[msheak]

I am sorry to have been missing to this forum over the past few months, but have started a new business, and it has kept me busy, till the last couple of weeks. My post today is concerning eye sight.

I noticed working in my shop that things were getting a bit fuzzy, so I went to get a new scrip on my glasses. No big thing , till the doctor came back and said I needed a specialist to look at my eyes, and found out I have a hole in my retina, and sometime after Thanksgiving I might be looking at surgery, if it is repairable.

We people that shoot need our eyes. And not having regular checks on them can lead to a real problem. Right now, I cannot use my peep-sighted rifles, and my scoped ones are not much better, because my "bad" eye is my right eye, My pistol shooting has been affected, but not as much, since I shoot with both eyes open.

I hope that this makes all of you think about having your check-ups, and not put it off like I did. I don't want to see anyone go through this if it can be helped. Thanks ! Mark

 

[4paws]

Well said, much easier to be preventive rather than reactive when it comes to issues of health care.

 

[Rio]

A timely reminder for all of us, Mark. Hope everything works out well for you.

Rio

 

[DrDuc]

Oh man. Hope all goes well!!

 

[ralph7]

X10 on getting an eye exam every few years.
I lost half the sight in my left eye because of glaucoma, which is too much pressure in your eyeball that slowly squeezes your optic nerve to death. The only reason it was caught was checking for cataracts which have since been removed.
Eyedrops three times a day stopped further damage, but a simple exam would have saved me from being half blind in one eye.

 

[David13]

I'm mostly nearly blind, but I hate doctors.
The dmv was kind to me the last time, due to my jokes, which apparently they liked, so they just sent me on, without the eye exam.
I suppose I wouldn't mind a little surgery, if needed, but on my eyes? No way would I go for that.
I am taking the Ocuvite pills, now and then. I guess that helps some.
dc

 

[JohnnyP]

No problem for me. My mother had deteriorating retinas, but died before she went completely blind. I religiously have a yearly check-up.

One day I noticed that I was seeing black things floating against light backgrounds. Anyone that has ever lit an acetylene torch without the oxygen turned on is familiar with the black carbon floating around in the air, and this is just what it looked like. Turned out that I had a torn retina which was repaired with laser surgery. The laser surgery was no worse than an eye exam.

 

[Major Dad]

I noticed working in my shop that things were getting a bit fuzzy......I have a hole in my retina, and sometime after Thanksgiving I might be looking at surgery, if it is repairable......

I hope that this makes all of you think about having your check-ups, and not put it off like I did. I don't want to see anyone go through this if it can be helped. Thanks ! Mark

Well said, Mark, and very poignant to all of us shooters. Last summer I noticed my son was shaming me at the pistol range. Perplexed, I removed my Rx glasses and my aim improved noticeably. That really hit home with me. My Rx was not that old, either, but I guess at my age or really at any age we must always be mindful of our eyesight. Mark, we all wish you the very best with whatever happens after Thanksgiving.

 

[oberon]

I got smashed real good a few years back and had a retinal tear and a little area detatched.
The opthalmic surgeon guy fixed it the day the employee health doc discovered it.
Don't be put off by the notion of having your eyes surgerized when they need it.
The odds for me of losing vision completely in the injured eye was 96-97% without the repair job.
The guy was cool. He asked me if I thought I wanted a second opinion, or would I prefer that he get right on it now.
I gained a new appreciation for the guys whose job it is to preserve peoples eyesight.
The job was done in a place that looked like the engineering section of the starship Enterprise, and the technique was non-invasive. I wasn't the most comfortable procedure in the world, but the man saved my eye.
I have a little defect than annoys me a little, but I would rather be seein' spots than seein' nothin'
I'd get it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Cruiser RN]

Guys this is a subject that really hits home.My late dad and my mom are totally blind since birth. In my dad's case it was the optic nerves that were gone and with my mom she had a birth defect and was missing the the cones and rods of the macula.Now my brother and I were OK cause dad's blindness was genetic and mom's was not.Last year I was going to start an IV and everything went blurry.I immeadiately went in for a full eye exam and was praying that it wasn't optic atrophy because then there was nothing they could do and I would be blind.After the exam I was told I just needed reading glasses for close up work.Never ever take your eyesight for granted because I have seen the heartache of many people who lost thier sight and my mom teaching them cane walking and reading braille.She always said it is far worse to lose your sight because she never knew what seeing was and blindness was normal.Thanks for letting me be long winded and sharing.To the OP my prayers are with you

 

[moosedog]

May God Bless you pertaining to that eye problem.

 

[kenhwind]

Your comments got me to thinking. I wear glasses and have since my teens. I worked as a metal fabricator, cutting and grinding, and around the welding etc. So we used face shields a lot and because of the welding would wear sun glasses to prevent flash burn.

But I am or was amazed at how many people would neglect to or not even consider wearing safety glasses. Not just on the job, but shooting too.

I'm probably over due for an exam, but the last one was done through the VA and they did a thorough and complete exam. My eyesight hasn't changed much over the years, but usually bumped the prescription slightly over time.

But if I had to chose between eye surgery or loosing my eyesight, me thinks the surgery would be an easy decision.

 

[msheak]

got my date for surgery. 5th of Dec. I am fortunate that the surgon is a shooter and understands how important this is ! Thanks for all the well wishes. Mark

 

[OLDNAVYNUKESPOOK]

Mark, one of my good friends is a specialist in surgically repairing detached retinas. Went to visit him a few weeks ago just for a check-up. Was amazed at the advances in this field. Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery. Along with caring for our eyes, we now also know the importance of hearing protection. When we were youngsters, no one gave it a thought. Now, in addition to contacts and reading glasses, I have the latest in BLUETOOTH, programmable 4-channel hearing aids! I feel like the "bionic geezer"!

 

[Pendennis]

Good luck, Mark. I hope everything goes well.

I'm having my second eye surgery on the 4th. I had cataracts removed from the left eye on November 13th. I had my two week check-up on Wednesday, and my vision has improved to 20/20 in my non-dominant eye. I have pretty severe astigmatism in both eyes, and the implant has fully corrected it.

I know yours is a much more serious problem, so hang in there, and prayers for a steady surgical hand.