Introdcution

In life, we all struggle to "see" things. For me it is a literal challenge. Several years ago I was diagnosed with visual degenerative disease called  Macular Degeneration, a disease that is actually called AGED-Macular Degeneration because it affects individuals over the age of 65. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration) I was diagnosed at 27. Today I am 33. MD is also a hereditary disease. No one in my family has ever had it. Every doctor I have seen mutters what an “anomaly” I am and how it doesn’t make any sense.

When I was 32 they discovered that I also have something called Cone-Rod Dystrophy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_dystrophy ) which is where, as well as I understand it, the rods and cones in my eyes are dying off, specifically the rods.  I have a hard time distinguishing what’s what in dim light as much as I do in bright light. I need contrast to make sense of what I’m seeing, without it everyone looks the same (this has a strong tendency to create some very awkward moments LOL, because people see me see them but I don’t actually SEE them, but more about that another day). Cone/Rod Dystrophy (CRD) actually does best in dusk-type light, while that’s the absolute worst for Macular Degeneration (MD). MD does best in bright light, which is the absolute worst for my CRD. Fun times in the city, let me tell you.

Some days are better than others. Some days are seriously bad. Some days are just perfectly fine, like nothing’s wrong.  I’m scared (and pissed off) about how I’m going to sustain my freedom and independence; my dreams and the adventurous life I love so much as this progresses. This thing I have, it has changed me, changed the way I think and function and live, for better and for worse. These are my moments, this is is my story.

(***I will try my best to keep the typos to a minimum, but I am the Typo Queen (ask anyone who has ever received and tried to decipher a text message from me LOL), and as this damn thing progresses, reading a computer screen becomes more and more problematic.***)