PORTLAND, Ore. — Melody Redfield remembers not being able to see well in school.
"It was quite frustrating, so I often had to get up and walk up to the whiteboard to see what they were writing," Redfield said.
The 10-year-old tried wearing glasses to help her nearsightedness, also known as myopia, but nothing seemed to work. A doctor recommended they reach out to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) for help through their Myopia Management Program.
"When our eye is too long, it makes the distance objects blurry, while near objects remain clear," said Dr. Maggie Overstreet with the OHSU Casey Eye Institute. "Nearsightedness in the long-term can actually have visually devastating effects on the eye."
OHSU offered a new option to help Redfield's vision.
"One option right now is the only FDA approved option, to slow nearsightedness progression in children and it's a soft, disposable, contact lens called MiSight contacts lens," Overstreet said.
Redfield said the contacts have been life changing.
"Definitely really exciting and one of the first moments where I realized, I could see. I can finally see!" Redfield said.
Her dad said before she received the contacts, she didn't want to wear glasses while singing at school concerts so she would be unable to see.
"But this time, she looked right at us and waved and that was pretty cool," Stephen Redfield said.
Right now about a third of the world's population is nearsighted, but by 2050, about half of the world's population will be nearsighted, according to OHSU. This is due to genetics as well as children spending less time outdoors and more time on screens. Doctors at OHSU hope they can prevent more kids from becoming one of those statistics.
"Having the knowledge of what to look at for in children, and knowing the ways we can slow nearsightedness progression, are the most valuable things we have," Overstreet said.