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STEPHEN DUFFY WAS out shopping with his mother one Friday in May 2010 when the vision in his left eye became blurry.
“I said to her, ‘Where are you?’ That’s when I noticed it first.”
He went to the doctor, who said that he probably had an eye infection, and gave him antibiotics. But the problem was still there by Monday, so he went back to the doctor.
“He shone a torch in my eye and said that there was blood on the back of my eye and sent me to the Eye and Ear Hospital on Adelaide Road,” he told TheJournal.ie.
He was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that can be caused from diabetes type 1 or 2. The blood vessels behind his eye had burst, and the eye surgeon would have to weld them back together.
By Friday, a week after he first noticed a problem, he was going under laser eye surgery to try and save his sight at the age of 30. He was petrified.
“People absolutely take their eyesight for granted until there’s a problem. It gave me a new appreciation for people who have to deal with it.”
After months of monitoring his condition, Stephen then had to go under surgery again in December as his sight was still deteriorating and he wanted to save what was left of it.
Now he can see at four feet what someone with perfect eyesight can see at 24 feet.
“That’s something that needs to be put more out into the public domain – there are so many problems caused by diabetes – kidneys, heart, and lungs. Sight problems were something that I didn’t know a lot about – but it actually puts holes in the retina.”
According to Fighting Blindness, five people go blind in Ireland every week, and diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among the working age population.
Around 225,000 people in Ireland have type 1 or 2 diabetes and 10% of those are at risk of developing a rapid form of vision loss.
Disability access
He says that his condition has had a “massive impact on everything”.
Some people raise their voice when talking to me. I’m blind, I’m not deaf.
“You’re out walking with your parents and they say watch this and watch that, and I have to say to them I know you’re looking after me, but it’s making things worse. You’re being pigeonholed.
“I don’t use the cane because people treat you differently. My friends said they’ve been attacked because they’ve been carrying a cane. People pretend to help them cross the road but they’re actually trying to rob them.”
“It makes you much more vulnerable.”
Fighting Blindness say that the rate of diabetic retinopathy is increasing at an “alarming rate” despite most being treatable if detected early.
The organisation is calling for increased funding to hire additional staff that can diagnose those with genetically inherited sight loss diseases earlier.
There are an estimated 225,000 people living with low vision and sight loss in Ireland, including approximately 13,000 blind people. These figures are projected to increase to 272,000 and 18,000 respectively by 2020, according to Fighting Blindness.
When Stephen was told that he would have long-term sight loss issues, he thought “that’s it, life is over” – “You wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy”.
But he recently found a passion for radio and an appreciation for the stills of a sports commentator.
Mícheal Ó Muireaheartaigh did a wonderful interview blindfolded, and the way he described things was how a blind person would see it – it gives a mental picture to the people who can’t see.
It certainly gave me a new appreciation for stuff that’s going on live, you’re painting the picture for those who can’t see.
He hosts a radio show called Sports Saturday on Liffey Sound 96.4 every Saturday, and hopes to find work, but says it’s difficult because of his sight impairment problem. He joins many others who are calling for greater understanding in our society for those with a disability.
“So little money is put into the area of disability. I do think it needs to change, we need to be represented within government. You never see someone in government with a vision impairment, if you did we might a fairer hearing.”
As part of World Sight Day today, Fighting Blindness is hosting a three-day international conference, Retina 2017. A public engagement day for people affected by sight loss takes place this Saturday 14 October. Those interested in attending can register here.
Turkey has been threatening this for a while… These people want to get to EU countries mostly France and Germany and former EU country the UK, but Europe is not assisting the Turks, it’s only a matter of time again…. and many of these could be ISIS fighters wanting to return home…. They need to be accessed with proper documentation and all finger printed, just like the EU does with African refugess/asylum seekers.
@Paul O’Sullivan: the EU needs to hold firm against this Turkish blackmail
@Paul O’Sullivan: and where is the database with all the fingerprints of the ISIS fighters?
@SFAnkleTapper: there is none…. Asylum seekers only have to give their fingerprints at the point of application for Asylum. Many of the ISiS fighters will be returning to their home countries UK /Belgium /France men of Arab origin who destroyed their documentation who will be moonlighting as Syrian refugees. Hence my point a record needs to be kept of these individuals.
If they are genuine they have nothing to hide. The fingerprinting is to keep a record of any future incidents.
@Paul O’Sullivan: so no prevention.
@SFAnkleTapper: I agree a disaster isn’t it.
Turkey is chomping at the bit for a land grab & war with Syria, The SAA are battle hardened and have the support of Russia, Erdogan will get his ass handed to him along with his aspirations for Turkish conquest.
Greece should take no more refugees with militants in the mix. The Greeks of Lesbos and Chios have made it clear they will take no more.
@Raven: That’s all well and good, but if the Turks are brought into a War it could lead to them at war with Iran, that will result in an attack on the toxic state of Israel. That will bring in the US and Nato…
Turkey has been asking for assistance with this a long time. The refugess dont want to be in Turkey they want to be in the EU. That’s the problem..
