Markers of Time

 

According to my TimeHop app, that was my status a year ago. Pardon the few grammatical and spelling errors. October, 11, 2013. That date, I’ll never really forget it really. It’s a day I play over and over in my head frequently. It was a very stressful day. The amount of emotions that I was experiencing, I don’t think I can begin to quantitate.  That day I had started the day by calling the office that has become my office that oversees my eye care to inquire about prices. After speaking with the lady for a few minutes she informed me I was having symptoms that needed to be seen that day, and that it couldn’t wait. She was concerned I had a Detached Retina. While I knew there was something wrong with my eye, I knew that wasn’t the answer. She scheduled me a late afternoon appointment with the man I affectionately refer to as Dr. B. He is a Retinal Specialists. He is said to be one of the best in our area. Honestly, he is the man you want to see if you need a Retinal Specialist.

I remember sitting in the waiting room scared to death. I had never been to an office like this. Prior to all this craziness my vision was perfect. I never needed to get vision tests other than the ones I needed in school. I was a little overwhelmed at the whole process as they ushered me through the process. In one room, into one exam chair to do the vision acuity test, dilating drops, fill out my medical history information. Then back to the waiting room. It was the end of the day almost so there weren’t that many people left. Then in to the room with the retina scanner. After I had fully dilated I was escorted to another room with an exam chair. An older,  tall and lanky doctor strolled in and introduced himself after a short wait. He took a quick look into my eyes, and then informed me that I had a clot in my right eye. Essentially I had a stroke in my right eye, you can read more about this appointment in the post called : It’s like a Stroke In Your Eye and It’s like a Stroke In Your Eye Pt. 2

I remember the crazy emotions that coursed through me as I listened to him talk. Honestly, one of the strongest emotions I felt that day was relief. This was the first answer I had to what was going on with all the bizarre symptoms I had started experiencing after my miscarriage. Because of this appointment with Dr. B, I was able to convince my PCP at the time to start me on Warfarin. Later on due to Dr. B being my doctor I was starting on Plaquenil at his insistence prior to being diagnosed with Lupus. I also contribute finding my Hematologist to him and one of his colleagues. My Hematologist handed me off to my Rheumatologist. My amazing healthcare team is, what is, largely because of Dr. B.  I had no idea how things were going to transpire a year ago. All I knew was this doctor was able to tell me what was wrong, and gave the most likely reason to why it had happened.

At the age of 29, you don’t expect to hear you have a blood clot lodged somewhere. Especially not in your eye, that’s something that is seen much more commonly in older patients. In someone my age, it was more likely to be seen in patients with Lupus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Looking back, I’ve come along ways since that post. I’m no longer pleading with people to listen to me and to take me seriously when I tell them something is wrong with me. The people who matter, listen and take me seriously.

At the age of 30, I’m still learning a lot about my conditions, the medications I’m on. My anxiety level is a lot less than it was a year ago. I know part of that is because I have taken the time to educate myself. I have made connections through support groups with others that are going through similar things.

Last year I couldn’t think ahead more than a few days without getting overwhelmed at the thought and crying. Now I’m excited to see where my frame of mind is this time next year, when that status rolls around on the 2-years ago list.

Oh and incase anyone is curious, even with the damned blind-spot in my right eye (that looks sort of like a shark shaped blob when I close my left eye)….my vision is still 20/20 in both eyes!