Usher Syndrome: Seeing Stars

I came across this vlog by Christine Roschaert, (who also has Usher Syndrome) and was touched by her message about using one's imagination to see stars in the night sky.



(For those who have not read it already, I published an earlier post about my diagnosis with Usher Syndrome - read it here).

Take a few minutes to watch this video and let it sink in:



(Transcript available in the Comments section below the video)

Research shows that individuals with Usher Syndrome lose the ability to see stars as their vision gradually declines. There would be a time where one who used to be able to see a blanket of stars in a remote area will now only see stars one a time under extreme focusing. Or none at all.

I'm fortunate that I can still see stars at this time. But nothing like the wide expanse of space seen from the Rocky mountains out west (where one is closer to those stars) where one can easily view thousands of stars at once. Now, what I see is more into the tens, maybe an hundred in the right environment.

Remembering the views at one of the many national parks in Utah, one of the first things I did on the cruise ship a few years ago was to go to the highest deck (near the funnel) where there was the least amount of light pollution, or to the  rearmost deck and look out at the water.

Letting my vision gradually adjust to the darkness out there (what might take sighted people 30 seconds to adjust, might take me 30 minutes). Once my eyes adjusted to the night, they came. One by one, those stars twinkled, slowly multiplying.

 I saw them. Stars - many of them dotting the clear night sky in front of me.

The calm water reflected those stars, giving the illusion that the ship was in fact a spaceship flying though outer space. It was a surreal feeling, seeing stars above and below on the water as well. It also gave a feeling of feeling very small in the sheer expanse of things - a insignificant pinpoint in the universe.

Every night, once my cabinmates were asleep and the crew prowled around on deck, packing up the deck chairs, I would escape to my secret spots and spend an hour or two just gazing out on the waters.

One night I was joined by two other spectators on this nightly excursion. An elderly pair - the gentleman had a pair of binoculars. He saw me and came over, offering a view. I accepted the offer and squinted through them. Those hundred stars were replaced by thousands of stars, twinkling at various levels of brilliance.

I gasped. This was the night sky I once saw back in the mountains of Utah. They never went away - they were still there. Still waiting for me to come out and say hello.

I know there will be a day where I might only see a star or two at a time. Maybe none at all. But after seeing Christine's vlog, I rest assured that I could use my imagination to fill in the blanks and still see them.

Until then, I will be sure to pack my own pair of binoculars on my next trips to the mountains or the sea.