My ophthalmologists always told me to seek immediate medical attention if my vision ever displayed shadows, floaters, or flashes of light.
One day, it did.
Ten retinal surgeries, a half dozen laserings, and a couple of cataract removals later, here I am: blind in one eye, low vision in the other.
Low vision doesn’t stop me from enjoying life, but it does slow me down. Being mindful is a good thing. I love cooking, reading, writing, terriers, and the Buffalo Bills.
Learn with me as I live with low vision.
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Adventures in Low Vision 
Assuming that’s the London Eye in the header, aptly chosen image 😉
Drew: Well done, sir.
Love that image if the London Eye. What an imaginative heading. You’d never get me on it though!
Cheers for putting a little follow on my post. Much appreciated.
Hopefully we cross paths sometime soon
Thank you for the like, your is a very interesting blog (life from a totally different perspective) I will be back 🙂
the London Eye – that explains it! 😉
Thank you for the like on my book review. Your story is amazing and I love the apt photo of the London Eye. Lovely blog.
My doctor has told me the exact same thing. She said my retinas are thinning and in danger of detaching. Eye surgery scares me, needless to say. She’s monitoring my eyes to make sure things don’t deteriorate and I’m supposed to contact her, as you were told also, if I started having other symptoms. You’re doing so well with your vision issues. That gives me hope!
Lisa: Stay hopeful. Early intervention with vision changes is the best tool, if you ever find yourself with a retina issue. I am told most people do not end up like me with multiple surgeries. 🙂
Thanks for the like in my site. I love your optimistic overview in life.
Thanks for visiting my site. I don’t know how I’d cope with no sight but you sound so positive and hopefully you still have your hearing. I’d hate to loose either. Your cooking makes me feel hungry.
Thanks Irene. I do have partial vision in my right eye hence low vision rather than no vision. I’m in the gray area of vision loss. Thanks for dropping by today.
Had the retinal detachment surgeries, too, and the laser, and yag, and cataract from the surgery, etc. I was a bit more fortunate, as I’m only 1/2 blind in each eye. 🙂
Spoken as only a veteran of eye surgeries can recount it!
I understand your eye situation, I am a walking miracle too, I should have been blind several times, with detached retinas, my mum suffered it also, but due to God’s power and laser surgery I can still see and do major medical microscope work despite the floaters. It is great that you have a positive attitude and are moving forward with your life.
Thanks for visiting the blog and sharing your similar experience. Three cheers for the technological advance of laser surgery and the walking miracles club, ha!
All I can say is … I’m glad I’m not alone with this. You are much more experienced than I am, which isn’t really a good thing. But as others have said, you sound so positive, and try not to let it stop you doing ‘life’ things. I try to do the same, but am always a bit on edge about my eye health.
Thanks for commenting and reading the blog. It does help to realize one is not alone in dealing with vision loss which can be scary and stressful but also interesting and remarkable thing depending on experience and attitude etc.
If it’s not too indiscreet, may I ask what your condition is? Mine is (apparently), ultra high myopia. I find it hard to believe. Compounded with the terrible medical system where I live, I’m not sure who has trustworthy information. Tons of people have serious myopia, so why am I the only one treated with disbelief (from non-medical folks), and a dismissive air (from doctors). The blind association here is a complete joke (of course, it’s government-run), so I then went to an independently-run place that were horrified to hear that the blind association let me fall through the cracks for ‘not being blind enough’. Sadly, I’m still not blind enough for the types of services they can offer me.
“Disability” depends largely on attitude. There are people with various disabilities that lead miserable lives because they are emotionally incapable of doing otherwise. There are others that find extraordinary ways of doing things, and lead a relatively happy life. The latter find things in life that other, disability-free people, don’t notice. In there somewhere there can be beautiful things, experiences, etc.
Short answer: my vision loss is from more than one factor rather than a clear diagnosis like RP or diabetic retinopathy. Severe myopia plus weak retinas equalled (for me) an inevitable tide of retinal detachments after I experienced the first tear in my 20s. My eyes sometimes responded well to lasers/surgery/other treatment, sometimes not.
No matter what, receiving medical care for a retinal tear/detachment as soon as possible offers a better chance at saving vision.
I’m shocked (in a good way) that some of the surgeries were so successful. A retina isn’t a large surface to work with, and I imagine any little tear in the wrong spot could be so difficult to repair 😦