Community stories

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 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 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.

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

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

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.