P3D Exotropia and stereo

[Mark Langenfeld <mlangen@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim Crowell asks if I've always been exotropic. 

I frankly don't know. The docs tell me it's usually a congenital
condition, and I certainly can't put my finger on a later-in-life
precipitating event or a date on which I suddenly recognized the
disability. On the other hand, none of my early childhood photos seem
to show the typical "lazy eye," while it's quite apparent in many from
about age 10 onward.

The docs also tell me that my adaption ("alternating") is quite unusual
from the era before strabismus was aggressively treated with eye 
patches (I'm pushing 50). I don't recall the statistics, but I was told
most of my contempraries so afflicted apparently ended up with amblyopia.
By the time my condition was diagnosed (9th or 10th grade), corrective
surgery was discouraged -- especially given my adaption.

But, poof, there went my hoped-for career in commercial or military
aviation. Fortunately, I still have two fully functional (if somewhat
errant) eyes. (And my wife can continue to tease me about having an
incurably "wandering eye.")

This is a terrific list but, by now, I suspect you're all tiring of
hearing about me.

Mark



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