BRYAN WONG Class 5B2( 2013)
A VISION FOR MY FUTURE
Bryan Wong is a Secondary Five student diagnosed with LHON, a condition that inhibits his vision. However, he is still an active contributor to the school and a motivated learner.
Normalcy is a mere facade for me in school. The truth is, I cannot function normally, and clear vision, to me, is a miracle I hope for everyday.
In Secondary Four, I began to feel my eyesight worsening. At first, I went for the usual test at a spectacle shop near my house. They advised me to go see a doctor as the optometrist had already given me a pair of glasses of a degree near to a thousand; yet I still could not see the letters on the screen.
The doctor conducted a few tests and then told me that there was a“ white patch” at the back of my eyes. I went through a series of tests: colour test, letter test, and blood test. A week later, the results revealed, to my horror, that I had Leber’ s Hereditarily Optic Neuropathy( LHON). It turns out this is a disease which runs in the family. It was due to this disease that my uncle could not work for nearly two years. It affected me greatly in my studies as I could not see the whiteboard even if I was seated in the front row. Even with the help of the spectacles, it would take a while for me to read the words on the board. During my N-level examination, I had to ask the invigilator to help me read the calculator model number.
My friends helped by lending me their notes so that I could copy from them at my own pace. The font size in my phone had been set to the largest. I was given 30 minutes of extra time in my school and national examinations. I was also the only student in the class to be given an A3-sized paper for my examinations.
Thankfully, my condition does not affect me in my Co-curricular Activity, Wushu. I also choose not to let my disease affect me in Wushu. Though it is harder for me now, I am willing to endure the extra hardship for Wushu. The real pain comes when I read, as my reading speed has slowed down tremendously. However, I do not believe in using my condition as an excuse to stop all my activities.
My vision has improved slightly over time. Now, I can see the whiteboard a little better while seated at the front row using the spectacles. This year, I have to sit for my O-level examination and I will have to work even harder than the other students due to my condition, but I am willing to take this as a personal challenge to beat my condition by doing well.
Our Story: School is where We Aspire and Grow 015