Berwick Man Wins the Lottery of Sight

When Vernon Taylor, 62, from Berwick, Victoria, went to buy a lottery ticket at his local newsagency he never anticipated that he’d be winning big by having his eyesight saved.

After feeling embarrassed that he was unable to read the fine print on the lottery ticket and needing the young newsagency employee to help, Vernon walked into an optometrist expecting a pair of reading glasses. Instead, Vernon walked out with a diagnosis of glaucoma and a prescription for eye drops.

“I thought I was far too young to have glaucoma,” says Vernon. “My mother had it and I always thought it was something that only older people had. When I received a script for eye drops I was so anxious to start, I put them in at the shopping centre car park as I didn't want to wait until I got home... I didn’t want to wait another minute.”

Vernon continues to undergo treatments and using eye drops has become a ritual in his everyday life.

“Every morning I put my eye drops in. It’s one thing I will never forget – I might forget car keys but not my eye drops. It’s the number-one thing I do in life because glaucoma causes irreversible blindness.”

Vernon will always be grateful to the optometrist who advised him to see a specialist, as he was able to detect the glaucoma before any further damage was caused.

“I couldn’t track him down… I just wanted to give him a big hug for what he achieved. I kick myself for not taking a photocopy [of the script]… I could’ve tracked him down and given him a big hug to let him know he changed my life. I could’ve lost my job, could’ve not been able to drive my car at night – it would’ve been horrific,” Vernon says.

Vernon hopes that Australians will be encouraged to get an eye test by the risk awareness campaign “Don’t Be Blindsided”, which is being launched to coincide with World Glaucoma Week (8-14 March 2020).

“Early prevention is key. I was so stunned by my glaucoma diagnosis. I had no signs before, and absolutely no pain, that’s the scary part. Get in early and have an eye exam so you can live the rest of your life normally. You can’t undo damage.”