Don Stewart's story
"Don't delay" is the message from Don
Every day for the past 60 years, 88 year old Don Stewart has been at his Piccadilly Arcade jewellery shop in Tauranga. Don says he can't see very well but that doesn't stop him from doing lots. He also has a hearing aid but reckons everything below neck level is still working perfectly well!
Don didn't know about MD until he was diagnosed aged 80 - he was seeing flashing red lights in his right eye. He was told he needed an injection directly into his eye or he would go blind. Don says people cringe at the thought of an injection in the eye but it is not painful: the idea is painful, the procedure is not, as they deaden the eye and then go through the procedure. That right eye had scarring so they couldn't salvage it. He can see the periphery but can't see the centre and might have lost his sight completely had he not had the injections.
Don still had his left eye so could drive and work until one day he went into the shop, opened the mail and couldn't read it. So it was back to the Clinic smartly. Don's left eye has improved greatly which has enabled him to continue his profession some 23 years after he could have retired.
