Eyesight is an easy thing to take for granted,and when it begins to fail, it can be all the more alarming. But those like Alie Smaalders want Lopez residents to know they are not alone in struggling with eye issues. There are resources and support net works available.

Smaalders founded and continues to coordinate the Low Vision Support group at the Lopez Library. She was asked to do this 10 years ago by the Lopez Island Clinic, and initially was hesitant. However as she herself had the beginnings of age related mascular degeneration (ADM for short), she thought she had “better do something.” And this is the crux of the support group, not leaving people alone without information or support. “It’s much better,” she says, “to know what is going on and do something about it than just having fear.”

It is this fear that Smaalders hopes to disperse through the monthly meeting of the support group. “People don’t realize the difference” says Smaalders, talking about the warning signs of retina disease development.

Those over the age of 55 are more prone to such things like AMD and Smaalders is eager that people understand the difference between eye specialists and the importance of seeing an eye doctor regularly after a certain age.

She says that many people stop at seeing only their optometrist, a branch of eye care concerned with the range and power of sight. However with cases of retina disease it is important to go to an ophthalmologist, a medical doctor trained in diseases of the eye.

The support group meets in the Lopez Library meeting room at 1:30 p.m. and takes the form of a group discussion and sharing session. “We talk about what questions to ask your doctor, then people report on what happened to them” says Smaalders, “if you understand about it then you can be more comfortable about it.”

For information, call Smaalders at 468 2514.