RARE CONDITIONS COMMON PROBLEMS
It all started with a slight shimmer in the corner of my left eye: a sensation so strange that it was difficult to even describe it to the optometrist. They thought I was making it up. After all, everything looked fine. Even the local hospital disregarded it. “There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s a visual migraine,” I was told repeatedly. But it wasn’t.
A year and a half later, following the complete loss of my peripheral vision, a misdiagnosis, an MRI scan and ocular electrophysiological testing, I was eventually diagnosed with AZOOR (Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy) in my left eye: a rare retinal inflammation that causes the sufferer to see constant flashing lights. It gradually robs the retina of its ability to send messages back to the brain, but on the surface there doesn’t seem to be any issues; the retina looks healthy and functional – hence the word ‘Occult’ in AZOOR.
The initial prognosis sounded positive. One consultant claimed it was a condition which
