Nobody waits for his car to fall apart before doing periodic servicing. Therefore, why should anyone wait for their eyes to develop a problem that may lead to blindness before attending to them? It is mind-boggling yet, you and I do!
The story, the Keeper of the Spring, by Peter Marshall (1902 -1949), several years the chaplain of the US Senate, is one of the most fascinating stories I have ever heard. It’s full of wisdom and has many lessons to teach. If it touches you as it had touched me, then my job of convincing you of the importance of prevention is done!
“The Keeper of the Spring was a quiet forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village. The old man had been hired many years earlier by the chairman of the local council to clear away the debris from the pools of water up in the mountain waterfalls that fed the beautiful lake which had become a tourist attraction.
He worked quietly and unobtrusively, regularly patrolling the hills, removing leaves, twigs and falling branches of trees, fine sand, mud and other materials carried by running water that would have deposited and clogged up and contaminated the fresh water in the beautiful lake.
The village soon became a popular attraction for tourists. Graceful white birds floated all over the lake and nearby farmlands were naturally irrigated. The view from restaurants and recreation centres around was picturesque beyond description.
“Years passed. One evening the town council met for its semi-annual meeting. As they reviewed the budget, one man’s eye caught the salary figure being paid to the obscure keeper of the spring. Said the treasurer, “Who is the old man? Why do we keep him on year after year? No one ever sees him. For all we know, the strange man of the hills is doing us no good. He isn’t necessary any longer.” By a unanimous vote, the old man was sacked. For several weeks, nothing changed.
By early autumn, the trees began to shed their leaves. Small branches snapped off and fell into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water into the lake. Soon the water became dark and muddy. Within a short time, water-weeds covered the once clear and bluish lake and soon a foul odour was soon detected The birds left, the tourists disappeared and gloom overtook the area. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply into the village.
“The embarrassed council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error in judgment, they rehired the old keeper of the spring, and within a few weeks, the veritable river of life began to clear up and new life returned to the hamlet in the mountains.”
Preventive maintenance is like this. The simple things done daily and routinely are often more important and cheaper than waiting for big repairs and reconstructions. The pains of disease are often so intense that they are better avoided. It cuts my heart every time, I see a young patient blind from simple conjunctivitis or almost blind from advanced glaucoma.
Interestingly, diseases that cause severe pain are attended to earlier but the quiet, unobtrusive ones are the blinding ones because the sufferer doesn’t know or accept there is a problem until it becomes a big problem.
I killed Titi’s family members because she aborted our unborn baby ― Suspect
“What can I do to keep my eyes healthy for a lifetime?” David asked after hearing the inspiring story of Peter Marshall.
Here are the tips: First, take pains to know your family history. For instance, you have a higher risk of having glaucoma if one or both of your parents have had glaucoma. Secondly, ensure that you have a comprehensive dilated eye examination by a competent ophthalmologist once a year.
Diseases don’t start suddenly, even the dramatic, seemingly sudden-onset diseases. There are four major stages of a disease – the incubation period, the prodromal period, the recognisable disease and the stage of repair and complications.
Eye medical doctors are trained to recognise the early symptoms and signs of diseases even before they announce themselves – the actual recognisable disease. At this stage, there is little or no damage at all. This is what you are called to take advantage of by yearly examination. Third, remember, “You are what you eat,” is very true. Eat right to protect your sight. Avoid highly processed food that’s low on nutrients. Whatever you eat, add to it naturally grown dark green leafy vegetables and fruits. Fourthly, try to maintain a healthy weight and wear protective eye glasses to protect your eyesight.
Remember, your eyes are just a part of your body and any disease affecting your body such as diabetes and hypertension can have serious effects on your eyes. You must inform your eye doctor of any such illness. Patents with diabetes must have more frequent periodic examinations. And if you have glaucoma and hypertension, you stand a higher risk of blindness if both are not properly managed. There is need for cooperation between your general physician and your ophthalmologist.
Finally, I remember, Matthew 19: 16 to 24, “A man came to Jesus and asked. ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’” Jesus asked him to keep the commandments and the young man said, “All these I have kept.” Jesus then told him to go and sell his possessions, give the money to the poor and follow him.
Now, if you have done all the above, there is something more you need to do! It’s simple – PRAY. For all said and done, all depends on prayers.
and then