Fall on ice saved Margaret’s sight

NORTH Clare woman Margaret O’Sullivan is jovial and active. She loves to read, drive, paint ando travel, among other things. But a now seemingly fortuitous accident just before Christmas 2009 revealed Margaret could have lost it all because of a medical condition threatening her sight.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the principal cause of sight loss for people over the age of 50 in the Western World. Although it is not as well known as other eye diseases, such as cataracts or glaucoma, it is the most common cause of registered blindness in Ireland.
“I didn’t have any symptoms. AMD creeps on you and you are not aware of it. Your sight deteriorates slowly and you don’t realise until you try to do something like read small text or something you were able to do and then one day you can’t do it anymore,” Margaret told The Clare Champion.
“I discovered the AMD by accident. I slipped on the ice in December 2009. It was simple, I just slipped on the footpath and my glasses fell off and got broken so I had to get them changed. I went to the optician; he examined my eyes and discovered that I had a problem. He explained I had a leak at the back of my eye and that the medical term was age-related macular degeneration. He explained there are two types, wet and dry and I had the wet, unfortunately. He told me this meant he would monitor me every week or every few weeks and that after a while I would have to get an injection in my eye,” she outlined.
Luckily the Lahinch woman is not squeamish. “I am just so glad that it was caught in time because there is so much I still want to do in life. It is not until you are told you might lose your sight that you realise how much you need it. I love television, I love outdoor activities, I love to read, I love to drive, I love to paint, I love life. I have a lot more to do,” she said.
“I am a new granny and I am at the stage where you look forward to getting to see your grandchildren and minding them and being there for your family. That was under threat. I only have two years to retirement and my son is in Australia and that is my one aim that I will get out there to see him,” she added.
Margaret puts her calm attitude to the discovery down to a lack of understanding.
“At the beginning I didn’t realise my sight might go. It is only since I started talking about it that I realised mine was as serious as it was. I suppose I was shocked at the time when I heard what the treatment was. I said ‘oh my God, an injection into the eye?’ But there was no alternative and I have been very lucky in that if it had happened me six or seven years ago there was no cure, you just went blind,” Margaret asserted.
A few weeks after her initial diagnosis, Margaret travelled to Galway Clinic, where she had her first consultation and scans.
“Treatment started immediately more or less. The consultant, Mr Kinsella, gave me an injection when he saw the stage I was at because you have to start the treatment rapidly. We initially thought three injections would be sufficient but it depends on how you respond and unfortunately I have to keep going back. But now we are nearly two years on so I don’t have to go back as often as before. I have improved immensely. It has held my sight at what it was when we started. For me the treatment has been very positive,” she outlined.
Because of her own experience, Margaret would urge others to get their eyes tested more often.
“I would class myself as very lucky to have fallen. I could have lost half my sight before going back to the optician. I think it is very important for people, especially those who wear glasses, to get their sight checked more often,” she advised.
According to new research on AMD, released ahead of AMD Awareness Week, weight gain can reduce macular pigment levels and therefore increase the risk of developing the eye condition. This was not the cause in Margaret’s case.
“I would have maintained my weight, I have a healthy diet. I was a heavy smoker going back but I am off them 15 years. I wouldn’t be that health conscious but I would be a sensible eater,” she explained.
Before her diagnosis, Margaret, like many others, had never heard of AMD. The organisers of AMD Awareness Week, which takes place from Monday, September 19 to Sunday, September 25, aim to increase public awareness on how to spot the symptoms of AMD and to highlight the importance of early diagnosis.
Throughout AMD Awareness Week, free testing and information will be available to detect the early signs of AMD at a range of participating local opticians, eye doctors, public libraries, golf clubs and other locations nationwide. A mobile testing unit will also visit Galway on Tuesday, September 20 at Ballybane Library, Castlepark Road, Ballybane between 10am and 1pm and Galway Golf Club, Salthill between 2pm and 6pm, offering free testing to detect the early signs of AMD. On Wednesday, September 21, the unit will visit Limerick City Library, The Granary, Michael Street between 10am and 1pm and Castletroy Golf Club from 2pm to 6pm.