Blind | part 1- how he becomes blind

I will love you, always.

Unconditionally, as you love us. You, with your pure soul. That’s what I promised you then, that’s what I promise you now. Every day again, for ever. ~ M.

Our sweet pooch, Largo, is turning blind. For the moment – end 2021 – we have no idea what he still sees. Our eye dr, dr Storms, thinks he can only see dark and light.

It went fast. End September, during our holiday on Texel, he still saw pretty well. Didn’t bump into things in this strange environment. His short eyesight wasn’t good anymore. We knew that. His left eye cataract operation a few months earlier, didn’t go as expected. His lense couldn’t be replaced, it was removed which resulted in bad short eyesight. Far away was no problem. Yet… Plus he still had his right eye (operated from cataract in 2019 and lense replaced).

But problems were emerging slowly. His right eye pressure was consistently too high. Values should be between 15 and 25mmHg (millimeter kwik). His fluctuated around 30, 33. Damage was inevitable, but as long as we could keep that level, it was still manageable. Last visit to Dr Storms however told us a complete different story.

An earlier inflammation in both eyes was not properly cured. We had noticed at home that his eyesight deteriorated. He bumped into things from time to time, had to “feel” where a treat was when given. As she examined him, her diagnosis was devastating: the retina of his left eye had detached. Over and out for his left eye.

Examining his right eye showed a pressure of 54. Way too high. Plus a severe wound. The latter was probably the result of his chronic dry eyes, another problem he has. Dr Storms felt sad. We had done all we could to keep Largo’s eyesight but the accumulated problems were just too much. She told me she wondered whether he was still seeing anything at all, probably only light/dark. She confirmed what she had dreadfully told me before: we had to think about having his right eye removed. The pressure (glaucoma) was too high and would cause him too much pain. Removing the eye would stop the pain. I should talk about it at home.

But we already had. We had seen it coming, dr Storms had gradually prepared us that, in time, that would be the only option left. And we already decided that if the eye had to be removed, we would go for a prosthetic eye. Not merely an aesthetic solution, but also a comfortable one for Largo. Dr Storms was pro, if it was her dog, she would go for the prosthetic eye too. For us enough reason to go for that option as we trust her thoroughly.

Next Thursday, 16th December, a new visit to dr Storms is scheduled… Let’s hope, “Sometimes miracles happen…” as F1 World Champion Max Verstappen said today, after winning his defining race.

Next time: mixed emotions. Big Bisou, M.