GUEST BLOG POST: Janice MacKay
Happy Thanksgiving Sicko's! Jeremie here once again.
I am super Jazzed about our latest episode. We were lucky enough to sit down with an incredibly funny, charming and fascinating human being by the name of Janice MacKay. Janice has this super intense form of Glaucoma. When we first spoke via email, she referred to her condition as "Exploding Eye Syndrome!" I remember thinking "JESUS! Get this woman a microphone!" Now obviously that isn't a technical term, but it does a pretty damn good job of summing up what she is dealing with. Check out her blog post below, and definitely take the time to listen to her episode over on iTunes. It's a doozy.
My name is Janice MacKay. I have bargain basement eyes. Sometime I wonder if I bought them off a sale table, in a box labeled "Caution. Contents may explode under pressure".
I have plateau iris syndrome, a type of angle-closure glaucoma. I was diagnosed with high intraocular pressure in early 2010. I had holes lasered into both eyes to help relieve the pressure. It worked for a few years, but then the pressure started to rise again last year. I had more lasers. They didn't work. I tried three different eye drops. They didn't work. I moved from Sydney to Halifax so I could be closer to my ophthalmologist.
Unfortunately, I can no longer get treatment in Halifax. I will be going to Toronto next month for my first surgical consult. I hope it goes well. I hope the surgery I have will work and save my vision.
I get angry sometimes. My head always hurts. I have no peripheral or night vision left. I'm scared I will go blind.
But, I'm hopeful, too. I know I'm doing everything I can to save my vision. I have good doctors, lovely family and friends, and an employer who supports and helps me with this struggle. Even though the glaucoma is pretty shitty, I still consider myself lucky.
I hope you read the links and learn a little about glaucoma. Also, if you can't remember the last time you had your eyes checked, book your appointment now.
Thank you Jeremie, Taylor, and Brian for giving me the opportunity to tell my story and learn about alternative uses for garlic cloves.
http://www.glaucoma.org/gleams/high-eye-pressure-and-glaucoma.php