THE YEAR I LOST MY EYESIGHT

I walked the halls of his office one last time at age thirty-three. “You know your medication is like oxygen to your body and cannot be missed.” He was a knowledgeable ophthalmologist who was considered one of the best on Cape Breton Island. He warned me on a frequent basis about what could happen if I failed to take my medication as scheduled. He was correct in every way.

At age fourteen, I was diagnosed with Glaucoma, a common eye condition, that, if not treated properly and with care, can cause permanent vision loss. My eye doctor made clear at every appointment about how important it was to take my medication faithfully, even if there was no noticeable difference in my vision. I was young and non-compliant. I stopped taking it for a few months to a year at one point. My actions lead to a serious case in my left eye. My pressure continually fluctuated and I had eye migraines for nearly a decade.

Before age thirty, my eyes were sensitive to light with constant migraines. My eye pressure was exceedingly above its normalcy. “You are on the maximum amount of medication we can put you on, Kristen. I’m going to write a letter to a specialist in Halifax and book you in for immediate surgery.” My eyes nearly popped out of my head and my hands were shaking. Surgery, I thought. “There are risks involved but you cannot be walking around with pressures of 48.” I took his advice and underwent a shunt insertion operation in June 2016.

The procedure went well and the massive migraines stopped. I left the surgery unit and stayed with my aunt for a few months in the mainland. My eye appeared to be healing normally and my sight recovered within six months. I started reading again, and turned to writing poetry after a prolonged absence of writing. That same year, the computer started causing strains and the print in books was nearly impossible to read. Although my sight came back, I couldn’t read without a magnifier over contacts and bifocals. I knew something was terribly wrong.

I lost vision in my left eye permanently in March 2018 due to post-surgical complications. A wrinkle formed on my retina and I went from seeing at 20/200 to detecting movement and seeing shapes up close. I was no longer able to read large print, see faces, or see details I once did. I had to seek alternative ways to cope in the working and the academic worlds. I never used my right eye before. Doctors used a patch in childhood to help my eyes function together. Nothing worked. I lived life using only the left eye up until this point. I had to train my right eye to function as it should. It worked, and I can now read the eye charts at 20/200 with that eye. What I see is now equivalent to looking through a paper town tube.

I learned a tough lesson about how important it was to take my eye physician’s advice during my younger years. There were no visible changes until I grew older and although I do not regret any happenings in my life, I would not have gone blind in my left eye if I took his advice seriously. Glaucoma is a serious eye condition that should not be left untreated.

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