As I Lose My Vision, Walking — Not Running — Helps Me To See
With each day, my field of vision is narrowing.
Having lived with glaucoma for years now, I view my gradual loss of eyesight as a fact of life, like the graying of my hair. I’ve already lost half of my vision in my left eye, but I remain hopeful as my right eye has yet to show degradation. I’ve had to make a few adjustments: drive more carefully, and adhere to a daily regimen of eye drops. But I am grateful to be otherwise healthy — and aim to stay that way by managing my stress, embracing fitness, and savoring each mile I run.
My sense of acceptance, however, recently gave way to angst when my ophthalmologist instructed me to temporarily halt my running. My reaction was like a record scratch: wait, whaaa…?! I had just undergone surgery to ease pressure on my optic nerve, my stitched-up eye needing time to heal. While I had contemplated a foot or leg injury one day preventing me from running, I had never envisioned (pun intended) my eyeballs blocking my path. Indeed, having had blind marathoners, with guides in tow, whizz past me on the course, I was confident I could run no matter the state of my vision.
