A Halifax man is sounding the alarm tonight about the lack of specialized eye surgeons in Nova Scotia.
He needs retinal surgery, and there appear to be only a handful of doctors who perform that service.
In the meantime, he says the situation has left him suffering financially and emotionally.
Unlike most of us, Perry Miller would have done just about anything to be at work on a sunny Friday, but it's simply not in the cards right now.
He's been stuck at home for month because of a detached retina in his right eye. It’s a fairly-common occurrence, and so are the complications.
“Yeah, aging thing, and the scar-tissue builds up on your eye,” Miller said. “The retina won't stay attached, so, it’s just a process that's out of everybody’s control.”
Miller’s had a number of surgeries to deal with the problem, but his specialist is now out of commission because he is dealing with his own medical issue.
The end result has been the kind of hardship he and his wife simply weren't prepared for.
“This has probably been the worst year of my life -- and my wife’s life,” he said.
In the increasingly specialized field of medicine, retinal eye surgeons are a rare breed themselves.
The most updated list for Nova Scotia is from 2015 and only five doctors are named.
One is off, a second on vacation until the end of the month, and a receptionist told us a third no longer performs surgeries.
CTV News was unable to reach the other two.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority was asked for an updated list, but a spokesperson said it simply wasn't possible to get that before Monday.
"There's days … I have … my wife and I just struggle with depression and anxiety and this doesn't help,” Miller said. “You know, I want to go back to work.”
With money in short supply, Miller has taken to selling possessions and even GoFundMe just to pay the bills.
He feels a growing sense of desperation the longer his sight goes unseen by a specialist.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko.
