The parental perspective

His mother, Donna Tennent, explained that Dan’s vision was close to the cut off for the army’s vision standard. “Myopia management was possibly a key reason he passed the medical from a vision perspective,” she said.

“Last year he completed his training, and I was so proud when I went to his passing out parade,” Donna shared.

With research on myopia control fast-accumulating – there have been over 2500 studies published on the topic in the last five years¹– there can be a tendency to lose sight of individual perspectives among a sea of data.

However, Dan’s experience is a reminder of the power of myopia management to help shape the course of a young person’s life.

Donna, who began wearing glasses at the age of 12, described her disappointment when a nine-year-old Dan was told he would also need glasses.

“Knowing what it’s like not to be able to see clearly without glasses, I suppose you always hope that your children won’t need them,” she shared.

Donna first learnt about the MiSight^® 1 day clinical study from a friend at work. At the time, wearing glasses was a source of frustration for Dan – who was a keen rugby and football player.

“Knowing the challenges Dan was having with glasses, I was really keen for him to be involved. At the time there was no mention of myopia management, it was just about giving him the opportunity to wear contact lenses,” she said.

Donna was initially unsure how Dan would manage with contact lens wear, care and hygiene. However, the then 10-year-old had no trouble learning to apply and remove his contact lenses.

“He took the responsibility very seriously and it just made him wash his hands more,” she said.

Wearing contact lenses became part of Dan’s daily routine – in the same way as brushing his teeth.

Reflecting on the benefits of wearing contact lenses, Donna shared that Dan had previously not been allowed to wear his spectacles while playing rugby or football. “Wearing contact lenses was great as he could see when he was playing sport.”

This form of vision correction also meant that he could ride on the back of his father’s motorbike comfortably – in the past, he had found wearing spectacles uncomfortable under his helmet.

Donna shared that Dan had no problem with the daily wearing time recommendation of at least 10 hours a day, six days a week.²

“He certainly wore them more of the time than he had previously worn his glasses which he took off for any sort of sport or when he was playing outside,” she said.

While Dan and Donna were not told whether he was wearing myopia management contact lenses or single vision lenses for the first three years of the clinical study, he would definitely have been wearing MiSight^® 1 day during years four to six and chose to go back into MiSight^® 1 day after wearing single vision lenses in the seventh year of the clinical study.

“At that point we understood the benefits of myopia management,” Donna explained.

While Donna did not have to pay for Dan’s lenses because he was taking part in the clinical trial, she reflected that it would be worth making sacrifices for the benefits that myopia management provides.

“If I had to pay for myopia management, as long as I understood the benefits I would be prepared to sacrifice a couple of coffees a week, and I know lots of parents who pay for extra tuition if required. We just do what we need to do for our children don’t we,” she shared with OT.

Dan, who is now 23, has completed his army training and continues to wear contact lenses. Donna shared that wearing contact lenses has been brilliant as part of army life.

“He obviously needs great vision to be able to see targets a long way away, and these targets are potentially highly camouflaged. Using a rifle would be difficult with glasses and they would get in the way, as well as being completely impractical in rain and muddy conditions,” she said.