Tom’s story

I have kept and bred birds from about 14 years of age.

People with glaucoma often have very different experiences of living with the disease, depending on their levels of sight loss. My own story is perhaps unusual. I am 82 years of age, deaf with two hearing aids and recorded by Bristol Eye Hospital as blind. And though I am limited socially due to not having a driving licence, I have managed to continue pursuing my hobbies and long-term committee work.

My right eye was removed in 1943 when I was four. Apparently, a simple infection got out of control and, in the end, I was lucky not to have lost both. A great number of penicillin injections saved my left eye. When the eye was removed, the surgeon told my mother that the remaining left eye would become stronger than normal, and he was correct. As a country boy, I could shoot a rifle as good as most others. Even now in good light I can usually read a clean car number plate from 25 yards away, sometimes without glasses. When sat at the table at home, I often catch sight of my neighbour in his garden next door, and then I can focus to see him as well as most elderly people. The trouble is, although our house only has modest size rooms, my wife can enter or leave a room without me being aware.

After a routine eye test in 1998, Specsavers referred me to my GP who then referred me to Bristol Eye Hospital, where the fast track glaucoma specialist diagnosed primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). His exact words were “You have POAG. It is the worst kind to treat and you have it bad”. But he added that with the right treatment I would hopefully retain some useful sight. Happily, 23 years later that is true so far. I’ve had a trabeculectomy, laser treatment and also take eye drops. At an earlier visual field test, 25% of the optic nerves were still functioning in the eye but the latest test in September 2021 was very scary. I am of course registered severely partially sighted.

Naturally, when I was diagnosed with POAG the Swansea Motor Licence authority revoked my clean driving licence. This was bad news because I had been employed as a service engineer covering most of Wales, the south midlands and southwest England including the Channel Islands. My GP didn’t hesitate to retire me.

I have kept and bred birds from about 14 years of age. The first were racing pigeons, although I didn’t race them. Exhibition budgerigars were next and I bought some zebra finches for my youngest son. We were founder members of Avon Zebra Finch Society, which later became Avon Zebra Finch & Bengalese Society.

I joined the Bristol Budgerigar Society (BBS) in the 1960s and have held committee positions most of that time. I have been the publicity officer twice and am currently the minute secretary. Considering I am deaf enough to wear two hearing aids, my service as minute secretary is perhaps surprising, and a severely partially sighted publicity officer who takes all the photographs is perhaps surprising too! I keep getting re-elected every year so I can’t be too bad at what I do.

In 2017, I was only the second person to be elected Bird Keeper of the Year by Cage and Aviary Birds, which is the national aviculture news outlet that was first printed in 1902. The BBS honoured me in 2018 by voting me Member of the Year.

To use a well known expression, ‘Glaucoma is the silent thief’. It takes by stealth so that deterioration is not noticed. Even today, it’s only when I fail to see very large objects close by that I’m reminded of that. But life has to go on. And if you’re able to live it as normally as possible, it will be beneficial for your mental health.