Brian Stafford’s experience with glaucoma shows the importance of getting regular checkups

Brian Stafford, 51, has spent much of his life avoiding his family’s history of sickness. “My father is a prostate-cancer survivor, and I’ve had multiple aunts and uncles fight cancer as well,” he said. “I’ve always been so afraid of developing it that I did everything I could to stay healthy—eating well, exercising, and getting screened on a regular basis.” But I never considered eye health.”

That changed when Stafford observed severe blurriness in his right eye during a regular vision exam to renew his driver’s license. “I could’t see anything clearly using my right eye,” he said. Assuming he required glasses, he made an appointment with an eye doctor for the first time in his adult life, but the tests he performed revealed a more serious diagnosis than he had anticipated. “My doctor told me I had severe glaucoma,” Brian Stafford explains. “All I could think to say was, ‘What are you talking about?'”

Early detection of glaucoma allows for therapy to relieve pressure on the optic nerve. Fortunately for Stafford, he was able to drop his eye pressure from an initial reading of 30 mmHg (eye pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury on a manometer and typically varies from 12 to 21 mmHG in healthy persons) in order to delay his eyesight loss. Though his right eye had already lost 90% of its visibility—eyesight lost due to glaucoma cannot be restored—his left eye retains full functioning, with his 20/20 vision preserved by a rigorous management regimen of daily prescription eye drops. Glaucoma can affect one or both eyes, and as in Stafford’s case, it does not necessarily result in equal damage to both damaged eyes.

The event has taught Stafford the value of eye health, and now that it is a priority in his life, he can continue doing what he enjoys. Treatment helps him to be physically active by going to the gym every day and even taking up new interests like golf. He is also an ardent travel companion to his wife. “She and I travel the world,” he explains. “We just returned from Japan a few weeks ago. My greatest concern after being diagnosed was that if I lost my sight totally, I would be unable to see the world alongside her. So now I’m just doing everything I can to preserve what vision I have left.”

Stafford, who first kept his tale to himself after being diagnosed with glaucoma, now makes an effort to speak openly about his experience with the disease. “I’ve had friends tell me that they’ve scheduled their first eye exams since hearing what happened to me,” he said. “I’ve made it my aim to ensure that everyone receives regular eye checkups. I want others to learn from me and take this seriously.