Dianne’s Story

Hi everyone,
My name is Dianne Arsenault from Prince Edward Island, Canada. I was just diagnosed with stargardt’s about a month ago. Since then I’ve been on the net trying to find out as much as I can about it. I haven’t seen my specialist since the diagnosis so I had many questions – many of them answered on sites such as this, for which I am grateful.

I’m 38 and at this point I only have extreme sensitivity to the sun (for about 3 yrs. now) and a bit of distortion when reading. I’ve also found out that a cousin’s son has stargardt’s. What really bothers me is that this disease is so unpredictable. Some people had gradual vision loss while others it happened overnight. How do you plan for a future filled with uncertainty?

I have a daycare in my home (for the past 14 yrs.) and was ready to enroll in a vet asst. course but now I can’t justify spending money for tuition, books etc. if I won’t be able to do it .I try to stay positive and feel better knowing I’ve had more years then some being able to see but because this is still so new to me I’m still reeling. I can’t seem to find too many people from Canada on these sites – just curious how many have this in Canada since my doctor says it’s rare. If anyone wants to talk here’s my email: chris_arsenault111@hotmail.com.
Thanks
– Dianne