Another sign of summer: the first Big Gulp

Seven months after a pancreas transplant, and after more than a year of very stable, almost normal blood sugars, I have retinal damage. This does not make much sense to me. On the other hand, I almost couldn't imagine the trouble being caused by anything else.

I suppose my reaction--none at all--is some sort of indicator that I've been through entirely too much in the last year. Retinopathy used to equal blindness. Early on, I imagined my what would happen if my retinas were damaged: my vision would deteriorate to a point where all I could see was spots. I would be blind. I was always more afraid of that than anything else associated with being diabetic. I used to walk around with my eyes closed sometimes, wondering for a moment how blindness would be.

The treatment of retinopathy has progressed to the point at which doctors no longer refer to it as "surgery," simply "laser treatment." The advances have been effective and impressive, but diabetes is still a leading cause of blindness in the U.S.

I've been referred to a retinal specialist; I will probably require laser treatment to restore my sight to a more acceptible level. Before that, they'll inject some dye to get a better look at what's going on. I was most relieved when Dr. Mitchell mentioned that the dye would be injected into a vein in my arm. I suppose I'm not the only one who assumes that the needle will go into my eyeball, like Darth Vader's machine advancing on Princess Leia in Star Wars.

Dr. Mitchell was a casual, chatty sort of doctor. We talked about the advances in immunosuppressant therapy for transplant patients and the havoc that diabetes can wreak on one's life. On both counts, I knew more than he did, but that was fine with him. He asked if I'd ever considered a career in medicine.

I just laughed.

before - after