StemCell Therapy

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- "You would have lost vision in both eyes, complete vision loss," that's what Ophthalmologist Dr. Ramin Schadlu told me around 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night.

I looked at my father--who had come with my mother to my emergency appointment at Arizona Retina and Vitreous Consultants. I was beyond scared. The doctor called me "stoic". The truth is, I didn't really believe what he was saying and was slowly swallowing fear.

[WATCH: Jaime Cerreta talks about a health scare that could have blinded her]

There were no major symptoms. Sure, I had been seeing floaters for a few weeks. And the floaters were new. But doesn't everyone see floaters?

I would learn how very important it is to go to the doctor as soon as you see any change in your vision.

I visited my doctor, Dr. Justin Macklin, at LensCrafters at 3 in the afternoon that day. It was during my Local Love that morning, that I noticed a black spot in my vision and I called and asked to come in. After a careful examination, Dr. Macklin leaned back from his equipment and said, "I have some bad news".

That's when I would go immediately for laser treatment. "What I found in your eye was a retinal tear with some fluid around it. When I looked at the other eye, it turned out that you had a confined retinal detachment in the other eye as well," said Schadlu.

Dr. Schadlu told me to go back to the waiting room and he would call me back in for laser treatment. I was in some sort of emergency eye facility at Arizona Retina and Vitreous Consultants. It was way past 6 p.m., yet there was a full waiting room and no one seemed in a hurry to get home. When I asked, the staff told me-- we stay until the last patient's been treated. This retinal injury-- so dire and so important that the staff works on call as well.

That night we would treat the left eye--with the tear--at 8:30 p.m. that night. I would go back the next day to treat my right eye.

So... how did this happen? You can blame my bad eyesight.

"You get it earlier because your eye is longer. A -10 is a longer eye and as a longer eye--it doesn't take much shrinking of the gel to cause tears," said Schadlu.

It's common as we age as the retina thins and could also be genetic.

But Dr. Shadlu says it's also just bad luck. So we rely on that laser to save my vision. The laser treatment takes maybe 20 minutes. It doesn't hurt but is uncomfortable.

I found myself whimpering through the procedure. It's a bright light that I could feel in my optic nerve. That bright light is "spot welding" my retina back in place. So I am grateful for the weird, intense feeling that is ultimately saving my vision. I would spend the next several days away from my phone, away from work and in a strange mental space ping ponging between gratitude and "what if's."

But I learned one thing that I will forever preach.. if you see floaters, flashes of light, or darkness--- get to the doctor within 24 hours. I still have that dark spot in my vision. I have some floaters that look like pepper falling. And sometimes the treated spot "sparkles" when I move from outside to inside.

I am so mad at myself for not going to the doctor sooner. Had I just done that, maybe that black spot wouldn't be there. It is distracting and Dr. Schadlu says my mind will learn to ignore it. But it's a reminder to me of what could have been and that I ignored my health.

I should have gone sooner. Please learn from my mistake. I promise I will take my health more seriously in the future.

Thank you to my friends, family and colleagues who showed me so much love during this journey. Thank you to Dr. Macklin, Dr. Schadlu, Dr. Anita Prasad, and their incredible staff.

Thank you TO YOU for your love and prayers. I am so grateful for the people who watch me on TV and allow me into their lives.

Go here to see the original:
"You would have lost vision in both eyes." Jaime Cerreta's eye health scare - AZFamily

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