The Cuban comedian Ulises Toirac shared his experience after receiving treatment for an illness in his right eye, highlighting the importance of prompt detection.
In a Facebook post, the comedian explained that he suffers from wet macular degeneration in his right eye, for which he received an injection last Friday at the Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Rafael González assessed the treatment results this Tuesday, and “he confessed to me that if I had delayed 15 or 20 more days, recovery would likely have been impossible, although the progression could have been halted,” Toirac noted.
He explained that he was given a medication called Avastin, and although it will take a month to determine the drug's effectiveness, the comedian expressed optimism following the evaluation conducted by the medical team.
However, he warned that there is no definitive cure; the condition can be treated with injections aimed at stopping or retracting the formation of blood vessels, although he added that "it will depend on the severity of the phenomenon and early detection."
In his own words, the comedian explained the condition affecting his right eye: "The macula is simply the central region of the retina. What happens is that, especially with age (although smoking and other factors also play a role), small blood vessels form in that area and ultimately break, causing liquid to leak out."
When there is macular degeneration, "vision becomes distorted, lines warp, their brightness changes, and one can experience a very low-definition opaque center," she said on social media.
In his characteristic joking tone, Toirac also introduced on Facebook the medical team that is assisting him, particularly highlighting Dr. González, whom he nicknamed "the master wizard specialist in retina and God of the posterior eye."
Although the comedian stated that he was taking a few days off, he is quite active on social media. Recently, he complained about being banned from participating in a comedy show.
"Once again, the long arm of the law. I was coordinating to perform due to an invitation from the guys who run it, at a comedy night held on Saturdays at the Café del Bertolt Brecht. 'Coincidentally,' I also can't work there," the comedian noted in a Facebook post, suggesting that this is not the first time something similar has happened to him.
"I don't know why I have the impression that the list I’m on is getting worse. Anyway. The blockade, but with 30 hands," he concluded.
Also on social media, Toirac does not miss the opportunity to employ his sharp and critical humor, as he demonstrated during the recent partial solar eclipse, when he took the chance to comment on the situation in Cuba.
"Our power plants (or what's left of them) are causing total blackouts in the area that are incredibly frustrating, with the added challenge of not even being able to have any fun due to the heat and the pesky mosquitoes that swarm in this country," he said on his Facebook.
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