August 2025, Jacksonville, Florida

Patient Voices: A Journey of Vision and Gratitude

Brenda, a longtime patient of Dr. Jonathan Staman in Jacksonville, shares her inspiring experience living with Wet Macular Degeneration. Her story reflects the power of compassionate care, medical innovation, and personal resilience. From maintaining independence to cherishing the faces of her grandchildren, Brenda’s journey is a testament to what’s possible with expert retina care.

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Brenda's Story

Subject: Thank You Dr. Jon - please feel free to use this if it could help new patients

I wrote this on my Facebook page this past Sunday. I feel truly blessed to still be living alone, taking care of myself with complete independence after 15 years. There is no way I can share with you how grateful I am for you and knowing I have you to go with me as I travel this journey. My future is unknown but just a couple of years before I started treatment, there was no treatment. I thank you and the medical advancements and God for letting me be where I am today. I do not take it for granted ever!!

A Praise for this Sunday Morning: I was diagnosed with Wet Macular Degeneration 15 years ago, back in 2010. I have had a treatment every 4 weeks for 15 years and those treatments, my doctor and God have saved my vision! It is time to share and put to rest some of the myths of WMD and the treatments. With WMD you lose your central vision, but you retain your peripheral vision. When researching when I was first diagnosed, I was told I would lose the ability to see faces and the thought of losing the ability to see my grandchildren’s faces was heartbreaking. That is not true. Yes, you lose the ability to see their faces across a room but as they come closer and closer you can absolutely still see their precious faces!! The closer a face is and depending on well the light is, I can see your face!

Technology is my best friend! I have my phone enlarged enough I can still see texts. I have my computer enlarged and I have a large screen monitor, and I still work! I still do the business bookkeeping! I wear a magnifying glass around my neck, and I am never without it because wherever I am I have the help my eyes need. I have a built-in magnifying glass on my computer if I need it. To say I am thankful would be putting it mildly.

My dear precious mother had WMD and she could not articulate what she could see. Some things she could not see at all so she would say she was blind. Then she could look at the sky which was using her peripheral vision, and she could exclaim how beautiful it was. So, depending on the light and how far something is away changes what you can see. In addition, the brain is a beautiful thing. It will use peripheral vision to help you find something and you don’t even know you are doing it. I can spot a tiny object on the floor that I could not see if looking straight at it and yet my brain takes over and finds it!!

I cannot see the fine print instructions on a box, but I can always take a picture of it and see it. My phone is an incredible friend! I still drive right around my house. I can drive on roads I am familiar with and have no problems. You see my distance vision is fine. I do not even wear glasses for distance vision. I do have prescription sunglasses, and they make things clearer. I must have a vision test for the DMV every year so that I am licensed by the state to still drive, renewed annually. People see me using a magnifying glass and then see me behind the wheel of a car and it freaks them out. My close vision is bad, but my distance vision is fine.

The last thing I want to share is the monthly injection of a chemo type drug in the eye. It sounds terrible but it is not. Deadening drops are put in the eye and you look away and never see the needle and there is no pain. It sounds bad but it is a piece of cake compared to getting an injection when no deadening drops are used. I do not feel my injection. I have a horrible problem with betadine so for many years I had hours of burning pain after an injection but now my doctor puts the betadine on a Q-Tip so he doesn’t have to put a full drop in my eye.

I am so thankful! I should have shared this way before now but just didn’t. It is my hope it can help others. I have nothing but praises for being able to still see and the wonderful doctor I have who is helping me though this condition. His name is Dr. Jon Staman with Florida Retina. They see patients in over 20 locations including Jacksonville and Lake City.

I have nothing but praises, Thank You Lord! And prayers for you if you have this condition.

Brenda