Looking Through the Open Doorway

There is a famous quote by Alexander Graham Bell that says, "When one door closes, another opens." The quote ends with, "But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us."

I feel as though my "door" was my diagnosis in 2019 of myopic macular degeneration (MMD). I am also very sure that I looked at that door most regretfully.

I was convinced I was the only one

I was turning 60 years old that year. Learning that I had a disease that could potentially rob me of my vision quite literally stopped me in my tracks.

My nearsightedness had always been prevalent. Yearly eye examinations only reminded me year after year of how awful my vision was. Increases in prescriptions eventually had me in glasses with the most dreaded "coke-bottle" lenses. I was convinced I was the only one with this horrible vision.

Contact lenses in later years gave me a sense of freedom from those glasses, and I felt better about myself.

Having cataract surgery

I was 40 when the talk of cataract surgery came up. Again, I wondered, why me? Thankfully, corrective surgery saved the day, and I believed I had beat this vision challenge once and for all.

My door had finally opened up into a better place of seeing. Life moved on, and I felt as though I was really seeing it all.

Wavy lines and blurry blobs

The Year of Diagnosis, 2019, and that darn door was closing yet again. Myopic macular degeneration was a new phrase for me, and I was about to be educated front and center.

I learned that the nearsightedness of my whole life was indicative of this MMD phenomenon. The eyeball, typically a round sphere, was more like a football shape for me. Through the aging process, this football eye of mine was being stretched beyond its capabilities. In doing so, there were bleeds in the macula, the small but important area in the center of the retina. The macula is needed to be able to see details clearly in front of you. When I began having symptoms of wavy and blurry blobs, I was experiencing those bleeds.

Starting injection treatments

Through the marvels of modern medicine, I began a regimen of treatment. Injections into the afflicted eye were given. My course of treatment started with injections every 4 weeks, then went to 6 weeks, to 8 weeks, and then to 12 weeks.

Presently, I am holding my own. My last injection was in the spring of 2021. I have rechecks every 6 months. The damage has been done, BUT no new development has come to light.

Finding our way through an open doorway

I like to think I am looking through an open doorway. The possibilities are endless as to what I can do.

I think that learning of a vision crisis opened up an avenue in my world — one that said, "You better get going on your new passion of art while you can honestly see well enough to do so."

Mr. Bell was onto something. It took a pretty startling diagnosis to push me forward. I hope you have found your way through that doorway as well.