Tom Mangan
contributing writer

Tom Mangan is a veteran freelance writer with more than 20 years of newspaper journalism experience. Though most of Mangan's clients are in the B2B technology sector these days, he brings a wealth of personal insight to All About Vision. 

A congenital birth defect gave Mangan low vision in one eye. The eye has a rare defect called a coloboma that provides a field of vision but does not allow sharp visual focus. 

His other eye is nearsighted but still has issues due to a facial-nerve defect. The eyelids on this eye do not close fully, causing dryness and sensitivity to bright lights. 

None of this slows Mangan down. He enjoys eight-mile hikes in the mountains of North Carolina, always wearing his sunglasses with polarized, polycarbonate lenses for extra eye protection. 

Mangan’s low-vision condition prevents him from seeing 3-D effects in movies, video games and TV shows. Even with these visual challenges, he is eternally grateful.