John’s story
Photo courtesy of Mahurangi Matters
My name is John Patrick, I am in my 87th year and live in Warkworth.
In 1965 I was involved in a nasty accident which resulted in the loss of sight in my right eye. It was a fairly scary time as I was about to embark on two years of university-type study and I wondered what happened when you could only see out of one eye!
I learned a lot about sight/vision in the next few months including the fact that indeed, the eye is simply a camera and that the brain does all the interpreting of the images! Eventually I stopped pouring the tea down the side of the cup and managed to retrain my mind to make better calculations about distance. I was assured by my ophthalmologist that I was perfectly safe to drive.
Whew!
For the next many years I simply got on with my life without any vision issues except for the addition of reading glasses in my forties.
About ten years ago I became aware that my sight was not as it had been; I contacted the Blind Foundation, started using talking books and wondered whether I should be driving. I consulted an ophthalmologist and was told I needed an injection in my eye immediately as I had the wet form of macular degeneration. I had the first three or four injections privately before getting into the public system. I would not have been able to continue the private treatment. Initially I had injections monthly but for the last several years I have received treatment every eight weeks. My vision improved with a few of the first injections and is now very stable and I had my license renewed at my 86th birthday. I have glasses for distance vision, for reading and for using the computer. I have now had 62 Avastin injections and have been fortunate to have been cared for by the same ophthalmologist for the whole time. The injections are painless, easy to cope with, and have about 48 hours of slight after effects which are not that much trouble!
We have a magnificent public health system with empathetic, professional and competent people working in it. If miracle is an appropriate word, then Avastin is a miracle!