@Paul O’Sullivan: has its stands. Very large amounts of refugees /migrants from the middle east who are mostly Muslims have landed on Europe’s shores and have gain entry into Europe mainland . There is many issues with integration with the local populations,these people would be arriving from strict Islamic society’s.they would have sever problems with western cultures and liberal values. could these people not be relocated to mostly Moslem countries where their culture and religious values would be respected and inforced
@Paul O’Sullivan: Sure, They have been asking for help, but what is the reply from Saudi, The Emirates etc? This is causing social issues within Europe, but you won’t hear about parallel societies, non integration, crime stats via MSM.
@Raven: oh I agree with you Arab nations have never really looked after struggling Arabs..Saudi Arabia is one of the most despicable countries on the planet, if they had no oil they would have nothing…
@Bobby wilson: Agree with you totally, but Europe may need to provide something to keep them out….
@Bobby wilson: think it’s mainly you that doesn’t respect *muslim values. Why does a religion need to be *enforced on anyone? If you’re not Muslim then what does it matter to you?
Standard rhetoric from you eh lad.
@Paul O’Sullivan: You say the refugees want to be in the EU, but where they really want to be is at home in the communities they grew up in and live in. Tens of thousands of ordinary people are being murdered and used as pawns by the Turkish regime and others to further their objectives in the region.
@Paul O’Sullivan: “if the Turks are brought into a War”
Turkey is at war with Syria.
In the past 2 weeks the Turks have destroyed 5% of Syria’s armour, kiled 100s of Syrian government troops, and today they shot down two Syrian jets and destryed several air defence systems.
Here’s is video footage of Turkish troops firing an anti-aircraft missile from a rooftop, shooting down a Syrian government helicopter 2 weeks ago (could so easily have been Russian), with Al Qeada aillied fighters cheering in the foreground (loud warning):
https://twitter.com/Adnan_Alhusen/status/1227857701604069376
Turkey released 10 minutes of footage of them blowing up Syrian army tanks and troops with drones, recorded over the last 2 weeks in Idlib:
@Dermot Foley: so how do you preposed for myself and the Irish people on the island of IRELAND and main land Europe respect our new Muslims populations as refugees /migrants into their towns and cities. like in some parts of Britain where sharia laws are recognized by courts of lands like in their own home lands ..etc …as someone who live and work in a Islamic society over a period time it is completely different way of life if your not a Muslim and saying it very mildly
@Paul O’Sullivan: why does the Irish people and Europe have to offer them anything ! Why not the world how many refugees arrived in Japan which is one of the richest countries in the world….what’s happening in the middle east is very complex is centre around religion its bother fighting brother…
@David Jordan:
So Turkey being a member of NATO would mean NATO are at war with Syria.
@Dermot Foley:
Some rhetoric there at the Greek border, wouldn’t you agree.
https ://twitter.com/BasedPoland/status/1234038726952673281?s=20
@Raven: * So Turkey being a member of NATO would mean NATO are fighting with al Qaeda.
Here’s Turkish fighter jets sky writing over a Turkish base in Syria…
@Bobby wilson: you want sharia law recognised like parts of the UK!?!?
YOU go and live there and take anyone else who wants to be in that toxic cult with you please
@Simon McGunner: definitely not! But their are people out their from liberal west who are proposing that we must look into ways to accommodate Muslim refugees /migrants into the host cummunites. in ways that make their religious practices are valued and respected in equal to western values.
@David Jordan:
I have a link here to a video from yesterday where Turkish military personnel are beating and torturing captured Syrian military personnel, cannot is as it will be deleted by the mods. Not s love heart in sight. Turkey have no business having bases in Syria.
They need to get out, maybe the Russian Navy vessels en route will help them along.
@Bobby wilson: We saw your comments on the balgaddy lucan mosque. your obviously some Islamic crusader. That cult is responsible for FGM and a lot of other sick activities. Look at Rotherham in the UK all those children molested and not protected by the law. We just got he Catholic church under control we don’t need this cult in the West.
@Simon McGunner: I am trying to point out what happens when you have large scale Islamic immigration on to island of Ireland and main land Europe too and the world for that matter, to the local non Islamic populations and how relationships break down between the cultures .because of the strict religious Islamic believes come up against thec non Islamic believes ..that I believe Islamic populations should be relocate themselves to majority countries where their believes and culture is respected and enforced by the state.
If people have made it to Turkey they were refugees and are now in a safe country. If they are now looking to come to an EU country then they are migrants.
@SFAnkleTapper:
*Economic migrants, and if they are storming the Greek border, which thousands have, then they’re called illegal immigrants.
@Raven: correct.
@SFAnkleTapper: Looks like the Greeks have had enough, Greek military personnel and hardware are en route to the borders/. transit points with Turkey, Lesbos locals have burned down the UN migrant centers so no more can be received and today with Erdogans announced threat that he’d release refugees to Greece, Soros NGOs of German origin showed up on Lesbos only to be ran off and told to leave by the local Greeks. More blood and misery that originated with Merkel.
The problem is the war.
The solution is not to just put these people into Europe.They are not entitled automatic entry to Europe, like anyone else.The Greeks need help from EU to keep their borders and people and way of life as they see fit.
What is the response of oil rich middle Eastern countries to this crisis? There are camps suitable for housing millions in Saudi Arabia for example.
Can EU not help build camps in Turkey and when the war is over most people would go home no ?
Yes Turkey may need some help with this refugee side of the war they are in , like the €6 billion from the EU which is probably now spent.
They are seeking aid and at war.
They do deal very generously with millions of refugees from Syria and do need help.
have your say