A UK Man Spent a Year Basically Blind before Toxin Helped Him See

Retired Robert Graham was saved by Botox injections but spent a year with a debilitating disability that he had no answers for. The 67-year-old was walking out of a train station in Leeds one morning in April 2014 when he blinked in the sunshine. His eyes were suddenly glued shut. Although he was basically blind, Robert recalls trying to ‘simply get on with things’, hoping it would be temporary.Instead, he tried to force his eyes open manually or squint. A year passed like this before Robert, who always had and continues to have perfect vision, discovered he has blepharospasm. Robert bought numerous pairs of sunglasses and goggles to protect his eyes from any air movement, which seemed to trigger his eyelids to close. This stopped working toward the end of the day when his eyes became more tired. Professor Bernie Chang, a specialist at Optegra Eye Hospital in Bradford, diagnosed Robert with blepharospasm in March 2015 and suggested Botox (a procedure used cosmetically to reduce wrinkles) straight away.Robert didn’t hesitate, adding: ‘At that point, I would have tried anything.’ The results were remarkable. Robert hasn’t had a complete shutdown since.Every two to three months, Robert has 15-16 Botox injections into his eyelids and the area around his eyes. Read more at Metro UK >>