Steve Strope's Struggle with Eye Surgeries and Vision Loss | #bigIdeas

In a riveting account of his medical journey, Steve Strope shares his experiences with multiple eye surgeries due to various complications, including advanced glaucoma, cataract surgery, and a detached retina.

Steve Strope is the owner of Pure Vision: a street machine, muscle car and hot rod fabrication shop based in Simi Valley, California. Despite his ordeal, he remains hopeful for scientific advancements and continues to adapt to his vision loss.

Steve’s other eye required cataract surgery.

Despite his apprehensions due to previous complications, he proceeded with the surgery.

Unfortunately, this led to a drastic drop in eye pressure, causing internal blood vessels to burst and resulting in a snow-like vision.

The burst blood vessels blocked the drain tube in Steve’s eye, leading to an emergency procedure to inject fluid into his eye to correct the pressure.

This painful and complex process left Steve with significantly impaired vision.

You have advanced glaucoma… It’s like creeping death slowly takes your peripheral and most adults don’t know that they’re going blind until they’re 80 and it’s moved so slow that you don’t notice the change. – Steve Strope

Despite his vision impairment, Steve practices activities like shooting basketballs into garbage cans to adapt to his vision loss.

He remains hopeful for advancements in science that could potentially restore his vision.

Steve’s eye pressure is maintained at 13 and 12 with medication, which is crucial to prevent further complications.

Any drastic change in this pressure can lead to serious medical issues.

To balance the fluid production and outflow in Steve’s eyes, a procedure was performed to drill out the drain tube.

However, this surgery led to complications when the drain tube got blocked by blood.

The fluid insertion procedure to correct eye pressure was miscalculated, resulting in an extreme increase in eye pressure.

This caused severe discomfort and disorientation, requiring emergency interventions to relieve the pressure.

Steve has managed to keep his retinal issues under control for a few years.

However, he lives with the constant fear of his retina detaching again, a fear he tries to manage by focusing on his passion for building cars.

Despite the daunting experiences, Steve maintains a positive outlook.

He emphasizes the importance of not letting fears control one’s life and instead focusing on things that bring joy and satisfaction.

Despite the challenges and significant vision loss, Steve remains hopeful for future scientific advancements that could potentially restore his vision.

His story highlights the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.