Community stories

I was diagnosed a few years ago, not too long ago, but it´s a few years now. At first it wasn´t a definite diagnosis, just a "possible". I wanted it to be a mistake, to be something else, something fixable.

I developed glaucoma 10 years ago, as it is hereditary and my mother had been diagnosed with it. I have to take eye drops once a day at night, one in each eye.

I am 52 years old and have had glaucoma since 2005. I first heard about glaucoma when my uncle told us he had it, it was hereditary and we should get tested for it.

When I was 45 years old, a routine appointment with my mother's ophthalmologist found that I had already lost some vision in my left eye due to glaucoma.

From Cairns to Fremantle and Singapore to Dublin, a career in orthoptics can take people places they never thought possible.

My mother had glaucoma, but not my father. All my sisters have it, and some brothers, not at all...

Glaucoma has been a long haul for me - 41 years of using eye drops every day, plus 9 eye operations at the last count...

I started volunteering with Glaucoma Australia during my third year of medical school at Monash University.

I have seen first-hand the impact that Glaucoma Australia's advocacy and awareness campaigns have made in the lives of my family and community, and I wanted to contribute actively to ensure that impact continued for other communities.