The Correspondent
TO: sybilvanantwerp@
FROM: Roy@
SUBJECT: Following up after your appointment
Dear Sybil,
It was great to see you yesterday, although as I said, the drops are not sustaining your vision as well as I’d hoped and the loss is happening more rapidly than we had hoped it would.
Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast. It can putter along for years, and then all of a sudden a fast decline.
The gnats you see will get worse or stay stable, but it’s unlikely they will go away, and the vision may begin to go in and out.
Some days you may experience a dramatic vision loss in one or both eyes, and then the next day it could come back.
It’s no fun. I want to reiterate the point I made about my concerns with your living alone and the fact that you have not made your son and daughter aware of the situation.
It won’t be very much longer that I can, in good conscience, allow you to continue to drive, either.
The last time you fell it was a bad result with your broken wrist, etc.
, but what if it’s worse in the future? Stairs, a sidewalk curb?
I wonder, could you hire some kind of companion or nurse for even some part of the days?
I’m afraid with this sort of thing, one doesn’t even always know the toll it is taking while the trouble is underway.
The headaches you mentioned, too, are undoubtedly related to the strain on your eyes when you read and write, though I know you well enough by now to know you won’t quit with that.
I really think you should contact the organization I mentioned, the Baltimore Services for the Blind. They’ve got good people and tons of resources for all the stages of this.
Also wanted to say thank you for the coffee table book of golf courses. It was very thoughtful of you, and completely unnecessary. You’ve given me a project—how many can I play? I’m forty-one. What’s your bet?
Dr. Jameson