Day in, day out: loss of vision in his left eye, attacks of dizziness and flashes of white. The artist Karlheinz E. from Neuried could no longer paint straight lines. “Nevertheless, I didn't want to go to the doctor,” the 73-year-old recalls today. The turning point came on a trip to the Isar four years ago. “When I wanted to spit into the river from a bridge, because that's supposed to bring good luck, I noticed that my left eye was looking somewhere else.” His wife finally persuaded him to visit an ophthalmologist. But the glasses he was prescribed only helped for a short time.