My name is Drew... I was the average guy before I was hit with the most traumatic event of my life... It wasn't just traumatic for me, but for my mom, dad and sister also... I'm now 23 years of age and self-employed doing what I've always wanted to do... Become an architectural designer and yes you might wonder how when you find out how I lost my eyesight...
I was just the age of 16 when my mom took me to the doctors for the usual check-up, when I was suddenly hit with the sentence...
"You're going to lose your eyesight... For good..." The doctor paused. "I'm sorry."
"What?" My mom asked.
"Shh mom! He's just kidding us..." I tried to make myself believe him.
"No... I'm being extremely serious Drew... You've got something called Retinitis Pigmentosa which means that your field of vision will start to deteriorate..." He explained.
"But I can see clearly..." I told him. Once I finally took in that he was being serious, I looked down at my hands which only I heard echoing. I tried to block out his voice, but it was still talking... The last that I heard was...
"No cure-"
"What did you say?" I looked back up at him almost instantly.
"You must listen carefully to me Drew... Over time, that depends how quickly it deteriorates... You will lose your vision completely... I know it's hard to hear this from me, but Retinitis Pigmentosa doesn't have a cure... It's said that scientists haven't found a cure for this just yet..." He explained fully and clearly.
"But-"
"But what?" He asked.
"But what if I can't see who my friends are and I can't draw anymore?" I asked like he should be able to explain- like he knew the answers to my problems.
"In this traumatic result... I cannot tell you anything else... It could be possible that you can still draw, but I'm not sure exactly what will come of this..."
"But I'm scared doctor..." I whispered.
"I know, I know... And this is going to be hard to get your head around... But-"
"Please tell me I'm going to be okay and that I can still draw and that I can still do what I want to do out of life... That I won't look stupid and an idiot..." I tried to believe.
"I can't promise anything, but what I can promise is that you won't look stupid or an idiot..." He spoke gently. I lent forward, resting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands, in which I let myself cry. "I know you're upset right now... But you're strong and I know you can fight your fears..." My mom just seemed to make matters worse, when she sobbed from the opposite side of the room...
Once we left the room and back home, my dad wasn't back, nor was my sister. I think they were out shopping somewhere. My mom still sobbed and every time she looked at me, she carried on...
"Mom, don't cry..." I tried to tell her, but nothing was going to stop her from crying.
"Drew... You're going to lose your eyesight baby... My baby is going to lose his eyesight..." She roared again. I wrapped my arms around her and let her tears soak through my shirt. I took in a deep breath and stepped away...
"Sorry mom..." I said.
"It's not your fault baby... It's something that cannot be helped..." She sniffed up, trying to take a breath, when a loud bang came from the front door...
"Mom! I got a huge surprise for you!" Shouted my sister from the hall. We both stood silently whilst they entered the room. Once they noticed that it wasn't the usual, happy welcome, they instantly knew something was wrong... "What's happened mom? Are you okay? Have you been crying?"
