Faced With Vision Loss, Young Man Bets On Himself Duke Vision Rehab Program Helps Patients Regain Independence BY LAURA ERTEL
U 26
ntil age 18, Zeeshan Polani had perfect vision. Then suddenly, during his first year in college, he lost central vision in his left eye. The right eye soon followed. Doctors were perplexed. It wasn’t until a genetic test was performed that Polani was diagnosed with a rare disease called Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). Within months, Polani’s vision plummeted from 20/20 to 20/800. Suddenly, the active, upbeat, independent college student found himself legally blind from a disease for which there is no known treatment.
guidance of Division Chief, Diane B. Whitaker, OD, he gained strategies and tools to navigate the world with limited sight. “I knew I couldn’t let this defeat me; I had to keep moving,” Polani says. “I just told myself, ‘I’m going to figure this out.’”
Polani, a Durham native, withdrew from school. There were so many questions: How would he get to class, see the blackboard, read his textbooks? How could he find new ways to learn, when the traditional classroom setting didn’t meet his needs? How could he be a normal college student? Fortunately, Polani found his way to the Duke Vision Rehabilitation & Performance Division where, with the
Zeeshan Polani became legally blind after being diagnosed with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) at the age of 18, during which he received care from Diane Whitaker, OD where he gained strategies and tools to navigate the world with limited sight.
