Baby with limited vision in one eye

This is me.

My good eye completely compensates in every day life.

Things I do find harder than others:

Depth perception: knowing where objects are in space. For example when lighting a candle or pouring a glass of wine I would always hold the wine glass close to me and pour from above. I could never hold a bottle at arms length and try get it in someone else's glass!!

Catching a ball / hitting a cricket ball mostly impossible.

Peripheral vision on that side.

Driving abroad. My brain just cannot compute the reversed picture.

We were told they didn't know whether she would read or write. They later said that the reason she was able to do so, was due to her intelligence and her ability to compensate. She can't drive, her vision is worse when she's tired, and in the dark and she gets multiple headaches.
But she's as stubborn as a mule, refuses to tell people that she's struggling, and is extremely determined.
I know of people who only have vision in one eye, and they live a full life

That's a lot for you to take in. If it's any help, my DH has limited vision in his left eye and always has. He drives etc and I always forget about his bad eye.

I’m blind in one eye, and my son has very poor vision in one eye as well, although it is better than mine apparently. He’s only two so hard to say if it’ll affect him much but I’m fine. My depth perception isn’t the absolute best but I drive just fine (hate parallel parking mind), and drove tractors as a contractor for a while, both here and in NZ, and never came up against any real issues. Sport was fine, I played hockey, tennis (slightly tricker to be fair!) and swam as a teenager/young adult, and I’ve ridden horses all my life. It’s not the end of the world, promise!

I'm sorry, that must really difficult news.

DH can only see out of one eye and it hadn't stopped him driving or doing anything else. He's not great at reverse or parallel parking due to the lack of binocular vision but otherwise he's fine.

I was born like it. Glasses don't make any difference as I still only use my good eye. It is no problem at all :)

I’ve taught children with the same diagnosis, or vision in one eye.
One main thing was protective glasses or googles in sport to protect the good eye.
Their depth perception was somewhat impaired, but their brains appeared to compensate well with other reference points. We did take the opportunity to(finally) paint the edge of outdoor steps to aid them, but it was more precautionary than an obvious need/

I had a lazy eye as a child, wasn’t picked up in time and so the corrective measures didn’t work. My left eye doesn’t focus at all so is no use for reading and I wouldn’t pass a driving test with that eye but the other one is fine. It has literally never bothered me as it’s all I’ve ever known. Only thing I’d say is it makes me very conscious about protecting the other eye.

"There was a segment on sight loss morning live on BBC today, that you might find helpful. The man who always had vision issues was much more comfortable with things than the lady who was an adult when she had eye issues due to diabetes. He is now a doctor, so it hasn't held him back."

I was born with my sight impairment and had some issues in my teens and late 20s. I did get back some of the vision I lost later on in life (I woke up with a migraine and kept walking into things as I couldn't see at the sides) but it has been a struggle. I run with a guide and warn them every time (and apologise) if I elbow them because I can't see them whichever side they run on.

Ah shucks, thank you!

I did not have glasses till I was in junior years of primary school so around 7ish I think.

The opthamology appts were mainly because opticians panicked and referred me. Over my childhood I had people say they thought I had brain tumours, Morning Glory Syndrome, scarring from mites..... all sorts, each time they sent a letter to the hospital, hospital called me in, I had MRIs, more visual field tests than I can remember, photos of my optic disc, flouroscene injections, tests for muscle weakness, speed of processing, you name it they tested for it, and each time they discovered I had a colaboma of my Optic Disc.

Now I go for my yearly eye test armed with 20 years of letters and diagnostic results and if they look like they're about to hit the big red button I talk them down.

My uncle has always had mono vision thanks to a lazy eye that wasn't picked up. He didn't know until his teens that other people saw things differently, as there weren't many checks back then. Aside from the magic eye picture craze in the 90's, he has never missed out.

He could drive heavy vehicles for work, just had to retake the test every 2 or 3 years (can't remembering which) to prove his good eye was still doing a good enough job. He is retired now, but still driving a car.

There was a segment on sight loss morning live on BBC today, that you might find helpful. The man who always had vision issues was much more comfortable with things than the lady who was an adult when she had eye issues due to diabetes. He is now a doctor, so it hasn't held him back.

Yes, it was from birth. Her eyes both look totally normal. I have no idea which one is blind.

I've lost a chunk of vision in one eye following brain surgery (not a majority share TBF but noticeable). You adjust and your baby won't know any differently.

My grandad lost an eye in an industrial accident- and he got on with his life just fine once recovered. Went back to work in an adjusted role, continued to win prizes in his many hobbies and lived to a ripe old age.

Please tell them not to worry. They will lead a totally normal life! I have very limited vision in one eye and perfect vision in the other. I'm 49 and people are shocked when I tell them. When both my eyes are open I feel like I see perfectly, my brain must ignore the dodgy side! It has honestly not affected me being able to do anything at all.

Sorry you've had this news, OP, it is so distressing not to know how your child's health will work out.
I have sight only in one eye and know other people who have, and the experience is different for all of us.
I can't drive but I can get around independently on public transport and love walking. I've always worked and had some interesting jobs. I'm not good at sports that involve catching a ball but fine at throwing one; quite good at darts. My depth perception is not great but I manage.
Other people on the thread have fewer limitations and that could well be the case with your DS.
Even with the limitations I have, I'm sure that my life is just as happy as it would have been with 20/20 vision! Enjoy him.

I like many of the other posters can drive and do lots of other things with only 1 functional eye.

Where I mainly struggle is depth perception on stairs, uneven ground etc. I had support when I was child to help me learn, as a toddler I thought all colour changes were steps.

My daughter has bilateral retinal coloboma. It was discovered at 15 months after she started squinting badly. Her left eye has no useful vision, the coloboma covers the macular (the bit that sees detail), and her right eye also has a coloboma which roughly covers 50% of her retina, but the macular is fortunately not involved.
She also is severely short sighted and has nystagmus (her eye moves back and forth very quickly as she tries to focus).
She had glasses at 18 months which helped with the myopia in her right eye. We gave her as much stimulation as we could from when she was diagnosed.
She learnt very quickly to memorise writing as it was too hard to keep looking up at the board for the individual letters. She had input from the sensory team in school, and by year 4, needed some 1-1 time.
She is now a school business manager. It has not, and still isn't easy, and she compresses her hours to have a day a week off to rest her eye.
Her dad and I are phenomenally proud of her, as she has overcome so much and pushed herself to achieve.
Please don't think this is just a boast; we were told at diagnosis that she may never read or write. This is told to show you that your child can flourish, even with limited vision.
Feel free to PM me and look at a charity called LOOK. We had a lot of help from them

I have quite reduced sight in one eye and no one (including me) even realised until I got some grit in my good eye aged 10 and suddenly could only see fuzzy blobs. It's correctable with glasses so not as severe as your DC but has had next to no impact and I rarely wear my glasses and rely on my good eye. The main problems are mild depth perception issues and getting annoyed when someone tall stands or sits in front of my good eye at the theatre or a concert and I don't have my glasses!