Low Vision Awareness Month: A Patient’s Story from Dr. George Kornfeld, OD, FAAO, FIALVS

Rochester, NY – February is Low Vision Awareness Month, and to commemorate this important event, Dr. George Kornfeld, a low vision optometrist, is sharing the story of Clayton D. Clayton, a patient with rod-cone dystrophy and nystagmus, is life-long resident of Upstate New York. He has been able to lead a full and active life thanks to low vision services that many are unaware of, including Dr. Kornfeld’s low vision practice.

A man reaching for a door handle of a white car. He is wearing bioptic telescope glasses.
Clayton getting ready to drive using his bioptic telescope glasses

Dr. Kornfeld has devoted his life to helping patients with macular degeneration, Stargardt disease, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and other vision-limiting conditions. “There is life after vision loss,” said Dr. Kornfeld. Some of the things he has helped people do again include driving, reading, writing, doing artwork, playing music, watching television, and seeing faces.

Clayton D.’s story began in 1978 when he was 16 years old and had never considered the possibility of having a driver’s license due to his genetically inherited condition. His mother received a phone call from one of her cousins who told her about a revolutionary lens called “bioptics” that enabled him to see nearly 20/20. New York state, where Clayton lived, had just passed legislation allowing them to be used while driving. Clayton and a cousin decided to make the trip to the Feinbloom Center in Philadelphia to see what they could do for them.

After trying out the bioptic telescopic lenses, Clayton was amazed at how much he could see and was able to learn how to drive, getting his driver’s license shortly before his 18th birthday.

Sixteen years later, Clayton broke one of his telescopes. A cousin had seen an article in the local Rochester paper about an eye doctor having a low vision practice in the area. Clayton called and made an appointment to meet with Dr. Kornfeld.

Dr. Kornfeld gave Clayton a routine eye exam and asked him a question he had never been asked before: “Has any previous eye doctor ever tried fitting you with contacts?” Clayton had never tried contacts before, and Dr. Kornfeld explained that contact lenses often improve vision. With the help of contact lenses, Clayton’s vision improved from 20/100 with glasses to 20/70 with contacts, allowing him to drive without his bioptic telescopic glasses under the New York driving laws. With the bioptic telescopic glasses, combined with the contacts, he can see 20/25 which he uses for seeing more details while driving and also for hunting.

“It might not sound like much to most people, but for me, it was a huge improvement,” said Clayton.

Clayton recently enjoyed a trip to Italy, where he enjoyed being able to see the details in the Vatican such as Davinci’s artwork with the help of his contacts and low vision glasses.

Dr. Kornfeld has been practicing low vision optometry for over fifty years and serves low vision patients in Upstate New York, including Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Elmira, Niagara Falls, Watertown, and Scranton, PA. His website has a free Western New York Low Vision Guide for download. If you or a loved one is struggling with vision-limiting conditions, please visit Dr. Kornfeld’s website or call his office to schedule a free low vision phone consultation.

Media Contact
Company Name: Low Vision Optometry of Western New York
Contact Person: Dr. George Kornfeld, OD, FAAO, FIALVS
Email: gkornfeld@gmail.com
Phone: 866-446-2050, 585-271-7320
Address: 2180 Monroe Ave Rochester, NY 14618
Country: United States
Website: www.kornfeldlowvision.com

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