Aye, Aye Captain


“You’ve done really well to have type 1 diabetes for over 40 years and not have anything like this happen to your eyes before.”  A sentence that was meant to be kind and reassuring but one that hit me like a knife. 

Complications have always hung over me like a blade but this was the first time I’ve truly felt they are an inevitability for me rather than just a possibility. 

On the day before I’d been driving my daughter to, another, football game and suddenly my vision changed. It wasn’t blurred and I could drive safely but it was like I had dirty glasses on and the floaters were very noticeable. 

After I got home my wife persuaded me, strongly, to visit our local optician. I was of the mindset of burying head in sand but she rightly refused to let me do that. Thank you as always L. 

Sadly the optician had left for the day but the kind assistant willingly phoned around all opticians within 15 miles to try and get me seen as quickly as possible. The only one who could help within 24 hours was Boots who slotted me in the next day. I was fine with this as it reduced the sense of urgency and stopped me feeling like I was making too much fuss. 

By the end of the day all objects had disappeared and I was convinced I was over reacting. However after waking, the effects slowly reappeared though at a lower level. 

At the appointment I had usual measures taken and eyes dilated before she had a good look into the back of my eyes. The diagnosis was posterior vitreous detachment. Or in other words a change that’s not reversible but normally appears a couple of decades later than where I am now. 

Thanks to the advances in technology I now have some of the leading, available, diabetes kit attached to my body 24/7. But this doesn’t mean I can avoid everything. 

I also know that life throws awkward arrows at lots of people and a slightly affected vision is pretty low scale in the world of permanent body changes. I continue to thank my lucky stars that I’ve got this far with, still, nothing major hitting me and I’m going to keep remembering that as much as I can. 

That doesn’t mean I can’t be a little scared now and again. I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t. When it happened I was a lot scared and today I’m still a little bit worried. Thankfully I’ve got a wonderful wife and family around me who always support and I’m very lucky to have them with me when I wobble. Though my daughter was a touch disappointed when i pointed out I don’t need a guide dog. Yet. 

But I’m not moping and not looking for sympathy. It is what it is and thanks to sharing here I can keep perspective on where I am and how fortunate I am. 

Thanks for reading and good luck to you all. 

PS. Yes I know I’m a little behind on my 670G blogs. A short summary is that’s not perfect but it’s bloody amazing and I love it. Longer review to follow next time.

Comments