Before Dark
“Ironically, losing your sight makes you more observant.
I look at people much more closely now.
I have had to become a detective.”
In January 2011, Sam Snape, an established screenwriter, playwright and teacher, took a routine high street eye test. He thought he needed new reading glasses. He did not expect to be ordered to go the hospital immediately. Sam was diagnosed with end stage glaucoma, known as the “silent thief of sight.”
Within hours, Sam went from a man who lived normally to someone with an incurable disease. As of today, Sam has lost 94% of his optic nerve function on one eye, 96% in the other. In the US, he would be considered legally blind. In the UK, Sam is still partially sighted.
Over half a million people suffer from glaucoma in the UK alone. Many, like Sam, have been unknowingly living with it and are diagnosed too late to slow down its devastating effects. We still don’t fully understand what causes the condition and a cure is yet to be found.
About 10% of glaucoma cases end up legally blind. The percentage is far higher for
advanced end stage cases like Sam. A year from now, Sam might be blind.
What sets Sam apart is his outlook on life. Where some would be paralyzed by fear and even depression, Sam is sure to find a positive spin on his disease. Already he says he’s seeing the world like a Monet painting, but he will have to face many challenges in the months ahead…
Before Dark is the story of an extraordinary man facing up to the most dramatic challenge of his life, a window into some of the brightest minds in ophthalmology, and a cautionary tale to inspire the public to look after their precious eyes.
We follow Sam on a yearlong journey as he confronts his future, memorizing the world and people around him — as well as his past.
Empowered by his indefatigable drive and sense of humor, Sam meets some of the world’s leading glaucoma doctors and specialists and even offer himself up as a “guinea pig” for the imaging of sick cells in the retina, stem cell treatment and other emerging technologies.