On sight and spinach

I've had these eyes sixty-five years and they've been working more or less OK for most of that time, with a little help from my opticians. Now they're wearing out. I have age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in both eyes - the left one is more or less useless. It means a loss of central vision, with blurring in the middle, and gradually the colours will fade, like an old photograph. They look fine, don't they?

The alt+ keys on the PC are useful - text has to be bigger. I have to hold books right in front of my nose to read them. I have to keep a magnifying glass in the kitchen to read the small print on cooking instructions. I have to wear funny yellow or orange lens over my specs in bright light. I shall be eating a lot of spinach, to slow down the process. This is from the BBC Science website:

"Part of the retina's protection is a pigment, lutein, which absorbs UV blue light, the most damaging wavelength of sunlight. Lutein is also thought to be an antioxidant which helps maintain the health of the eye. The pigment itself can only come from diet, and one very good source for this is spinach."

I can still drive, for now. I have a lot of unread books to get through, while I still can. Things like this make you think about what is and isn't important, and not wasting time on doing things you don't want to do.

This isn't a plea for sympathy. It's a cautionary tale about not taking things for granted, eating lots of spinach (and I mean lots), and wearing good sunglasses in bright light to protect your eyes, or one day it could be you.