Sunday, June 23, 2019

A Poke In the Eye

When I lived in Montreal, I learned the French Canadian expression, "it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." Well, I just found out exactly what that means.
Sometime in April, while working on a scale model diorama for an upcoming exhibition, I noticed that the vision in my right eye had gotten blurry. When it did not go away, I called an eye specialist and got an appointment. After a series of tests, he diagnosed wet AMD, macular degeneration. I had a number of questions, and not all the answers were happy-making. The Opthamologist  said I needed to get an injection in the eye, which he proceeded to do. It was not fun. Even less fun was the research I did online later. I spent a few weeks wondering whether my diorama-building and possibly writing days were coming to a faster close than I would like. 
Fast forward six weeks. My exhibit is up and running. Took four days to set it up. Exhausting, but it's a real treat, seeing my work in a really fine gallery. 
I have just had my second Lucentis injection --yes, in the eye, oy!-- but this one went better than the last, less residual pain, and I have already shown some "slight" improvement according to the Doctor, so I am feeling pretty up. Now that the eye is returning to "normal" --vision blurrier than the left eye, but workable--I'm looking forward to reading and anxious to catch up on my current Work In Progress, and yes, build a few more dioramas and models. 
Untreated, wet AMD would lead to blindness, and not everyone treated with this injection improves, but I have had a positive reaction to the treatment and tremendous support from my friends, so getting poked the eye every 6 to 8 weeks with a sharp stick is not as bad as it could be.