Unread newspapers have been piling up here lately. Two weeks ago, a few days before Christmas, I woke up with blurred vision. I suspected an infection because one lid was swollen, but it could also have been stress or cold related or maybe I wasn't hydrated enough. Whatever the reason, I still had blurred vision the next day. I didn't know if my condition was going to get worse and wasn't sure I'd find a cause before our trip to Kentucky the day after Christmas.
I made a call to a registered nurse to see if there was anything I could do before the busy holiday weekend. She reassured me and suggested my situation didn't warrant a visit to a busy urgent care clinic, but if my symptoms continued I should call my family doctor.
A week later, back from our Kentucky trip, my vision hadn't worsened but hadn't improved either. Decided to call family doc as there was still time to be seen, if need be, before the next holiday weekend - New Year's. My doctor's triage nurse recommended I see an eye doc so I made an appointment with an optometrist.
I patiently waited for my Wednesday optometry appointment, doing pretty well at work in the meantime, but was increasingly concerned about infection. My mom wanted to offer me her Wednesday appt. with her eye doc and, when the optometrist cancelled my Wednesday night appt. just two hours prior, wanted to take her up on it, but by then it was too late.
I learned my family doc was on vacation when I called back to explain the situation but the attending physician made time to see me. He thought it didn't look like an infection, which was good, but two weeks after I first woke up with blurred vision I still didn't have an explanation for the ongoing problem.
Two days later I patiently waited for the appointment with the eye physician my family doc helped me obtain. Even though he was already running an hour behind by 11:00 a.m., he was willing to give me the complete eye exam he felt I needed. I had unknowingly made an appointment for just a basic exam.
The physician found a few things of concern, thankfully nothing major, and gave me prescriptions for eye drops and glasses. I was told I had too much bacteria on my lashes. The bacteria end up on my corneas and generate white blood cells there.
Today I'm applying drops four times daily, washing my lashes with baby shampoo and debating getting glasses. I have a Tuesday appointment for an orbital CAT scan, which sounds expensive but it's just to rule out a tumor -- one of my eyes protrudes a little further than the other.
I'm hoping the antibiotic eye drops I'm using don't exclude me from donating blood next Saturday. Tim, the 17 year old I've blogged about before, is hosting a blood drive at the downtown Blood Center between 9:00 and 3:00.
If you care to share a pint of blood with leukemia patients or others in need, please consider a donation Saturday, January 13th, at 18th and Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Come out and meet
Tim. Walk-ins are welcome!
