Veterans Set Sights on New Vision Clinic

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- For years the state's veterans have had to go out of state to get specialized eye treatment, but now the VA has invested $40 million to change that burden.

That money has gone to open up 55 new low vision clinics across the country, and one of them has opened its doors in Oklahoma City.

"This clinic is crucial. The amount of participation in these clinics is almost directly proportional to the distance from them. Before our clinic opened, we were sending veterans to Tucson and Kansas City to get this kind of treatment. Many of them chose not to go because of that and did not get the treatment to help them lead better lives,"said John Laakman, the clinic's director.

Gerald Elliott is a veteran whose life is now improving because a clinic has opened in Oklahoma. Before going to the new clinic, he said his frustrations had reached an all-time high.

"I quit reading. I just couldn't fight it, and I used to read all the time. My favorite books were those Reader Digests. I used to devour those things," Elliott said.

He said he not only quit reading for pleasure but also struggled with deciphering his mail including cards sent to him for the holidays. The low vision clinic is now changing that.

The focus of the clinic is not trying to get vision perfect the way civilian clinics work but to magnify the amount of low vision veterans have left.

With devices like Desktop Video Magnifiers and special magnifying glasses for television, Elliott said he is getting his life back.

"It's opened up a whole new world. This has lifted me up so much," Elliott said.

The clinic is located inside the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City, 921 N.E. 13th Street. The Visual Impairment Services Team Coordinator, John Laakman, can be reached at 456-3915.