Being blind is one of my biggest fears.
Unfortunately, this runs in my family. At least two of my grandmothers went blind as they grew older and spent their last years depending only on their memories.
Back then, in the Dominican Republic, potential eye procedures weren’t as developed as they are today. It turns out they had some kind of degenerative condition that made them blind over time.
My optometrist told me…I’m no different.
I have keratoconus. And honestly, whenever a doctor shares any diagnosis, I tend to freak out. I start questioning the meaning of life and wondering how much time have left. It’s a bit dramatic, I know, b’t help it.
Luckily, procedures exist to help. There’s one called an EPI off corneal collagen cross-linking. This was my doctor's talk for a way of saying “WE NEED TO STOP THIS BEFORE IT GETS OUTTA HAND!” With trepidation, I said of course. I want to keep my eyes my sight, you know.
I entered the hospital last week for this procedure not fully knowing what to expect…this is an actual picture of what happened.
After an hour of drops and ultraviolet light, I was out!
Free at last!
Well, this week has been rough. My left eye is worse in vision (this is normal after the procedure) than before the procedure. And just two days ago I woke up with swollen tonsils. So, laying in bed is an understatement and I just know I am excited to find myself out and about again.
This got me thinking about the benefits of long-term vision (pun intended) in our decision-making. In other words, the importance of understanding the end goal and how that helps us persevere through the tough times.
I fear any kind of procedure in my eyes. I just am not a fan of lasers, tools, and stuff touching or messing with my eyes. I know the statistical success of laser, PRK, and all the other types of eye procedures is high but there is an inherent fear for me. I then realized that if I didn’t take a leap and jump into this scary path, I could end up blind. So the upside outweighs the downsides.
I leaped at the chance and almost a week later I saw my uncomfortableness decrease and my level of stress decrease. Im hopefully again and although the blurriness is still there I can see (all these puns!) the end of the path. Im thankful for the medical field and the opportunities we have and I think this is a good reminder that persevering in the face of what scares is not easy. This is what makes seeing it through (yup, another one) valuable.
I don’t know what obstacle you are facing during this holiday season, but whatever it is I hope you push through. Remember your end goal and look at the larger broader destination that is to come. When the obstacle right in front of us gets out of hand we have to look into the distance.
One last thing…
How many eyesight puns were in this one? Lol
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