My Wife’s Eye Exam Went From Reassuring to Scary

My wife has had diabetes for about 30 years. A few years ago, she needed laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy in one eye. It was quick and surprisingly painless, and after that her eye exams were pretty reassuring. Her A1C has also been around the 6% range for years. At one point, a retina specialist even told her that her eyes looked remarkably good considering how long she'd had diabetes. Then a recent eye exam changed everything. They found fibrous or scar-like tissue associated with more advanced retinopathy. Now she's worried about what might come next. More laser? Injections? Possibly surgery? We don't know yet, and the uncertainty has been difficult. What scares her most isn't the procedures themselves. It's the possibility of losing the things she loves doing, like watching movies, playing golf, and riding her motorcycle. I think that's what makes diabetic retinopathy so frightening. You can feel completely fine, have good numbers, and still discover that something has been happening inside your eyes without obvious symptoms. We're trying not to assume the worst. We know there are treatments, and what happens next depends on exactly what the retina specialist finds.