Joan A.
Eye on AMD Ambassador

My husband, John, has wet AMD. I want to explain my role as caregiver, and how AMD has affected my life. But first it would be appropriate for me to tell you something about myself.

Today I live in Florida. I was born and brought up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the oldest of 2 children. As far back as I can remember, I loved drawing and painting with children's water colors. I'd spend hours drawing people and animals. At the age of 9, I entered a drawing contest sponsored by the Boston Post. My entry was of a young girl with a broom with a house in the background. I titled it, "Mother's Helper." I won first place! I couldn't believe it when I was notified, followed by my first place prize, a check for 1 dollar! Several months later, the same newspaper sponsored another drawing contest. I couldn't wait to enter. I submitted a drawing of 1 circus elephant, and won first place again! My check for 1 dollar soon arrived, but this time, it bounced! Yes, a 1 dollar check bounced! The newspaper had filed for bankruptcy. I still have the bounced check.

Though I no longer oil paint, I'm still fascinated with good work and enjoy viewing displays at art shows. So, you can see how art in its many forms has been an important part of my life. I believe that it's fair to say that I look at my life as an artist’s canvas. Each splash of color added, shows with clarity those defining events that made my life what it is today. Most of those colors are bright, happy, and very pleasant, because that describes my life; however, there is also the occasional black or gray. Those highlights detract from the rainbow quality of my life, casting a depressing pall over the entire canvas. One such incident occurred when my husband, John, was diagnosed with AMD.

After John retired, I urged him to start looking after his health. At the time, I was an office manager for a prominent physician and am naturally health-conscious. So John started making the rounds of regular physicals, dental appointments, and exercising. In the summer of 2004, he visited an ophthalmologist for a complete eye exam. At the conclusion of the exam, the doctor informed John that he had dry AMD, in both eyes, as well as the beginning of cataracts. We were shocked, to say the least! Like most people, we never gave much thought to what it would be like for either of us to lose our vision. It's fair to say that if you don't have an existing problem, it's way down on the list of things to worry about. But with this diagnosis, that list had a new number 1.

John was initially diagnosed with dry AMD in both eyes. There were no symptoms. In a matter of months, he developed wet AMD in his left eye. His right eye was still okay. Suffice it to say, we were very concerned about his future, and we tried to learn as much as we could about scientific advances being made in the control and eventual cure of wet AMD. We were encouraged that so much research was being done in the area, and so much optimism was coming from the medical community.

When John was diagnosed, my priority was to help him as much as possible. He made it easy because he doesn’t make a big deal out of things; he has a positive, easy-going attitude that is truly infectious. John has always been a strong person, and I didn’t want this diagnosis to make him feel that he’d lost that. But even so, I couldn’t help but be afraid for him. At his worst point, he needed a 7x magnifying glass and a lot of bright light, to read the newspaper. I could feel his frustration when he had problems reading or when he tried to explain to our grandson why he was having eye problems. Since his diagnosis, John and I have discussed worst case scenarios, and what to do if he lost his vision. Our approach is that we will find a way to function as normal as humanly possible. The saving factor for wet AMD is that you won't be totally blind. You will still be able to function with peripheral vision, while we wait for the cure that we are convinced will come.

Thankfully, John has seen significant improvement since beginning treatment with LUCENTIS^® (ranibizumab injection). I’m extremely proud of him. He has handled his diagnosis and is living well with wet AMD.

Individual results with LUCENTIS may vary.

Talk to your doctor to see if LUCENTIS is right for you.

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