SHARE YOUR VOICE
People deal differently with the curveballs life tosses their way. That's true in all facets of life, including how glaucoma patients cope with their diagnosis and with the reality of living with a chronic disease. We've asked individuals whos lives have been impacted by glaucoma to share some of their thoughts in the hope that their experiences can inform others.
Submit your own story to The Glaucoma Foundation and email mhoward@glaucomafoundation.org.
A Conversation with Susan Genis
"I've been dealing with my eyesight most of my life," says Susan Genis, a former criminal lawyer who today is an instructor and practicioner of Anusara yoga. "In the first grade, I found out I was nearsighted and had to get glasses. In my 20s, I developed uveitis, a chronic inflammation within the eye that can lead to glaucoma. Physically, I'm feeling better than I have in years.
"There were many horrible procedures along the way involving a lot of steroids, which can provoke glaucoma and also cataracts. I've had surgeries and a shunt in one eye. There's a lot of damage, with almost no vision in one eye. And I'm losing vision in the other eye. The thought of losing my sight completely is terrifying, but I just seem to be good at dealing with what I have."
As a lawyer, Susan worked with a federal judge and later in the DA's office. It got more difficult being a lawyer as she lost vision, but that isn't why she stopped. She started practicing yoga as a stress release. She got to the point where she knew she had to make a change, and she had to leave her job to figure out what she would do.
"I found myself doing more yoga, occasionally substituting for another teacher. And I became a vegetarian in the late 1970s. Then, about five years ago I was introduced to Anusara yoga - a way of teaching and studying yoga that encompasses a yoga philosophy and life view with physical alignment. Anusara yoga teaches that life is good and its essence is joy and freedom - it's a celebration of these qualities. It made a lot of sense to me. All of this has totally changed my body and my practice.
"Today I'm a certified teacher at a small yoga studio in New York City. I also teach a lot of seniors - sometimes chair yoga. I work with several organizations and have private clients too. And then I study. I feel better. While there's no real evidence that my yoga helps my eyesight, it helps me maintain things; it keeps me feeling fit."
Early on, Susan heard about the New York Glaucoma Support and Education Group, now chaired by Edith Marks and Janice Ewenstein. "It's been very helpful. Even today, when I have a complication that I have to face, I return to the group to ask about the experiences of others, doctors, etc." And she volunteers at The Glaucoma Foundation's office to help with the mailing of the group's newsletter. That support group now operates as the New York Chapter of TGF. "It's growing, with a more diverse and younger membership," Susan notes.
