8/26/2006

Public Service Announcement...

About four years ago I was at the Department of Motor Vehicles renewing my driver's license. I had to take the vision test and I noticed it was a little tougher than I remembered it being. Until this point I had never worn glasses and had 20/20 vision so I never had any reason to get my eyes checked. It seemed odd, so I figured I'd go get an eye exam just in case. It turned out that I have a rare form of Glaucoma called "Pigmentary Glaucoma". Unlike regular Glaucoma, which is found mainly in older people, it affects primarily white males in their 20s and 30s. There is no cure once the damage is done. Had I not had it diagnosed when I did, I would most likely be blind today. You see, Glaucoma is known as a "silent killer". It sneaks up on you and before you know it *BAM* you're blind. If you have never worn glasses, I urge you to get an eye exam even if you think you don't need one. It doesn't take long. Luckily, I caught it before too much damage was done. I treat it (keep it from getting worse) by taking eyedrops twice a day for the rest of my life. It's funny, I never would've imagined I'd owe a debt of gratitude to the DMV!

2 comments:

dirty said...

Wow, that's crazy. So do you need glasses now?

Jenny Jenny Flannery said...

Ah, the diagnostic powers of bureaucrats! Everyone always thinks we're evil and like to ruin everyone's fun. When, in fact, we are hanging saftey nets and preventing the world from going to hell in a handbasket.