Tom never imagined his vision would be at risk

Until, terrifyingly, it was

Thankfully, he came to the right place

Tom was in his late twenties, fit, active, and building an exciting new life in Sydney with his partner after moving over from the UK. The last thing he expected was to face the possibility of losing his sight.

Tom’s symptoms started subtly, as a faint mist in one eye. Over time, it became more persistent, and one morning he woke to find his eye swollen and watering. When he presented at Sydney Eye Hospital’s Emergency Department, the team quickly discovered dangerously high pressure in his eye - three times the safe level.

What followed was a complex and intense journey. Tom was diagnosed with a rare and difficult-to-treat condition known as ICE syndrome, where abnormal cells in the eye block drainage and increase pressure, risking permanent vision loss.

Tom’s care required the combined expertise of Sydney Eye’s Hospital’s glaucoma, cornea, and uveitis specialists, as well as nursing and orthoptic staff - a level of multidisciplinary collaboration not easily found in one place elsewhere.

All this was happening during what should have been one of the happiest times of his life - planning his wedding. Tom’s days became a delicate balancing act of managing medications, preparing for surgery, and trying to stay well enough to enjoy his big day. 

“I look OK in most of the photos,” he says, “but in some, you can see that something really wasn’t right with my eye.”

Over the course of a year, Tom underwent more than a dozen procedures, including surgeries, laser treatments, high-dose medications, and advanced techniques to control the pressures.

“At one point it felt like a Rubik’s Cube because every time they solved one issue, another popped up,” Tom says. “But I always knew I was in the very best of hands with the team at Sydney Eye Hospital.”

Despite complications and setbacks, Tom’s team never gave up. Their expert care, combined with his own determination, led to a final procedure that worked, stabilising his condition and giving him back some normality.

Today, Tom’s care continues through regular check-ups with the team that helped him through his most difficult days. He lives with early onset glaucoma and limited vision in one eye but enjoys a full, active life with his young family. He works in a demanding role, plays touch rugby on the weekends, and most importantly cherishes time with his wife and the two sons they’ve brought into the world since all this happened.