Painful Sun
I have never been so grateful for my vision as I am today. This past week has been a less-than-fun one. In fact, it was down-right scary. Have you ever had someone tell you that you could lose a body part or the ability to use a body part, and actually mean it? I did this week. Let me tell you, it is not nice to hear.
Last weekend, I woke up feeling like I had something stuck in my eye. No amount of rinsing with saline or breast milk (which is incredibly soothing, by the way) helped to get it out. I made the wise decision to not put my contacts in and wore my glasses. By the evening, my eye felt even worse. I went to bed hoping that all I needed was sleep and whatever was in my eye would work its way out. I was skeptical though since I had had something similar happen only a month ago. When I woke up in the morning, it was definitely not better. My eye was incredibly light sensitive. Even with all of the lights off, I was in a lot of pain. I decided that I needed to go to the doctor, but there was no way I could drive there. My fantastic brother in law stepped up and drove me to the walk in clinic. Three and a half hours later, I had some drops and was on my way home.
Tuesday came around and I was still in a lot of pain. I knew something wasn't right, and decided I needed to go to the optometrist. One of my wonderful friends offered to drive me there for my appointment. My eye watered the entire drive there. Every glimpse of sunlight drove me to hide my face in a scarf. The optometrist was worried. I spent a lot of time in the chair while she phoned around consulting pharmacists and specialists. Part of the problem was that I am allergic to penicillin, and the other part was that I am breastfeeding. Those two facts cut out a lot of antibiotics they could give me. The specialist decided he wanted to see me, so they booked me in for an appointment at the hospital the next day. I still didn't think it was that serious.
At the hospital, they put some numbing drops and some other drops in my eyes while we waited in the waiting room. It felt like a long wait, but it really wasn't. When they finally called me in, I was starting to get worried. The specialist looked at my eyes for a couple of minutes, and that was when reality hit for me. He told me I had a really serious infection behind my cornea and that if we didn't treat it promptly, I could lose my eye. He gave me two options for treatment: admit me to the hospital where they would give me the antibiotics, or prescribe antibiotic drops that I would have to put in every hour, day and night. I didn't know what to say. All I could think about was that I have a baby. I couldn't go to the hospital! What about him?! The specialist repeated to me the seriousness of the situation. He went to consult with another doctor, and I went to get mrblueberry. I needed him to be there to ask any questions. While we waited for the specialist to come back, I just watched E colour with mrblueberry and thought, "What if I hadn't gone in yesterday to the optometrist? Would I be able to see my kids still?" To be very honest, I was quite afraid that the antibiotics wouldn't work and I would still lose my vision.
When the specialist came back, he brought the other doctor who looked at my eye. He explained in a little more detail for me, and we decided on taking the drops at home. That was five days ago. It's been hard to remember to take the drops every hour, and I have slept through a couple of my alarms at night. Thankfully, I get to reduce my dosage tomorrow to only during the day. My eye started getting better within 24 hours, and is a little bit better every day. I still have some light sensitivity with the sun, but I can handle the light indoors now. In the evening, my eyes get really tired and I need to rest them. I have never been more glad that I listened to my gut and went in to the optometrist.
Have you had a scary situation like this where you listened to your gut or you wished you had?
Last weekend, I woke up feeling like I had something stuck in my eye. No amount of rinsing with saline or breast milk (which is incredibly soothing, by the way) helped to get it out. I made the wise decision to not put my contacts in and wore my glasses. By the evening, my eye felt even worse. I went to bed hoping that all I needed was sleep and whatever was in my eye would work its way out. I was skeptical though since I had had something similar happen only a month ago. When I woke up in the morning, it was definitely not better. My eye was incredibly light sensitive. Even with all of the lights off, I was in a lot of pain. I decided that I needed to go to the doctor, but there was no way I could drive there. My fantastic brother in law stepped up and drove me to the walk in clinic. Three and a half hours later, I had some drops and was on my way home.
Tuesday came around and I was still in a lot of pain. I knew something wasn't right, and decided I needed to go to the optometrist. One of my wonderful friends offered to drive me there for my appointment. My eye watered the entire drive there. Every glimpse of sunlight drove me to hide my face in a scarf. The optometrist was worried. I spent a lot of time in the chair while she phoned around consulting pharmacists and specialists. Part of the problem was that I am allergic to penicillin, and the other part was that I am breastfeeding. Those two facts cut out a lot of antibiotics they could give me. The specialist decided he wanted to see me, so they booked me in for an appointment at the hospital the next day. I still didn't think it was that serious.
At the hospital, they put some numbing drops and some other drops in my eyes while we waited in the waiting room. It felt like a long wait, but it really wasn't. When they finally called me in, I was starting to get worried. The specialist looked at my eyes for a couple of minutes, and that was when reality hit for me. He told me I had a really serious infection behind my cornea and that if we didn't treat it promptly, I could lose my eye. He gave me two options for treatment: admit me to the hospital where they would give me the antibiotics, or prescribe antibiotic drops that I would have to put in every hour, day and night. I didn't know what to say. All I could think about was that I have a baby. I couldn't go to the hospital! What about him?! The specialist repeated to me the seriousness of the situation. He went to consult with another doctor, and I went to get mrblueberry. I needed him to be there to ask any questions. While we waited for the specialist to come back, I just watched E colour with mrblueberry and thought, "What if I hadn't gone in yesterday to the optometrist? Would I be able to see my kids still?" To be very honest, I was quite afraid that the antibiotics wouldn't work and I would still lose my vision.
When the specialist came back, he brought the other doctor who looked at my eye. He explained in a little more detail for me, and we decided on taking the drops at home. That was five days ago. It's been hard to remember to take the drops every hour, and I have slept through a couple of my alarms at night. Thankfully, I get to reduce my dosage tomorrow to only during the day. My eye started getting better within 24 hours, and is a little bit better every day. I still have some light sensitivity with the sun, but I can handle the light indoors now. In the evening, my eyes get really tired and I need to rest them. I have never been more glad that I listened to my gut and went in to the optometrist.
Have you had a scary situation like this where you listened to your gut or you wished you had?
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