I saw Patrick Kennedy on 60 Minutes Sunday night and listened to him talk about his ongoing battle with alcoholism and mental illness. He pointed out that while he has been sober for five years, he realizes that this is a battle he’ll have to fight every day for the rest of his life—that when you are dealing with a chronic disease, there is no cure and that it requires a conscious effort every day to win the fight.
Our fight to save our eyesight is the same. There isn’t a magic pill that’s going to maintain or restore our vision, and at least for now, there is no cure that’s going to fix it. But I know many of us have discovered that if we do everything in our power from a whole-body health perspective (including acupuncture and/or micro-current stimulation for some of us), we do have the ability to save our eyesight—or at the very least, greatly slow the progression of our eye disease.
Some days are tough. There are plenty of mornings when I don’t feel like jumping out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to make time for my green juice, eye exercises and micro current stimulation. There are days when I don’t feel like heading to the gym to get in my cardio and strength training workout. Constantly making healthy eating choices, limiting my alcohol intake, avoiding stress and maintaining a positive attitude can be challenging as well.
But then I think about that devastating appointment I had with yet another retinal specialist nearly three years ago, in which I left convinced that I had only three years of any sort of eyesight left. I think about how powerless and scared I felt, how heartbroken I was at the thought of not being able to see my daughters or husband, and about how terrified I was of being stripped of my independence and sense of self.
I love my eyesight. I know it’s a gift and today—thanks in large part to the holistic health approach I’ve been taking—I have even more of it than I did at that appointment nearly three years ago. And thought I occasionally slip up, it’s enough of a motivator to get myself back on track and keep me Staying the Course.
Message on point as always and a necessary reminder to stay positive and focus on the big picture. Thank you for this!
Thank you for helping me STAY the Course.
I am so glad you’re staying with this regimen and that it’s clear how beneficial it’s been. And what I also love is that you don’t expect yourself to be perfect all the time. I’ve always admired how you acknowledge that sometimes you slip up – and that makes it all the more inspiring because you show people it’s possible to get back into the routine even so – hope isn’t lost. All the best to you and bravo!
Thank you, Alysa. xo