According to THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, Jack Abbott, the patriarch of the Abbott family, has been abroad for a few weeks on an unforeseen business trip. However, Peter Bergman, who played Jack in the serial opera, had to stop acting right away for a legitimate reason. Bergman said to Soap Opera Digest that he required emergency eye surgery to repair a damaged retina.

Bergman’s sudden medical issue appeared to be unplanned. While traveling to visit his family on the central coast of California, the actor noticed a strange incident on the inside corner of his left eye, but he kept it a secret. He recalled, “Throughout the course of that evening, I was seeing something creeping into my vision, and toward the end of the evening, it was like a curtain closing in toward the center of my seeing.

When Bergman woke up the next morning, he was immediately aware that something was seriously wrong. Thankfully, his sister was able to arrange for him to see an eye doctor in San Luis Obispo who discovered that the issue was a detached retina. The doctor urged Bergman to have his emergency operation at home in order to preserve his vision. Fortunately, the actor already had an appointment scheduled for the next day thanks to Mariellen Bergman’s knowledge of the doctor’s sister-in-law in Los Angeles.

Bergman told his Y&R bosses he was undergoing surgery, and a plan was made for Jack’s unexpected departure. The sympathy of his teammates, in particular during a particularly challenging recuperation, “made me feel really unique.” He claimed that for seven days “I had to maintain my face parallel to the floor for 50 minutes out of every hour.” Bergman was able to watch television thanks to a special “contraption” Mariellen set up, but she commented that “My favorite activities are exercising and reading books, and I could do neither one.” It appeared to take a very long time.

Bergman received a lot of support from Mishael Morgan (Amanda), a castmate who underwent the same procedure herself last spring. He claimed, “I gathered as much information about what to expect from her as I could.” She was exceptional.

The Emmy winner is relieved to be back at work at Y&R and is delighted about Jack’s future “really good stuff.” And he is really grateful that his medical issue was successfully resolved. He claimed that it was a magnificent trip and a fleeting encounter with blindness. It was a sobering reminder of how important sight is. Never take it for granted.