Hawke's Bay Macular Degeneration sufferer Ailsa Slui is grateful she is still able to work her tractor and drive from A to B thanks to early detection and successful treatment. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Hawke's Bay Macular Degeneration sufferer Ailsa Slui is grateful she is still able to work her tractor and drive from A to B thanks to early detection and successful treatment. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Macular Degeneration will likely affect 1 in 7 people over 50 in New Zealand and is the country’s leading cause of blindness.
The complicated eye disease impacts a person’s central vision, meaning they can’t see things directly in front of them and may eventually become fully blind. It’s often a barrier for those who wish to retain independence as they get older.
But walking ‘miracle’ Ailsa Slui, 80, can still drive her orchard tractor and get from A to B in her car thanks to getting treatment early and finding out more about the disease that years ago was not as well understood.
It all started with a spider crawling down Ailsa Slui’s windscreen as she drove along Pakowhai Rd about 10 years ago.
“I swung and went to grab it. Nope, haven’t got it. I stopped the car and eventually realised it was my eyes that were going wonky.”
Little did she know she was staring down the barrel of what could lead to permanent blindness, with the grip of Macular Degeneration starting to take hold.
Roughly five years later as Slui, a teacher, was in class, she noticed she could no longer read the children’s writing, and it was getting harder to read books.
This wasn’t the glaucoma her mother and grandmother had suffered, but something much more.
An ophthalmologist advised Slui that she had wet Macular Degeneration and that she was no longer allowed to drive.
“It’s too valuable, your sight. I like the outdoors and getting out and about, so it was like a prison sentence not being able to drive,” she said.
Macular Degeneration NZ says many people dismiss the early warning signs of MD as a normal part of the ageing process, thinking nothing can be done about it.
However, treatments are available, and steps can be taken to prevent the onset of the disease.
Not being able to drive was like a 'prison sentence' for 80-year-old Ailsa Slui. Photo / Mitchell Hageman
Treatment for Slui came in the form of a series of injections, and things were a struggle to start, but that all changed when she was introduced to local Dr John Beaumont, who she credited with saving her sight.
“When I first got it, they didn’t know much about the treatment,” she said.
“I found John was really good. He called me his miracle. My left eye was my good eye, and my right eye was my bad eye. He managed to get sight back into my right eye.”
While her left eye could not be fully healed, Slui continues to receive injections every six weeks in her remaining good eye. She said she was incredibly grateful that the treatment she receives has allowed her to continue to drive, although she chooses not to drive after dusk.
“You start to think, you don’t want to live in chaos.”
She believes if she hadn’t sought help, she would “be blind today” and her advice to other was simple.
“Go and see someone, and don’t put off getting your eyes checked especially if you think your eyesight has changed.”
While her days as a ballroom dancer are over due to knee problems, Slui is grateful she’s still able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures on her own terms.
“I get around. I can drive the tractor and can still head down to feed the chooks.”
A free Macular Degeneration Awareness & Education Seminar, featuring Dr John Beaumont, will take place in Hawke’s Bay on October 13 from 10.00am – 11.30am at the East Pier Hotel, 50 Nelson Quay, Ahuriri, Napier.
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
