Roseanne Barr Reveals She's Going Blind

For most of us, being faced with a diagnosis that meant, in the near future, we would soon no longer be able to see would be earth shattering. For Roseanne Barr? It sucks, but she's ready for it — and in a sentence, that about sums up her attitude. In an interview with The Daily Beast on Monday, Roseanne Barr revealed that she is going blind thanks to the macular degeneration and glaucoma she's suffering from. And although she's been using pot to help with the side effects, nothing can stop the fact that sooner rather than later, she won't be able to see.

Obviously, news like this would be difficult for anyone to grapple with, but Barr's taking her eventual blindness in stride. Not that it surprises me that a comedian known for her sharp wit like Barr is able to remain so positive about something so awful, of course.

In the interview, she very matter-of-factly explained the diseases she's suffering from, and although she doesn't have a set time when her doctors expect her to lose her eyesight, it is definitely going to happen. She said,

My vision is closing in now. It’s something weird. But there are other weird things. That one’s harsh, 'cause I read a lot, and then I thought, "Well, I guess I could hire somebody to read for me and read to me." But I like words and I like looking. You do what you have to do. I just try and enjoy vision as much as possible — y’know, living it up. My dad had it, too.

Of course, there are plenty of people who suffer from blindness and also live full and happy lives, but for someone who's always been able to see, it's hard to imagine a life without eyesight. The challenges Barr is going to face soon are pretty scary to think about, but that doesn't seem like the approach she's taking — and she's right. There's not much she can do about it, so why not stay as positive as possible and enjoy being able to see while she still can? It's inspiring how brave she is, even though she doesn't have much of a choice about what happens to her vision.

I can't help but think this is exactly how her legendary character from her sitcom would've seen the situation, too. There would have been a little whining, but eventually, Roseanne the character would have made a few sarcastic comments and moved on with her life. And it sounds like that's what Barr plans on doing, too.

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