Skip Granger – My Eyes and Me and Magic Make Three

Skip Granger

Our eyes are a magical mystery. They are one of the most vital parts of the human body. And yet we take them for granted until they begin to not function properly. For much of my life, I had no problem with my eyes. 

In February of 2026, I began having major problems with my eyes. I had surgery for an esophageal problem, but when I woke up in the hospital afterward I had vision problems. Thus began my new adventures with my eyes. It resulted in major vision loss in my right eye. My age-related macro degeneration (AMD) became wet,  thus causing me to write the following account.

When we were young, we used to say, “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye,” to assure someone that we wouldn’t tell a secret. Whoever came up with that saying probably didn’t have age-related macular degeneration (AMD), where monthly needle injections to the eyeball(s) are the prescribed treatment. I must not have kept my secrets very well because yesterday my doctor stuck a needle into my eyeball just like he did the month before. Evidently, my vision is better now; it is currently 20/500, whereas it was 20/600 when I had it tested last time. However, in mid-January, they had  tested my right eye at 20/20 without glasses.

I’ve always prided myself on having strong vision, starting in 1949 when my mother used to dilate my eyes. As a childhood magician, I learned that the only thing quicker than the eye was the hand, and luckily I was skilled with both.

 

For many years, I bought non-prescription eyeglasses and later got them at Sears, JCPenney or Costco, where I also had my eye tests performed. Modern technology only improved my eyesight. After having cataracts removed several years ago, I had 20/15 vision in my right eye. Even on a recent East High Zoom call, I noticed that only two participants (other than me) out of 19 were not wearing eyeglasses; I only use ”readers” for small print!

 

But a few years ago, I noticed my eyelids were drooping—a hereditary condition that had plagued my father’s vision later in life. I made an appointment to see a retina specialist to see if they could do anything about my condition… and if the procedure would be covered by my medical insurance.

 

Dr. Robert Yohai, the specialist I saw, said he could correct my condition under my coverage, but inquired where I had my eyes examined. When I revealed my past, he said that my real issue was AMD, a common but complex condition that could possibly lead to complete blindness later in life if not properly treated. He had my full attention!

 

For those who haven’t experienced AMD (or wet AMD in my case) — black circles start appearing in the middle of your vision. Luckily, only my left eye was initially affected, so I could still read and write with one good eye. The regular injections into my eyeball didn’t restore my vision, but they slowed the degeneration (as painful as they were).

 

When I moved to Arizona, I hit the jackpot by finding an eye doctor who was also a practicing magician. Dr. Mike Herion put me at ease with his sleight of hand, and I always made sure he performed an illusion for his technicians to show them how talented he was. I also made them promise that they would take the needle injection for me if I had to get one. Lo and behold, I went almost five years without a needle in the eye.

After I had gone to them for some time, Mike asked me to explain how I force a card, a magician’s effect, and I did. He knew  that I was a magician from looking at my Facebook page. Since that time, I have been showing magic to Mike. In fact, I sponsored him to join the International Brotherhood of Magicians. A new magic effect every time I go to visit him, and he shows me one of his amateur magician effects. I have told him that I will leave him my magic trunk including including three complete Acts at the time of my passing. We have an incredible relationship. 

Fast forward to 2026, and I was on a liquid diet to prepare for a medical procedure. The doctors still don’t know if it was due to low sugar, the anesthesia or some other reason, but when I woke up the wet AMD had spread to my right eye.

I dreaded the appointment with Dr. Herion to confirm my suspicions about the change in my AMD. The only thing that softened the blow of this news was when he had his technician (who had no idea he was a magician) hold out her hand while he placed a silver dollar in it. He then put his hands above and below her hand and said, “No strings, no strings.” Then, the coin amazingly flipped over in her hand. When he left the room, she said, “I’m afraid of Dr. Herion now.” If only he could make the black spots disappear.

 

Dr. Herion no longer specializes in AMD, so he referred me to a retina specialist, Dr. Derek Kunimoto. Although Dr. Kunimoto wasn’t from Kansas, he met every other criterion I seek in a medical professional, including degrees from Harvard and Oxford. When I asked him why he got a law degree from Oxford if he knew he wanted to be a doctor, he said “I had a Rhodes Scholarship to study anything at Oxford, so why not learn the law?”

 

Before my first 2026 injection in my eyeball, my vision had deteriorated from 20/20 to 20/60. After two months of shots, it improved to 20/50 and then 20/40. But the black spots remain. Today, my vision is mostly gone in one eye and diminishing in the other.

 

For someone like me who relies heavily on reading and typing, AMD has been quite debilitating. But I got a huge computer screen, a large font keyboard, and have started using speech-to-text software to compose my emails and Facebook posts. I won’t let AMD defeat me.