US Bobsledder has eye surgery

Steve Holcomb, the bobsled pilot of USA-1 (NIght Train) had 20/500 vision.  That’s almost blind to you and me.  While he says it actually helped him as pilot of the bobsled because driving is more about feel than vision, he did undergo corrective surgery.

Steve suffered from a degenerative disease that can leave you blind, called Keratoconus. The cornea becomes gradually distorted.  Then, two years ago he underwent surgery.  First he had a procedure to slow the disease, and then the second operation involved the implanting of a specialized contact lens behind the iris.  Now he has 20/20 vision.

Since driving was more about feel than what you could see (how much can you see when you are travelling that fast down a chute?), Steve was concerned that he would not be as good.  Although initially his times slowed a little, he worked on it (even smearing his visor to reduce his vision), and learnt to be a top pilot with 20/20  vision.

 

Source: New York Times

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