Father became half-blind yesterday.
It was just after lunch. He stood at the entrance of the kitchen, and said that he could not see. Mother made him cover his right eye and questioned him about what he could see. Nothing.
I waved my hand vigorously 5 centimetres away from his eye. The murky grey iris just stared ahead dully, reaction-less.
He had just visited the eye specialist last month. The doctor had not detected any problem then. I asked Mother when they would visit the hospital again. Next year, she said.
Diabetics either have their limbs amputated or go blind, didn't you know? Mother added.
Father has had Type 1 diabetes for over three decades. Even though he has had to suffer injections twice a day, I obviously never dwelled too much on it. They say Father used to play basketball, drink many cans of soda and was fat, before he got sick. But the Father I knew as a girl was thin, drinks teh-o kosong, and played squash.
Serious long-term complications include cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, retinal damage.
So he'll be blind forever? I asked.
They've already done the laser surgery, she replied. There's nothing they can do.
But his major past-time is watching TV, and how will he walk?
