As age catches up with me, my eyes aren’t functioning quite the way I’d like them to. First, floaters burst in upon my field of vision, casting large shadows upon my retina—initially only in one eye, then also the other. Over time they dissipated into grayish cobwebs, slightly ameliorating the annoyance. Next, the optometrist informed me both of my eyes have cataracts. She kindly referred me to an ophthalmologist, who offered additional bad news: Blocked tear ducts had resulted in dry eyes, which in turn had caused a slight tear in my left eye, leaving a permanent scar.

What’s more, the ophthalmologist said, you have a condition called Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy (FED). I went home and looked it up: It turns out to be a genetic condition that causes swelling of the cornea, blurs one’s vision, and sometimes leads to complete blindness. It looks like I’ll become a regular at the eye doctor. …

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