One Day at a Time: Learning Not To Worry

Whew! What a week it has been. Over the weekend a family member died. Suddenly my schedule for the coming week was crammed full.

Children and grandchildren would be arriving at our house and staying for 3 days. I thought of preparing our home and all it entailed, you know the drill. As I thought of all the cleaning and meals to be prepared I became overwhelmed.

Adding to the stress

To make matters worse, a member of the church I attend passed away. Here in the south, the death of friends and family calls for cooking enormous amounts of food to take to the “family dinner” held in honor of the deceased and their grieving family.

Did I mention I also had a monthly singing held at my church? I live in Oklahoma and we have several Native American tribes and many of them attend small churches.

Some Choctaws in our area gather in various churches each weekend to sing hymns, often in their own language. As luck would have it, this was our week to host the singing with a big potluck dinner.

In panic mode

As my busy week wore on, I found myself panicking and wondering how I would ever get it all done. As I prepared food for the next meal I was mentally thinking of everything else on my lengthy “to do” list. My smart watch was even prompting me to “Breathe” as I found myself holding my breath.

Living in the moment

I woke up midweek in a better frame of mind. I realized that rather than dreading all I had to do in the coming days, I only needed to do what was necessary for today. That brings to mind one of my favorite bible scriptures that admonishes us to not worry about tomorrow that each day has enough trouble of its own.

The what ifs

You are probably wondering what all that has to do with macular degeneration. Life with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can be cause for plenty to worry about.

What happens if my dry AMD advances to wet requiring injections? What ever will I do if I can’t drive anymore? After all, I live 15 miles from the nearest grocery store. We don’t have taxi service or even Uber. What If I go blind? How will I care for myself?

Cause for hope

Just as I made myself stop worrying about my next task the week of the funeral, I have learned not to worry about my future with AMD. My dry form of AMD is unlikely to progress to wet. Only 10% ever progress to wet macular degeneration.

As for worrying about what I will do if unable to drive or care for myself if blind, I am blessed to be surrounded by family members and a loving church family that would help me.

While macular degeneration is one of leading causes of blindness, I take consolation in the fact that I would still have peripheral vision. I also do my part to prevent progression of my AMD.

The takeaway

What can I take away from this stressful week? I have resolved to live my life one day at a time. When worry rears its ugly head, I take a walk surrounded by the beauty of the area I live in. I focus on my blessings each day and endeavor to live more in the moment.

I would love to hear how you deal with worry and stress. You can share in the comments section below.

Editor's Note: As of August 2023, 2 drugs known as complement inhibitors — Syfovre® and Izervay™ — have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat the advanced stage of dry age-related macular degeneration, or geographic atrophy (GA).