“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King”. There are vast interpretations of this timeless proverb but my definition of choice applies to the struggles – and sporadic triumphs – of RP and its relentless peaks and valleys.

Our RP community has finally come to this new and promising place on much the same path. Mine – and most of yours – started with a desperate online search that led to Ingrid’s first blog post about the healing properties of acupuncture, something I had not considered as a viable treatment for my worsening condition.

Embarking on that journey was fraught with a heady mix of apprehension, hope and confusion that encompassed long distance travel, a multitude of expenses, and the frightening concept of bouts of potentially painful needling that would somehow benefit my eyes.

My initial two-week round of acupuncture yielded recognizable and encouraging results, and lent a positive outlook that loosened the grip of a deepening sense of depression. We’ve all been there at some point in this fight. My good results also inspired an idea: if sporadic micro-acupuncture was an effective remedy, why not an additional weekly “maintenance” treatment too? I approached Ingrid with a plan: stop the spendy eye-based treatments for six months and focus exclusively on a whole-body method once a week for twenty-four weeks.

Speaking for myself the results were impressive – the eyes working in conjunction with the whole body in order to support healthy sight. And the real upside was not just stronger eyes but combatting the core anxieties of failing sight – the incessant fear of falling, of feeling ostracized, the loss of independence and a future in the dark.

Post study I discovered what I find to be the correct balance of whole-body and micro-acupuncture treatments. Through trial and error each of us has to find our own individual rhythm and practice, as the results can be wildly diverse. It’s essential to take control of our own healthcare – treatment, nutrition and exercise — as there is no one magic formula. And naturally the personal side of the experience is an emotional and immensely visceral one.

Re acupuncture itself, the core values are simple: be consistent, surrender to the unknown, maintain a positive attitude and above all be honest with yourself.

Which all brings me to today. Ingrid’s and my consistent battle cry has been to make this therapy accessible and affordable to everyone suffering from RP. We fervently believe in not only what we’re doing but why we’re doing it – to define a superior approach for every RP patient to care for his or her eyes.

Through relentless pounding of that drum we discovered Mats Sexton, who not only fights the good fight on the acupuncture front, but feels the same ceaseless frustrations over decent treatment availability and affordability and the code of secrecy that has plagued our collective RP passage.

Now the protocol is available to all – to anyone and everyone who wants to take steps to help improve and maintain healthy sight.  (To access, click here) We have our naysayers – and to those I say Eastern medicine or Western – not everything works for everyone. But how will you know if you don’t try? And why wouldn’t you try everything in your power to preserve and improve your waning eyesight? That’s a no-brainer of epic magnitude.

Thanks to the support of so many – in particular fellow crusaders Ingrid Ricks and Mats Sexton – I’m taking action, doggedly resolved to make the most of my options and hitching my star to those with an equally unwavering vision. By taking control of my future I’m choosing to play one-eyed man and be King of my domain.

 Note: to check out more of Jeanne’s eye art, click here.

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