Jeanine Leroy – FRANCE
Right away, Jeanine sought medical help and was referred to a specialist who told her she had a cataract in her left eye. The cataract was removed shortly thereafter, but once it was gone her doctor noticed something else. He told Jeanine she had wet AMD, a disease that causes rapid loss of central vision, usually over a period of a few months or even weeks.
Fortunately, within eleven days of her diagnosis, Jeanine received her first treatment for wet AMD. She was given an intravenous injection of a drug called Visudyne, followed by a cold laser treatment to activate the drug in her eye. Five months later she repeated the process, and together the two doses worked remarkably well and stabilized her vision.
During the course of treatment, Jeanine experienced two-months of depression, an experience quite common among AMD patients. She sought medical treatment for that as well, and it also helped immensely.
“AMD had a huge impact on my life,” says Jeanine. Because of the vision she did lose to the disease, she now has a difficult time with needlework, a hobby she is passionate about. When she reads she often has to go over a passage several times. She has mastered cooking and getting around her house, but she is no longer able to drive. “That’s my biggest regret,” she admits.
Jeanine thinks all wet AMD patients should have barrier-free access to the treatment they need, and notes that government health plans do not often cover the costs of laser therapy. “It would be extraordinary if governments would help people to get access to treatment for wet AMD,” she says. “I believe I would have lost much more of my vision without the treatment I received.”
