The original idea behind this prompt was to get your own personal products out on social media, be it paintings, drawings or the like. I don’t do anything like that besides photography, so I decided to take this a completely different direction. I know, I’ve done that quite a bit with this challenge, but as it reflects who I am and my life, it works for me.
The products I am choosing to highlight for today’s prompt were inspired by the fact that I just got home from the eye doctor. 6 months ago, I was diagnosed with pre-macular degeneration, which simply means that I am in the extreme early stages of the disease. I have drusen, small yellowish white deposits of proteins that are building up on my retina beneath the macula of my eye. Over time, the drusen can build up enough that central vision can be lost. My optometrist has given me good news that over the last 6 months, my eyes have not show very much change in the amount of drusen build up and my vision is still very good.
The key things that can lead to AMD are smoking or being exposed to secondhand smoke, high blood pressure, having light colored eyes as they are more sensitive to UV rays, and heredity. Lucky me, I have blue eyes and my father has been diagnosed with AMD as well. They important and mandatory steps that I need to take to possibly reverse my condition are to:
- Wear sunglasses every time that I am outside.
- Take a very good vitamin, such as the one he has offered at his office, which has been proven to reverse the signs of AMD.
The first step is a little bit hard to do all the time as when I’m taking pictures outside, I can’t wear them as I can’t get the shot with them on. I try to remember to keep them on me so that when I’m not actually taking a picture I can keep them on, but as I have never been a sunglasses wearer, it’s been a hard habit to get into and stick with. The second step, is as simple as opening up a bottle, when I remember to. It’s easy for such an easy thing to do to slip your mind when you get caught up chasing a 2 year old around all day. There comes a point where I have to make my eyes a priority and make myself take the necessary steps to protect my vision. That being said, I do take them often, just not consistently and that will be changing.
I have a great support system in my husband who is good at reminding me to do what I need to in the times I forget, even suggesting that I put alerts on my phone to make sure that I remember to take the vitamins like I should. He has held my hand when the fear of not knowing what I was looking at was in front of me. He has been my optimism when I haven’t felt it. He is my chauffer for each appointment since they dilate my eyes for the scans. He is as invested in preserving my eyesight as I am.
Vision is something that none of us should ever take for granted. My whole life I have never suffered from any type of problems with my eyes. It was when I got into my 40’s and started going through the normal age related eyesight changes that this issue was even discovered. I have gone from not worrying at all about my eyes, to always wondering in the back of my mind if I will eventually go blind. Not a pretty thought when you spend a lot of time behind a camera, but I also have that reassurance that right now, I don’t have anything to worry about.
MLisCross 