Eye Adventures

A few weeks ago I posted about going to Urgent Care for a corneal abrasion. The super-nice doctor examined my eyes, prescribed some drops, and sent me on my way. Simple, quick, and a “normal” diagnosis, for once.

Well, flash forward 3 weeks and Friday night I found myself with a very swollen eye, unable to see. I showed my mom and she thought we should wait and go back to Urgent Care the next day. Well, about half an hour later, things got worse and we ended up driving over to see the doc.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the doctor I had previously seen was working Friday night. He seemed to remember me (well, I mean, how many girls come in on crutches but have an eye problem as their main complaint?!) so I felt like I was in good hands. He even knew what RSD/CRPS is, so that was an extra bonus. Anyways, I got my vitals and everything taken and the doctor came in, a bit puzzled. He threw out some diagnoses, including a rash, allergies, pink eye, a stye…and ended up officially diagnosing me with episcleritis, noting that this was not related to the corneal abrasion a few weeks beforehand. He said to go to an ophthalmologist to have further testing done and sent me on my way.

Yesterday (Saturday) morning I woke up and nothing had changed. My eye was still swollen, red, and painful. My mom suspected my RSD might be spreading, so that was definitely a cause for concern. Thankfully, yesterday happened to be the one Saturday a month that my eye doctor was open. She told me that I could stop by and she would check things out.

My eye doctor should receive every award in the world for how awesome she is. She knows a lot about RSD/CRPS, takes extra care when doing anything to my eyes because she knows how I react weirdly, always listens to her patients, and will do anything possible to help. After a ten minute exam, she concluded that I do not, in fact, have episcleritis, but rather it’s simply infiltrative keratitis, inflammation that is caused by too much contact use.

Today I woke up and can finally see more than shapes and my eye isn’t as swollen. I’m still not 100%, but within a few days I should be good as new. The only downside is that I can’t wear contacts for a while (the doc said 3 months, but I’m hoping that was just a worst-case estimate) so I’ll be rockin’ my glasses until I get the all-clear.

You really never realize how much you rely on your eyes until your sight is taken away. It’s a whole different world when you can’t see, especially when you already can’t walk! I’m thankful that this is something treatable and not too uncommon. After being legally blind for a year and a half, I’ll gladly accept this diagnosis, even if it means becoming a four-eyes again 🙂

Through My Eyes

For the first decade or so of my life, eyesight was something that I took for granted. Sure, I had to have glasses in fifth grade, but I thought they were pretty stylish and didn’t think much of it. After all, having wire rims on your face was the norm. I didn’t realize how valuable the sense of sight is until I was suddenly left without it.

Right before my freshman year of high school, I went in for a routine eye exam. I suspected that I might need a change of prescription before I was thrown into the fast-paced life of a high school student. My eye doctor, who had become friends with my family through the years, began his usual examination process. I read the charts, did a color vision test, and allowed him to drop the cold dilation drops into my eyes. Knowing what to expect, I walked out of the doctor that afternoon in a complete blur. It takes a few hours for the dilation effects to wear off so I planned for a quiet evening at home, anticipating the next morning when everything would become normal again.

When I woke up the next day, the blurriness had not changed. I could barely fumble my way down the stairs, grasping the banister as I told my mom about my discovery. She sort of brushed it off, thinking I might be overreacting, but after a few more days passed, she realized something was definitely wrong. This began a series of different doctors’ appointments, each time hearing something to the effect of, “stop faking,” or “just muddle through.” I was diagnosed as being legally blind and told that there wasn’t much hope for my future. People told me I’d never drive or be able to succeed in school with such low vision, but I was not willing to accept this.

After a long and difficult journey, I finally found a doctor who could help. Not only was she a sweet, caring doctor, she was also familiar with my other mysterious condition, RSD/CRPS. After finding tangible evidence of a problem in her exam, she concluded that this might be an attack of the RSD monster and prescribed daily vision therapy.

Eventually my hours of therapy paid off and I was able to see more clearly with the aid of bifocal lenses. Like the treatment for RSD in my limbs, where I had to move what hurt, I was forced to move and use my eyes, even when they didn’t seem to work. My doctor was pleased with the results and even wrote a paper about this great mystery.

Why do I say all this? Well, it’s because after my crazy journey (which still is not over), I have learned to not take anything, even eyesight, for granted. As I was forced to change my phone settings to the largest font today, I reminded myself that things could always be worse. I’ve come a long way since wearing two pairs of glasses on my first day of high school in an attempt to be able to see something and not run into walls. While I still wear bifocals and am far from having amazing vision, I am grateful for every sunset I get to experience, every book I am privileged to read, and every picture I get to look at. So, even though I won’t always know who you are until you’re close to my face and I have trouble reading sometimes, there is beauty in the fact that I can see.

Take some time to appreciate your eyes today. Watch something beautiful, read a story, capture a moment  on film. Just don’t let this gift of sight go to waste.