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I’m Losing My Eyesight — How AI Is Fighting to Save Yours
New tools are being used in the war to fight off glaucoma
Seven years ago I sat in my eye doctor’s dimly lit exam room and he hit me with a banger of a diagnosis.
“Chris, you have glaucoma.”
It was like someone had punched me in the gut and it was hard to breathe.
Emotion took over — I became a seething mass of anger, uncertainty, sorrow, and self-pity.
I was only forty-six freaking years old.
“Glaucoma is for old farts!” I exclaimed to him.
Actually, as of 2019 over 7 million people in the world had glaucoma, so I had company.
According to the World Health Organization, it’s the second-leading cause of blindness in the world today.
I finally calmed down and discussed my condition with my doctor. I accepted that I would need to treat this disease for life.
There was still a possibility that even with treatment it could beat me and steal my eyesight.
There was no way I was going to let this disease take away my vision without a fight.