80s Pupil

So, today I was packing for my road trip. Have I mentioned how much packing for a trip stresses me out? It’s easier to move entirely. That way I have everything I need with me. So of course, on the day when I am supposed to finish packing and prep for a wedding, there is unscheduled drama.

Some Background

The eye in question.
(Taken a few weeks ago.)

I’ve been having issues with my right eye. It started with a tiny tare of the cornea, which was treated and healed quick enough. After that, it was a plugged up tear duct. (Did you know that’s actually where tears drain to and not where they come from? I didn’t.)

So that’s been getting better. Only a little irritation now and again, which is why I put a few drops of Visine in my eye this morning. I thought maybe I had a cat hair or something in my eye and I wanted to flush it out.

The Drama

So I’ve been staring at my eye every time I pass a mirror for 2 months through all these little problems. I had looked several times this morning with nothing much to notice till around 1:30.

My right pupil was dilated and the left was…not. I said to Paul, “I have a problem!”

I’m trained in first aid. I’ve had a few weeks of EMT training—I didn’t finish but I know enough to be worried when I see something like this.

I called the Eye Doctor to see if I should go to them or the ER. They said I could come in. Wookie ran a quick neurological exam before we got into the car.

My EMT Wookie is my hero. He was amazingly calm gathering up my eye drops and getting the car—all the while deciding which hospital I should go to if needed, who has a fully staffed MRI, etc.

It's good to have your own EMT on hand.
Here he is at his graduation.

On the way, I emailed my Saturday wedding ceremony to two of my colleagues with a note that I might have an “emergency” and they would be contacted if needed.  I was worried.

At the eye doctor, Wookie sat next to me and distracted me while I waited. He made me laugh and let me whine a little about how this was not what I wanted just before my trip.

They called me in. The tech asked about eye drops and said that sometimes eye drops have weird effects.  She did an exam and then left to get the doctor.

Wookie and I waited. Maybe feeling a little better, but not saying what we were worried about.

Finally the doctor came in and looked me over again. He said there were three possibilities. Wookie may remember the first two. (It’s good to have someone with you at the doctor’s office—someone to remember the things your own emotions block out.)

He said it wasn’t the first thing—I remember him saying ganglia, and nerves and palsy. (I love the word ganglia! It sounds fun, stringy and not at all scary.)

He said it wasn’t the second thing, an aneurism—The word my mind had been searching for when I saw my eye…the word Wookie had been biting his tongue on while he made contingency plans, plotted routes to the hospital in his mind and probably rehearsed what he’d says when he brought me in.

The doctor said it was most likely 80s Pupil.

That’s what I heard, at least. He explained the test for it—diluted drops of some stuff that would not affect my pupil if the dilation were caused by options one or two.

He put the drops in my eye and asked if I had any questions before he stepped out. I asked him to spell 80s so I could Google it. He said Adies. Here is what I found out.

When the doctor came back, he said I shouldn’t go nuts with Google. Wookie and I both laughed and said it was too late. (I have to wonder if it’s a physician’s nightmare, knowing that your patients can look up the medical terms they spout out in the time it takes them to stick their head out of the door and order up a test.)

So here I am, with a weird neurological thing that may occasionally make me look like I have a head injury—but is really nothing to worry about. Just what I needed. Though I am grateful that it was not any of the scarier alternatives.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Wookie and I joked around, but I know both of us were worried. This is all just one more reason I need a break.

Excuses, Excuses

So I’m finally packed. I had a bunch of other errands to run today, which I will squeeze in tomorrow.

I was supposed to send an email out today and Wookie reminded me about it. I said it had totally slipped my mind and this was his response.

“Oh, the whole I may have had an aneurism excuse. Biggles used that last week.”