When Life Interferes With Treatment

In December of 2023, I began injections for geographic atrophy. Those of us with dry macular degeneration have been anxiously awaiting a treatment to slow the progression.

The decision to start a new treatment for GA

I didn’t make the decision to start Izervay lightly. I am already at high risk for wet macular degeneration because of my large, fluffy drusen. That means, in the worst case scenario, I would need 2 injections in my eye: 1 injection to treat the wet macular degeneration and 1 for geographic atrophy.

I made the decision to accept the risk when my scans indicated rapid progression in my right eye. My retina specialist made the decision to treat only my worst eye. The first 2 injections went off without a hitch.

Trouble coordinating transportation to my appointment

I was due for my third injection in April. My husband had back surgery and I couldn’t leave him alone. I rescheduled my appointment, hoping the delay wouldn't impact the progression.

My brother is usually my driver. Wouldn’t you know — he had to have back surgery, too. My doctor only sees patients 2 days a month at my clinic, so I had to reschedule. I thought surely a couple more weeks wouldn’t have a major impact on my vision. 

I made arrangements for my son to drive me to the next appointment, since both my husband and brother were recovering from back surgery.

Falling and fainting in my driveway

The day before my next appointment, I got an alert that a package had arrived at my mailbox. I pulled my package from the box, and other mail came flying out, falling to the ground. I picked up the mail and turned towards the car.

The next thing I knew, I was down on the pavement with a hard blow to the back of my head. Gingerly, I got to my feet and slowly started walking. Instantly, nausea and dizziness hit. I grabbed for the mailbox as I fainted. 

A trip to the hospital

I came to lying face down, glasses broken, and blood everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my phone with me.

Disoriented, I crawled off the pavement and lay there bleeding. After a few minutes, I decided help wasn’t coming and I'd better try to make it to my feet.

Having pulled a hamstring, I couldn’t get up. I yelled for help for the next few minutes until my husband finally heard me and came to the rescue.

I managed to crawl to the car and pull myself in, and we were off to the hospital. Five hours later, I returned home unable to walk without assistance and bandaged up.

Rescheduling my injection

I had so many facial injuries, including scratches to my eyelids, that I had to reschedule my injection.

My next appointment is 5 weeks away. I am worried about the delay in getting my injection but praying the delay doesn’t hurt my vision.

Have you ever had to delay treatment? How did it impact your vision? Share with us in the comments below.