Glaucoma

  About two years after my eye surgery that gave me back my vision, I was seeing things kind of blurry out of one eye.  I went back to the doctor, and they found some fluid was building up in that eye.  They recommended laser surgery to take care of it.  The doctor who had performed the original surgery had died, so I had a new team.  My original doctor had done my surgery for free, but the new one said he couldn't do that.  I didn't have any insurance, so I had to find the money.  A friend from church said that he and some others would take care of it for me.  There are good people in this world.

 I went for the procedure which was quick and painless.  I could see great again out of both eyes.  When I went back for a checkup, they found that I had early onset glaucoma.  It was not uncommon for this to be a side effect of the two surgeries.  They told me that I would need to take eye drops every night before going to bed.  More eyedrops?!?!  I hated putting eyedrops in before and after my surgery, but at least I had experience.  These drops had to be refrigerated before opening the bottle.  Then, it didn't matter.

 At first, I had a hard time remembering to put them in.  Later on, it became a habit.  Now, I do it religiously before going to sleep.  Every six months, I would go for a checkup.  The doctors found that my eyes had not gotten better nor worse.  There is a spot in the lower right quadrant of both eyes that is dark from the glaucoma.  Everything else is great!  I see 20/20 now.  Not since the 4th grade, when I got my first pair of glasses, has my vision been so good.  I will probably have to do the drops the rest of my life, or until the doctor feels I don't need them anymore. 

 One irony about all of this is about the Theatre.  When I was acting, one of my drama mentors told me that I would have to get contacts to in order to see on stage.  I was blind as a bat without my glasses.  I would have to memorize where stuff was on stage in order not to bump into things.  I had to count steps from one spot to another on stage.  Sometimes, I could cheat and wear glasses on stage, if it fit my character.  Now, I can see without glasses, but my stamina is so bad after being homeless and having pneumonia for six months, I can't do an acting job that I would be proud of.  So, I can see but can't act, unless I do something I have written and know where to take a break in breathing.  And so it goes.