Sunday 28 September 2014

3 years post diagnosis and eyes

Today is the day! Three years ago exactly since I heard those dreaded words and my life changed forever. Although 3 years seems like quite a long time ago, everything that happened is still so clear and vivid in my mind. I still look back and can't believe that it all happened. The 6 months of uncertainty and not feeling like I had control of my life leading up to diagnosis day were terrifying. You know something is wrong. You just don't know what it is or how this will effect your life. The fact it took so long to diagnose was the hardest stage. Hearing the conclusion gives you a reason and hearing about the treatment and battling through it is the solution.

Three years on I've learnt so much about myself and have become a better person because of it. Seeing death's door makes you realise how important it is to take advantage of everything the world has to offer. Yes there may be some blips or hiccups along the way, but life is short and you can't take it for granted. I know I had it relatively easy in comparison to some people going through cancer treatment and there are occasional feelings of guilt.I know there shouldn't be because everyone responds so differently to their own treatment, but these feelings are unavoidable.

Now for an update... A few weeks ago I went back to the Eye Consultant at Moorefields, who last year had told me to come back in year just to see if things had changed. After lots of tests and eye drops, he concluded that the Keratoconus in my left eye had worsened since the last appointment as had the vision in my right eye and he recommended I see another specialist who performs the treatment used to prevent it from getting any worse. That appointment is next week, so I will update again then. The treatment is called Collagen Cross-Linking and involves lots of special eye drops and bright lights... Something to look forward to! After the appointment I felt very dizzy and light headed and thought I was going to throw up because all the eye drops had distorted my vision and made the light seem very sensitive.I did, luckily, manage to make it back to work in one piece!