If you ask John what glaucoma looks like, he’d probably tell you it looks like a chipped cup, a bumped shoulder, or a streaky plate he swore was clean. It looks like years of thinking, my eyesight’s fine—why go to the optometrist? And it looks like the shock of being told, out of nowhere, you have glaucoma—a shock so big, he fainted.
“I knew nothing about glaucoma beforehand. Absolutely nothing,” John says. “No symptoms whatsoever. I noticed nothing.” His right eye had slowly adjusted over time, compensating for the vision loss in his left. He didn’t realise anything was wrong—until it was.
John now has a matter-of-fact attitude about his diagnosis. He puts this down to his farming upbringing, along with his staunch Irish and Scots blood. “I don’t really have any anger or any frustrations about the fact that I’ve got it, I’ve got it. Let’s just suck it up and get on with life”.
Quirks of Living with Glaucoma
For John, glaucoma isn’t just a medical condition—it’s a series of small, unexpected challenges woven into everyday life.
Take the dishes, for example. “When I’m washing dishes, my wife would say, ‘you haven’t washed that dish properly’…to me it looks clean”. Reduced contrast sensitivity due to glaucoma means John can’t see it! The solution? A dishwasher. Less arguing, cleaner dishes.
But then there’s more. “I’ll be stacking dishes in the pantry, and I’ll miss the edge of another plate—BONK! A little chip comes out. Or I’ll set a cup down on the bench, and it’ll clatter and crack.”
Navigating crowds can be tricky. “I go to the left and—whoops!—I bump into somebody. I didn’t notice they’re there.” Driving took some adjusting too. “I’ve got to make a conscious effort to look and turn my head to the left, rather than rely on the peripheral vision.”
Getting Caught Out
John never thought much about eye health checks. “For about 20 years I reckon I didn’t go to an optometrist. Because my eyesight was fine”. That’s how glaucoma sneaks up on people. “I didn’t realise there were other things that could be going wrong with my eyes.”
Now, he’s making sure others don’t get caught the same way. Thinking back to telling past colleagues, John says “I needed to get this information out because I didn’t know about it, and I got caught. I didn’t want anybody else to get caught”.
When he told his family about his diagnosis, their reaction was immediate: “Oh gee, perhaps I better go and get my eyes tested.” This is the reaction John hopes to garner from the New Zealand public. “Get your eyes tested on a regular basis and look after your eyesight” says John. Book in with your local optometrist to get an eye health check.
What Does Glaucoma Look Like for you?
Everyone’s experience of glaucoma is different, but if you have it, you probably have your own version of John’s chipped cups and bumped shoulders.
The more people understand what glaucoma actually looks like, the more likely they are to take it seriously.
With this, Glaucoma NZ now has an interactive tool to help you spark conversations about glaucoma: The 2-minute challenge.
Glaucoma NZ has worked alongside trusted eye specialists to design a set of three glaucoma simulation glasses. Each set represents three stages of glaucoma ranging from early-onset to advanced.
Because glaucoma presents differently in everyone, these simulation glasses can’t show you exactly how glaucoma would look for you. But they are useful to help you, your friends, family, and colleagues get a tiny glimpse of what glaucoma can look like.
As you learned from John, glaucoma can mean a series of small, unexpected challenges woven into everyday life.
The 2-minute challenge is simple. Wear our glaucoma simulation glasses for just two minutes of your day. This could be as you walk your dog, make a sandwich or scroll on your phone.
Will you give it a go? Share your experience—whether it’s over a cuppa, at work, or with everyone who’ll listen. You know that the impact of glaucoma is more than what you can or cannot see. It impacts your confidence as you move, your mental well-being and your relationships.
You never know who might realise it’s time for their own eye health check. Go to glaucoma.org.nz and fill in the Glaucoma Awareness online form to request your simulation glasses today. Give your friends, family, and colleagues a chance to see what glaucoma looks like.