Eleanor's Story

Being on medication for four years after a total “burn out”, I noticed I was having problems with my vision. My GP and I thought that it was due to the antidepressants that I was taking at the time.

Living in a remote mining town in the Northern Territory, there were no specialists close by. I would have to travel to Darwin or Cairns, so we left things as they were. Whilst on holiday to Cairns in 1995, and trying to play tennis with my children, we noticed that I quite often could not see the ball to hit it back. I then noticed that I also had a problem with steps.

We travelled down to Brisbane and I went to see an eye specialist in Wickham Terrace. He told me I had glaucoma and I was not too worried because I thought he said trachoma, which is quite common in the Aboriginal population in Arnhem Land.

The specialist then explained how serious glaucoma was and he thought I had probably lost about 50% of the sight in both my eyes. He advised me to see another specialist as soon as we got back to the N.T. I got in touch with one in Darwin, but it was a three month wait before I could get in to see them.

After this appointment, we tried various eye drops to relieve pressure, but they did not work. I then had a trabeculectomy in both eyes, which controlled the pressure. I have had ongoing problems with my eyes, and have had a partial corneal transplant in my left eye, and a stent in my right eye.

When I was first diagnosed, I notified my three brothers and asked them to get their eyes checked. My two older brothers whom are now deceased, both had high pressure in both eyes, which was controlled by eye drops. The second eldest brother, had high pressure in one eye only. my younger brother, who is also deceased, did not appear to have any problems.

We were not aware of any relatives with this problem except my maternal grandfather, who apparently complained about eye problems, but I am not aware of what they were.

I visit my specialist every six months, and the pressure is stable and has been for quite a few years. I use one drop in my left eye twice daily, and another in both eyes each morning.

The trabeculectomy failed in my right eye after over twenty years. I have a Scleral transplant to repair damage, and also a stent. I now also have dry macular issues, which creates its own problems.