Ingrid Hebenstreit – GERMANY
Ingrid went immediately to see an optician in her hometown in Germany. Two days later, she had a diagnosis - she was told she had the wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The condition, which typically develops in people over the age of 50, robs patients of their central vision by destroying the macula, a section of light-sensing cells in the middle of the eye’s retina. Even though wet AMD is known to progress quickly, over months or even weeks, few people experience its progression as rapidly as Ingrid.
With hardly any treatments available for wet AMD at the time, Ingrid’s retina was operated on in an attempt to stop the disease. The procedure was unsuccessful, and she suffered a retinal detachment and eventually a complete deterioration of the optic nerve in her right eye. “It was really hard losing my vision in that eye,” she says. “Little did I know there was more to come.”
Patients with AMD in one eye often develop it later on in the other, and Ingrid was no exception. But by 2005, when the disease began affecting her left eye, times had changed and many more treatment options were available. First she was given two photodynamic (laser) treatments, which had no effect. Fortunately, another treatment she was offered had better results, preserving the 15% vision that remained in her left eye.
“Wet AMD has definitely had a significant impact on my life,” says Ingrid, now 69. Although she has maintained her independence, she finds that most things take longer to do than they did before she lost her vision. “It gets tiring sometimes,” she admits. She used to walk a lot, visit many museums, and travel frequently. Now she does these things less often. Ingrid finds negotiating public transit particularly difficult. Since she lives on her own, and her sister (who also has wet AMD) and her niece live far away, she often feels a bit isolated.
But she has found vital support. Through a national peer group called Pro Retina, Ingrid has met a number of other people who have AMD. They get together every two months to share their experiences and learn from each other. “It’s a great comfort to me,” says Ingrid. “My friends have taught me that there is life after AMD.”
