Darrell Massie's eyes water and his voice becomes breathless as he describes his wait in the Queensland Health queue.
The Palmview man is in a race against time as he rapidly loses his sight.
But he said he had been told he would not get in for a specialist appointment for 15 months — more than five times the state's clinically recommended time for category two patients.
"There are times when I just sit in a chair and I cry with frustration," Mr Massie said.
"The idea of having to wait that long for anyone with this thing is totally ludicrous."
Mr Massie, 76, said he could read and use his wheelchair a year ago, but he now ran into walls and couldn't see his wife a few metres away.
"If Stephanie wasn't here, I'd be sitting like a wart on the couch, doing nothing," he said.
"It's mentally exhausting to put it mildly… it's a feeling of insecurity because you know what you do normally then all of a sudden, you can't do it."
Mr Massie was told by his optometrist he was developing cataracts and would probably need surgery in two years' time, but within three months his vision had rapidly deteriorated.
His condition caused him to be sensitive to light.
"It's frustrating sometimes, if I get up every morning and turn on the light on the bathroom, I can't see a thing," he said.
Mr Massie said his optometrist wrote to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital four times to get him help to no avail.
Queensland Health data shows 83 per cent of category two ophthalmology outpatients on the Sunshine Coast are not being seen within the clinically recommended time of 90 days.
The Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service said it could not comment on individual cases but it was working to reduce wait times in the ophthalmology department.
"We understand waiting for an appointment can be distressing and we apologise for this," a spokesperson said.
"In addition to increased demand for these services, there is currently a shortage of staff amongst the ophthalmology team due to COVID and the current flu season.
"Recruitment of new medical officers is under way, and in some instances, we have partnered with private facilities to undertake 480 procedures."
Ripple effects
Stephenie Massie said her husband's struggle to get medical attention caused severe implications for the whole family.
"The stress has never worried me before, but this does worry me.
"I'm scared what he'll do to himself when I'm not here because that's how dangerous it is at the moment."
Ms Massie said her husband's eyesight worsened his stage four chronic inflammatory lung disease and made it difficult for him to breathe.
"We are doping him up and giving him lots of extra medication that he really shouldn't be on just because he needs his eyes fixed," she said.
"I used to be able to pop him in his wheelchair and we could go for walks up the street and I can't do that with him anymore because he can't stand the light outside."
The couple contacted Buderim MP Brent Mickelberg for help.
Mr Mickelberg said he would write to the health minister to push Mr Massie's case.
"The kind of treatment that Darrell was talking about is administered in third world countries by not-for-profit organisations like the Fred Hollows Foundation," Mr Mickelberg said.
"It's a simple treatment, and it will result in a complete change in Darrell's life and his ability to interact with the community.
"It is simply not good enough that Queensland Health is not providing the resources that we need here on the Sunshine Coast."
Until then, Mr Massie said his only option was to use eye drops which gave him vision for a maximum of two hours at a time.
He said he was disappointed the government wasn't addressing problems with the health system or providing adequate care.
"If the blinds are down and the rooms are dark I can see relatively simply, but if I wanted to live in the dark I would've joined the government," he said.
