Pam was a middle school counselor for many years, helping young students handle the stresses of life, but it wasn’t until recently that she began taking her own advice. “I am a worrier,” she says. “But lately there have been things that have made me realize that every day is special.” One of those things was being diagnosed with geographic atrophy (GA).
GA is a result of advanced dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It is distinguished by an island of lost photoreceptor cells that can distort vision. Once these cells are lost, they cannot be brought back. GA is a slow process, and patients will retain peripheral vision and not go completely blind. There are no treatments for GA.
Diagnosed at a relatively early age with AMD, Pam had been told she had the dry and slow-progressing type. She learned to be on the lookout for any changes in her vision. For a number of years, her eyesight was stable and 20/20 with glasses. Then two years ago, she was riding in her car, checking her vision by closing one eye and then the other, when she noticed the images in her right eye were distorted. She went to her doctor that day and learned that the GA had gotten into her central vision.
Doing anything up close, like reading, has been difficult. However, with magnification and her peripheral vision (which is still intact), she can see most things well. As a result, she has not slowed down since her GA diagnosis nor after her retirement from public education. “I want to stay as active as I can,” Pam says. “When you retire, you are busier than ever.”
She crochets, enjoys crafting, plays piano, creates a yearly family treasure hunt, and gardens—canning her home-grown tomatoes and green beans and making apple butter to last through the cold Kentucky winters. And she is trying her hand at sewing, making a skirt for her nine-month-old granddaughter, whom she calls her “best treatment” and her “little sunshine.”
Pam knows her vision will continue to decline, albeit slowly, so she is exploring aids and services. “I love to play new music and am excited to find low-vision equipment that will help me read sheet music.” In the meantime, she is doing everything she can to stay healthy—eating green vegetables, exercising regularly, taking vitamin supplements, and keeping positive thoughts. “I just keep thinking about a quote from Warren Zevon, ‘Enjoy every sandwich.’ That is contradictory to how I did things most of my life, but that little phrase has helped me so much.”