Moving Forward With Myopic Degeneration

"A few bad chapters does not mean your story is over."
I read this line a couple of days ago and cannot let it go.

Stories

We all have our story, the background of our lives. Where we started, where we began, for some of us, a really, long time ago. Our baby days, those growing up years, the “finding of our way” phase of life, leaving the nest, finding independence, and (hopefully) discovering our purpose in life.

In that discovering period is when one really begins their story. Whether your path is getting married and raising children or the single life, or some mix of both, the storybook can be riveting and challenging. No matter where you are going, it is your story - yours and yours alone.

Challenges

While creating the story of your life, there are often obstacles and challenges that, at times, throw a real wrench in your forward moving plans. Like a roadblock on the highway, detours are always out there to help us navigate on down the road.

The original plan

Myopic degeneration has certainly thrown a curve at me and my anticipated plans in life.

As we retired some years back and are on the cusp of the “empty nest” years, our anticipated plans involved many adventures across the country. Having a husband who thrives on hiking, the mountains call to him often, and being there is his happy place.

My time centers around the arts, be it creating art or observing, it all fills my heart with happiness. Our retirement chapters were waiting to be filled with this all.

Eye issues

Then it happened, the eye issue. The observation of weird vision, the specialist appointment and the eventual diagnosis.

Diagnosed

I was officially diagnosed with myopic degeneration and at first felt like that was it. I am done. I will not be able to do the many things we had planned for. It would have been so easy to give up, surrender to self-pity and give up on it all.

A new chapter

Instead, I am starting a NEW chapter. It would have been so easy to just step back and give up. But I am choosing to move forward, to keep striving forward to fill up our retirement days as we had planned. Things are not as easy, at times, not being able to see just as exactly as I would like to is a problem. Rather than give up, I step forward, accepting what I can see and loving the view of it all.

My storybook

So in my storybook of life, I have had some bad chapters. My hearing is not good, I have worn hearing aids for 20 plus years. I have had both my knees replaced 8 years ago. My eyes have always been “bad” leading up to this myopic chapter.

So, yes, a few of my chapters have not been the best, but I am here to tell you the other parts of my life are amazing. A loving husband of almost 36 years, four awesome grown children, and three precious grandchildren are just the tip of the iceberg. This story is pretty incredible, vision challenges and all, and I cannot wait to see what the next chapter holds.