Tuesday, I had an eye appointment. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was in second grade so this is a norm for me. I’ve had Optic Neuritis in my right eye for 16 years and in my left eye for probably about 10. Getting my eyes checked out is an annual thing because I have to order new contacts.
The good news about going to the eye doctor was that I learned that my eyes are less pressured (probably cause I’m not working – so I guess teaching middle school is a little bit stressful!). My vision stayed the same and the doctor decided to keep my prescription the same in both of my eyes even though my right eye is my, “Bad eye.”
The bad news is that my eyes were originally getting checked out by the tech, My right eye has gotten a lot worse! When I was asked to cover my left eye, I couldn’t really see much! He had to make it so big that there were only two letters on the line so I could see it but with my right eye there was a big white blob in the middle of the letters so I really couldn’t see what letter it was.
In this moment, I realize how much I adapt by moving my head to the left to try to see better and shutting my right eye. If my left eye was covered, I can’t shut my right eye, then I can’t see! … Well, I can’t see that good out of my right eye anyway!
I went into the exam room first to do the vision testing and to take my contacts out. After we were finished with that, I had to go get that air puff in your eyes thingp and the other machine with the picture of the blurry Hot air balloon. As a wheeled myself out of the exam room, I noticed that my knee especially hurt and my even my left leg hurt. I had to be in my manual chair because I do not have a vehicle that accommodates my motorized chair. It was in this moment that I truly understood how important it is for me to be in the motorized chair. This realization was hard for me!
My Mom had given me a pair of my Dad’s glasses and I was going to have my prescription put into the lenses so I could wear them and feel closer to my Dad. When the doctor came in, my eyes were already dilated and it was a more extensive exam with me looking at the letter chart. The doctor would ask me to read the line and I would remain quiet for a while as I tried to decipher what letter I was looking at. I thought of Sean and started to laugh!
When Sean was small, my Mom watched him when I was at work and he would go with my Mom and Dad to my Dad’s eye appointments. Sean would sit in the exam room with my Mom as my Dad was getting his eyes checked. During the time my Dad was reading letters off the chart, it was obvious that my Dad was having a really hard time because his vision was really starting to fail. So since he hesitated before saying the letter, Sean whispered the letter to him. My mom, my dad, and the doctor all laughed.
I recently have asked Sean about that and he remembers it. He said, “What could I do?! My friend was having trouble! I had to help him out!” He wasn’t there with us on Tuesday so I had to figure it out by myself. They were long moments of silence but the doctor understood. She was really great!
During the exam, my knee was hurting so badly! I told her that I was going to buy contacts and asked about getting my script into my dad‘s glasses. She thought that could happen and sent me out to the lobby to order everything. Well, it was possible to get my script in my Dad’s glasses but after I had to pay for my contacts because I rarely wear glasses, it was way too expensive so I just opted to get the contacts.
My Mom drove me to my house with my eyes still dilated. It took a long time for them to get normal, actually it was the next morning before I could see up close again. So with my appointment, there was some good and some bad. Good that my eyes are under less pressure but bad that my knee hurt a whole lot!, I realized that the motorized chair is necessary, I couldn’t afford to get my script in my Dad’s glasses…
So overall, some good and some bad, but mostly bad!