Living with 'bionic eyes' - lifestyle feature

MANCHESTER, U.K. - Dec. 23, 2016 - PRLog -- He has suffered with this degenerative condition for the past 40 years, but he nevertheless considers himself fortunate because although he's now completely blind in his right eye, he has just enough vision in his left eye for him to make out shapes and movement. The 10 people who will receive their bionic eyes will be able to look forward to a level of sight similar to John's, so we talked to him to find out what it will be like for them to live with their new-found 'bionic sight'.

"Many people with RP have no sight at all by the time they're 40 - I'm 72 and can still see light, colours and shapes which is enough to get me around the house.

"The people who receive the bionic implants will be able to experience many of the things I do and I hope they embrace their new 'superpower' in a positive frame of mind. Sadly, some people with RP tend to take a negative view on life - in the 1980s I was involved in an RP group in Manchester but had to leave because many were so negative and miserable!

"Unlike those group-members, I've tried to never let the condition get me down and use my positive outlook to help give the impression I don't have a disability at all - I've experienced the 'does-he-take-sugar?' attitude that many people have and it really angers me!"

Given that when he was younger John had exceptionally good eyesight and in his 20s worked as an architectural technician, you wouldn't expect him to feel himself to be so fortunate, but his blindness hasn't prevented him from doing what he loves. "I spend virtually all of my time on the computer - in addition to being an author, I also work as a self-employed software developer. It sounds counter-intuitive that a blind person is able to work as a programmer, but before I lost my sight I taught myself to touch type which means that now, with the help of screen reading software, I can function normally."

See All Evil

In an almost prescient move, at the end of 2015, John published See All Evil (http://www.jsraynor.co.uk/books/see-all-evil), a novel with a blind protagonist who received bionic eyes. Although his hero lost his eyes because of injury, it was an interesting exercise to imagine how technology could change a life. All royalties from the book go to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, which is a charity close to John's heart.

So would John ever consider having bionic eyes himself? "The technology isn't currently suitable for someone with my current level of sight, so either it would need to massively improve, or my current level of sight would have to deteriorate dramatically before I'd consider it. Plus, I'm getting a bit too old - as long as I can maintain some sight I'll be fine."

ENDS

For more information about John's career as an author, visit his website at www.jsraynor.co.uk