I hope you’re feeling strong.
Our lead story, written by Dr Zali O’Dea, delves into the complex world of facial eye disfigurement (FED). Dr O’Dea has lived with FED since being involved in a car accident, aged just 10 days. She has experienced bullying and discrimination at school, at work, and socially, and she has some pretty blunt but pertinent advice to offer.
In this issue we also have an interview with ocularist James Morphett, who speaks candidly about what it means – to both him and his patients – to restore the natural appearance of a person who has lost their eye to trauma or eye disease. Full disclosure: I’ve seen his work first-hand. A few years ago James created a prosthetic eye for my husband and did an amazing job – it’s a true piece of art – but of course there’s plenty of science in the process as well, as he explained when I met with him.
On a slightly different but related note, optometrist Esther Euripidou has taken a look at the role of eye care professionals in protecting children in the community from abuse. This is a highly complex topic but so important: in Australia, it is estimated that almost one in seven people aged 18 years and over have experienced abuse as a child. In New Zealand, that number stands at 1.1% of the population aged under 20, and possibly more due to under-reporting.
Moving into more positive territory, the last six weeks or so have been consumed with attending conferences, right across the country. Our team has been stretched to capacity to bring you pearls of wisdom from optometrists, ophthalmologists and other medical professionals, as you’ll see in the pages ahead.
We also have a bank of news stories providing a glimpse into new treatments, and promising research being undertaken in Australia and overseas.
I hope you find this issue invaluable.
