Vision Centre

Louise sees off thief of Eyesight
Gold Coast Sun, 14 April 2004
By Valerie Jones

LOUISE Kirsty lives almost like a recluse at Varsity Lakes.
She can no longer enjoy the beach and sunshine. She stays indoors with her blinds closed to the sunshine, which she said was 'like an electric shock to my brain'.

In 1988, Louise, then aged 48, was diagnosed with glaucoma.
The condition is known as the 'sneak thief of sight' because it gradually takes away sight, often with no symptoms or warning. There is, so far, no known cure. Louise suffered migraines, nausea, blurred vision and in 1994 started suffering double vision.

"In 1996 I had implants inserted which corrected by double vision, but the operation on one eye was more successful than the other," she said. Louise lost peripheral vision and constantly saw flashing lights floating in front of her eyes. After she moved to the Gold Coast in 2001, Louise heard about ophthalmologist. Dr Andre Theron's success with glaucoma and underwent surgery to open the pupil of her right eye. "Because my pupil was so small, light couldn't pass through and I felt dizzy all the time," she said. "Dr Theron could not fixed what was already damaged on the inside of my eye, but I can now see much better. "When I opened my eyes it was like a blur and I thought, 'oh well it's gone anyway,' and as I started to blink more shapes started to become clearer and I thought, 'oh my God, it's a miracle'.

"It was amazing. I started to sing in front of (Dr Theron) I can see clearly now the rain has gone. I was just so happy." Dr Theron said Louise had shown great courage and determination. "While the damage caused by glaucoma cannot be repaired, ongoing treatment can maintain vision, often for the life of the patient. "More than 300,000 Australians lose part of their vision each year to glaucoma and most of them are not aware it is happening. "This is why glaucoma is known as the sneak thief of sight, as it slowly eats away at the optic nerve. "But if it is caught early and properly treated, it can be halted. "If it's not diagnosed early it can go to blindness but if it's diagnosed early, with drops once a day you can live a long time with good vision." Louise still has vision impairment but her sight is much improved. She hopes to have her left eye operated on soon.