Glenn Beck: Doctor says eye disease could blind me

[July 21, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck says he's been diagnosed with an eye disease that could eventually blind him.

The conservative commentator told an audience attending his "American Revival" tour over the weekend in Salt Lake City that a doctor told him he has the degenerative disease macular dystrophy.

Beck says he went to a doctor for testing because he had trouble focusing with his eyes. "He said, 'You have macular dystrophy. ... You could go blind in the next year. Or, you might not."

Beck said he replied: "Did you just charge me a thousand dollars for knowing what I knew my whole life?"

The disease generally makes itself known by a decrease in vision in 20- to 40-year-olds. Beck is 46. The WebMD website says eyesight deteriorates as the disease progresses.

[Associated Press]

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