Eyes on Paradise

by Chelsea Jensen
September 12, 2010
When 53-year-old Edward T. Rosen lost his vision for nine days after a rifle chamber explosion, the U.S. Marine was terrified he'd never see again.

"It was the most terrifying experience I have ever faced," said Rosen about the injury he suffered in 1970 while in combat in Vietnam. "It was nine days of not knowing if I was going to be blind the rest of my life."

Luckily, Rosen regained his vision. However, the experience, he said, has made him more aware of the importance of eyesight.

"I have longevity in my genes and I want to make sure I will have my eyesight," Rosen said. The Special Forces veteran said he recently began noticing some issues with his vision prompting him to take advantage of a free retina screening conducted Saturday by the Lions Club of Kona.

Rosen was just one of about 80 people who took advantage of free retina screenings held at the Kmart parking lot. Last year, the vision bus did not stop in Kona due to scheduling issues, said Lions Club of Kona leader Norman Sakata.

About 600 people took advantage of the free screenings around the rest of the island last year, and since the program started in the state three years ago, more than 3,100 people have been screened, Sakata said.

The free screenings continue today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Keauhou Shopping Center, Monday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waikoloa Village Market and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea.

The screenings help detect retinal issues and other eye disorders, such as macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. It can also detect the early onset of diabetes in adults, Sakata said.

Retinal diseases have a devastating impact on vision and can result in permanent vision loss if not treated. If caught early on, damage to eyesight can be averted, Sakata said. While most retinal diseases are incurable, the impact can be reduced if proper care is sought.

"Sight is just so important, and this is a way to help preventable blindness by having it checked and stop it from getting worse," Sakata said.

The retinal screenings are conducted inside a 35-foot bus equipped with state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment, staffed by paid medical personnel and trained volunteers provided by the Retina Institute of Hawaii's Project Vision Hawaii. The organization is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) service with a mission to enhance quality of life by improving sight and preventing blindness.

The screening process takes about two minutes in which time a camera takes high-quality photos providing an internal view of the eye, allowing doctors to see the optic nerve. That nerve, which is located at the back of the eye, is responsible for sending visual signals to the brain, said Kimo Hodgins, a Waimea Lions Club volunteer helping conduct the screenings.

"We are looking at the focal point of the eye -- the very mechanism that deciphers what we are looking at and allows us to see," he said.

For Sharon Peoples, who moved to Kona in June, the event provided her and her husband, Brent, an opportunity to have their eyes checked and have those results sent to their new primary eye doctor for follow-up care, if needed. Although a little worried about some symptoms she's had with her eyes in the past, Peoples said everyone should take advantage of the screenings because you never know what might show up.

"We've got to keep an eye on our eyes because we live in paradise and we like to look at it," Peoples said.