging within the eye tissues that are predisposed to degeneration. What makes us at risk is that there’s these little dots underneath the retina called drusen.” (17:35)

“You should never leave the doctor’s office without understanding a few basic things. What’s my diagnosis? What is my treatment plan? What do I need to do to make myself healthier? And when do I need to come back and see you again, and I tell my patients never leave without making your follow-up appointment?” (22:17)

“The tips that we’re going to talk about in our shows, we hope are simple things that you can integrate into your life that are going to make it really big difference. Number one, make what you want to see larger. So that really means magnification. Magnification is your friend when you have macular degeneration.” (37:40)

“Today on our assistive technology folks from Vispero are going to be talking about a Compact 10.” (40:16)

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