Luckily, I was able to see Professor Ivan Goldberg in Sydney, where I have had surgery on my left eye and treatment with drops, and many thorough check-ups and tests on both eyes.
A couple of years later I developed traumatic glaucoma as a direct result of the surgery, and have received various treatments since, taking care of both eyes as a precaution.
When Bette Smith’s cousin told her they had glaucoma in the family, she did what all Australians should be doing, she got her eyes checked.
Living in York Peninsula community two hour's drive from Adelaide and with no optometrist in her local community, Debra booked an appointment as soon as she could. That’s when she received her life changing diagnosis.
My mother was diagnosed with glaucoma when she was about seventy, so I was closely monitored. When there were indicators that I could be following the same path, I was referred to a glaucoma specialist.
Artist and teacher Alison Bowmer thought that a great way to give back to the community would be to use her creativity and artistic skills to fundraise for a good cause – Glaucoma Australia.
I was hit in the left eye with a fully extended octopus strap and destroyed the Schlemm canal of my eye. Dr Ivan Goldberg took over and performed a Trabeculectomy followed by injections of 5-fluorouracil into the eyeball to prevent growth of scar cells over the Trabeculectomy.
I didn't have any tell-tale signs of vision loss but thankfully my Optometrist detected increased pressure during a routine eye check. I am grateful it was picked up early and knew I had to act quickly.
In the late 90's I was admitted to the emergency department at a major hospital in Melbourne with a severe headache to the right side of my head and severe pain in my right eye. The pain was so excruciating that my right eyeball felt like it was going to explode.