regains his sight
BY JESSICA DAITCH
ONCE BLIND, DEVOTED N SCALE
HOBBYIST RETURNS TO HIS CRAFT
EVEN THOUGH HIS SIGHT STARTED TO DETERIORATE
gradually, Dan Dunbar, now 82, from Costa Mesa, CA was reluc-
tant to give up building the N gauge trains he enjoyed working
with his entire adult life. His wife kindly donated a large section of
the basement to his hobby. But as he aged, his eyesight began to
deteriorate, to the point that he had to switch from working with
N gauge to O gauge just he could see proper connections.
In November 2004, Dan was diagnosed with geographic atrophy,
the most advanced form of dry macular degeneration (AMD),
the leading cause of blindness in older Americans over the age
of 65. More than 15 million Americans are affected by some
form of AMD, and more than two million seniors have an
advanced form that can lead to severe visual impairment.
As explained by the Macular Degeneration Partnership, “the dis-
ease attacks the macula of the eye, where our sharpest central
vision occurs. Although it rarely results in complete blindness,
it robs the individual of all but the outermost, peripheral vision,
leaving only dim images or black holes at the center of vision.”
Hence, people with AMD lose their ability to read, drive a car,
recognize faces or colors, and see objects in fine detail, like N
and HO scale trains. Until recently, patients with the advanced
form of AMD have had few options and have been forced to
readjust to life without central vision.
Dan says, “I realized I was having vision problems when I
couldn’t fix the truck on my N gauge car after some kids had
been playing with the trains. My vision was just too bad.”
But recently, Dan went from being legally blind to 20/50 vision,
thanks to a remarkable procedure that, he says, “Not only
restored my sight, but also restored my life!”
Tiny telescope
Dan learned about a fairly new surgical treatment option
– a tiny telescope – that is FDA-approved for patients with
Model Railroad Hobbyist | January 2015 | #59
