I would like to know if there is anyone that would come to his home and do an eye check?

He needs to see the Eye Doctor. He needs to be checked to make sure the new lenses are ok plus for other problems, like glocoma. If glocoma is not caught early, blindness will occur. If the VA is where he had the surgery done, ask them if someone can come to the house. They do it at Nursing homes and the VA owns NHs.

Do not fool with your sight.

I think I got motor mouth in my last reply. Try this:

Do the home test for macular degeneration, which is common.
If he passes that one, ask the doctor next time a test is mentioned: What’s the concern, there seem to be no problems, what would the check be for?
No answer? - Don’t bother.

Norm, look to the VA.    I'm not current on the transportation the VA offers, but have a vague recollection from 2017 or 2018 that the VA was expanding its transit service.    I think it was offering service from a specific point (such as a local VA office for processing only but not providing medical service) to the VA hospital.  

I don't recall the financial arrangements.    I do recall that we could get reimbursement for our trips to the VA hospital (about a 75 mile or so drive).  

What appealed to me though was that, if I remember correctly, there was a VA van that drove to various pickups to get the patients.    I don't know though if this was continued throughout the pandemic.   You'd have to check with the local VA office or hospital.


You might also check with the local Senior Center.  If I remember correctly, my father's SC arranged with a local eye center to provide limited exams at the Senior Center.   Or it may be that his Senior Center could take him to an ophthalmologist's office for testing.

DH and I have both had major eye issues in the last 6 months, so I know more about this than I used to (much, much more). The main age-related eye problem is Age Related Macula Degeneration. At present it is not treatable, and it gets gradually worse.

The macula is in the middle of the inside back surface of the eyeball, where the optic nerve goes from the eyeball back into the brain. When it stops working, vision is impaired in the middle of the field of vision. You still have vision around the edges, but not in the middle. The normal ‘home’ diagnosis is to look from a distance at a piece of paper with a grid drawn on it, about quarter inch squares. If the lines in the middle of the grid seem to be wonky or not there, you have ARMD. We had our graph paper on the fridge with a magnet, and DH stood about 10 feet away.

DH went through all the ‘lab’ checks, and he is lucky. He had the other sort of macula degeneration caused by small broken veins in the eye ball, called a wet macula. It is being treated with a 2 monthly injection through the eye ball, which seems to be working. It is not age related.

My trouble was a detached retina, which is not age related and often comes from getting hit in the eye socket. They drain out the eyeball, lazer the retina to the back of the eyeball again, then refill the jelly substance in the eye ball. The ‘home’ diagnosis is flashing lights and a dark veil over a part of the field of vision. I can’t see why an 88 year old would be at much risk of this, but ask him if he has the symptoms.

I don’t know about any other age-related problems, and you could do a ‘home’ check for ARMD, which is by far the most common. If he doesn’t seem to be having problems, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Ask the doctor to explain the need, if the topic comes up again. Stun him/her with your new knowledge of ARMD!

There are many precautions in most places. And docs especiAlly are very cognizant of the importance of keeping their scheduled appointments timely. I can't imagine a mobile eye doc. Call the Area Agency on Aging to see if their is a mobile eye doc.