StemCell Therapy

Alice Lukacs tells of her trips to the eye doctor.Getty Images

At first glance, a trip to McDonalds comes to mind. But no, its all about my eye journal which I started writing eight years ago in 2012, detailing the progression of my AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration).

It all started, of all places, in the Opera House in Budapest, Hungary. I was enjoying a performance of the opera Carmen, sung in the original French with surtitles in Hungarian (my native language) projected onto the top of the stage. To my surprise, those letters started performing a strange dance, jumping up and down. I could not read a thing.

Back home in Montreal I rushed to make an appointment with my ophthalmologist Dr. Barry Kattleman. After thorough testing, he said the two dreaded words: macular degeneration and promptly referred me to Dr. Julius Gomolin, a retina specialist working at the Jewish General Hospital.

Now this diagnosis brought many unpleasant memories to mind. Years ago, my mother had macular degeneration. In those days, no help was available. Mother, though legally blind, never completely lost her eyesight. But her vision slowly deteriorated, her handwriting became illegible, her chair moving ever closer to the TV set to watch her favourite program All My Children. But I am lucky. In the last decade or so, new medicines injected into the eye have made a big difference in the treatment of macular degeneration.

So here I was at the Jewish General Hospital in the presence of Dr. Gomolin. A tall, good-looking man who somehow immediately wins your confidence, he explained the results of tests taken, admonishing me not to interrupt him, as I had already done, but to let me finish.

And finish he did, explaining that yes, I had macular degeneration of the wet kind, that he proposes giving me injections monthly in both eyes with the aim of stemming the progress of the disease. There was no guarantee, there could be side effects. I agreed to start as soon as possible.

My research showed me that, indeed, there were two kinds of macular degeneration, dry and wet. Earlier stages are considered the dry form. In the more advanced wet form, abnormal blood vessels can bleed and leak fluids in the retina, affecting central vision. I started with the wet form right away.

So eight years ago I started injection treatments, first in both eyes, later only in one, as the other eye no longer needed them.

Once a month, I would sign in at the Ophthalmology Department. Next, technician Jamie would examine my eyesight, then administer drops that would dilate and disinfect. Soon after, I would be called for scans of the eyes. Then, the worst part began. All of us patients were sitting in a row in the waiting area, like birds on a twig, our eyes blurring from the drops. There was little talk. Most of us were seniors, some with walkers, others with someone accompanying them, all of us anxiously waiting for our name to be called.

Finally, my turn came. Dr. Gomolin checked the scans, briefed me on the situation. More drops in the eyes to numb and clean, an eyelid holder inserted so I wont blink, the prick of the injection needle in the eyeball and the ordeal was over. Having made the next appointment, I would go down to the main floor and out the door, eyes blurred, staggering to a taxi to take me home.

When people ask me, horrified, what it is like to have an eye injection, I tell them there is nothing to it. Of course, your vision is blurred for hours afterwards. And, for this experience to be bearable, you have to have someone like Dr. Gomolin performing the procedure.

On a recent visit, Dr. Gomolins news surprised me. I think I will stop the injections he announced.

So my Big Macular Adventure has a happy ending. I think Ill go to McDonalds to celebrate.

Alice Lukacs writes the Life in the 90s column

Visit link:
Senior Living: Time to celebrate after years of eye injections - County Weekly News

This entry was posted on September 15, 2020 at 10:50 am and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |