MUSICIAN Anderson Mamimine could lose his sight in the next three weeks from glaucoma.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
The musician announced on social network site Facebook yesterday the news and said he has been battling the disease since 2006.
The musician wrote: “SADNEWS! Yesterday, Dr S Guramatunhu (opthalmologist) and Prof R Masanganise (opthalmologist) confirmed my greatest fear. I will be losing my sight within the next three weeks.
“I’ve been battling glaucoma since 2006 and losing sight gradually. The fact with glaucoma is you cannot gain what you have lost. I will be in theatre this afternoon (yesterday) for emergency surgery to try and hold on to what is left in my right eye.
“Chances of a slip of sight during the procedure today are very high which might mean this is my last post that I’ve made alone though it took me 1 hour 30 minutes. I love you all and please pray for me. At least I saw most of you and you are beautiful. Thanks to fellow musicians, fans, journalists and DJs who called with their good wishes.”
He was to sign off with an emotional: “If I don’t wake up? Chou! It’s all good” to which numerous friends responded with messages of encouragement. Speaking to NewsDay yesterday after the operation, Mamimine said he was still in pain.
“They have just operated me. I am still in pain and I am going home just to rest,” he said.
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“According to the doctor, signs are the operation was successful, but I cannot tell as yet as the eye is still closed.”
Mamimine said he was planning to go to India for an operation, but was advised when he went for a check-up that he needed an urgent operation.
“The inflammation of the optic lens caused pressure in the optical nerve. The pressure is caused by the intra-ocular fluid which was so severe and the nerve was on the verge of bursting so I was advised to undergo an operation today,” Mamimine said.
“The operation was to drain the fluid as my drainage is not working properly. If the nerve had burst I would have lost my sight just as I did with the other eye two years ago.”
Mamimine said he almost lost sight completely in 2010, but had been receiving medication until now.
According to the Eye Health Care website, glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to one eye’s optic nerve and gets worse over time. It is often associated with a build-up of pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life.
The increased pressure, called intraocular pressure, can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain.
If damage to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause permanent loss of vision. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.
Because most people with glaucoma have no early symptoms or pain from this increased pressure, it is important to see an eye doctor regularly so that glaucoma can be diagnosed and treated before long-term visual loss occurs.
