#42 Trust Instead of Worry

When you have macular degeneration, a big reason for depression is fear of the future.

• If my vision continues to deteriorate will I have to make different living arrangements?
• Will my dry macular degeneration progress to wet?
• Will macular degeneration develop in my good eye?
• What happens if I must stop driving?
• Will I go totally blind?

Starting with the last question first, the answer is no. Macular degeneration alone will not cause total blindness. Most people who have macular have the dry form and their central vision is cloudy in either one eye or both, depending on the diagnosis.

10 – 15% of macular degeneration folks have the wet kind. It’s the wet kind that accounts for severe vision loss. 10% of the cases of dry develop into wet macular. That’s why it is vitally important to use the Amsler chart to stay on top of vision changes. The timing of treatment can mean the difference between keeping what vision you have and losing it to severe central blindness.

The peripheral vision is NOT lost. The peripheral vision is what Millie called her getting around vision. Other eye problems can cause loss of the peripheral vision, but not macular degeneration. For example, glaucoma can cause this loss.

Driving? Millie felt not being able to drive was her biggest loss with macular degeneration. When she could no longer tell what color the signal light was, she knew it was time to stop driving. She was fortunate to live in a community that offered transportation at a reduced cost (cheaper than a taxi) to those with handicaps.

Millie never made different living arrangements, even when her macular degeneration changed from dry to wet and she lost central vision in both eyes. Instead, she made many adaptations and used visual aids to help her manage. For example blog #7 describes using a visual magnifying machine to read mail and labels on cans, and blog #13 shares ideas for the kitchen.

Fear of the future? Whether we are talking about vision or anything else in life, we can trust our future to the one whose birth we are celebrating this season. God designed us with two eyes and he holds our future, including our eyes, in his hands. We can trust him.

God has helped us in the past. In 1 Samuel 7:8-12 we read how Samuel made a stone memorial to remind the people how much God had helped them in the past. He named the memorial Ebenezer. I wrote a devotion and called it Ebenezer, all about how we need not worry about the future. God has helped us in the past and he continues to help us. Here’s the link to read it.

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Readers:

What do you worry about in respect to macular degeneration? If you share your worries, another reader might come up with a suggestion for you.