Marion Callaby was diagnosed with age related macular degeneration in her early 50's.
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Now living in a retirement village in St George's Basin, Marion is used to managing her low vision since her diagnosis fourteen years ago.
May is Macula Month and the messages are clear - if you are over 50, have an eye test and get your macular checked. You need to know your risks too.
More than 1700 million Australians have some form of macular degeneration. Like Marion, whose father was legally blind due to macular degeneration, a family history is a strong risk factor.
Over the years Marion has used many low vision aids for magnification, however she has found innovative wearable assistive technology in the form of OrCam MyEye, for people who are blind or have low vision, a good solution.
OrCam MyEye is a revolutionary voice activated device that attaches to virtually any glasses. It can instantly read to you text from a book, smartphone screen or any other surface, recognize faces, help you shop on your own, work more efficiently and live a more independent life.
OrCam MyEye conveys visual information audibly, in real-time and offline. Marion uses her OrCam to read bills, medication labels and to keep up with village news when the newsletter arrives every Friday.
Of great help is being able to read the menu when she and husband John and their friends go out to dinner, and the device is small and discreet.
As Marion succinctly puts it, "OrCam is good."
Life with macular degeneration has challenges but Marion makes the best of her life, still playing carpet and lawn bowls and is a 10 pin bowling champion.
