blind for a day

...it's been an interesting week. started off boring enough, then bam! we get snow and i go blind.

yep, it snowed. someone answered my prayers and suddenly wednesday afternoon big fat flakes began to fall from the sky. in a panicked frenzy, everyone in atlanta decided to rush home around 5 pm. my usual route home was practically gridlocked, so i thought i might detour and visit with my mom. except she wasn't answering her phone. then johnny's stupid gps (it's called maestro - don't get it!) got me completely and hopelessly lost in downtown atlanta. it was momentary insanity. I finally made it home and played with the dogs outside.

louie has never seen snow. i wasn't there to witness his first snowflake but i hear it was entertaining. he was jumping around wildly and just having a happy-go-lucky time. bibi was having some fun chasing flakes, too. syrus was over it. his grumpy ass just stayed in the warm house. there was even enough snow for johnny and i to have a small snowball fight.

then the next morning i woke up with a mysterious eye infection. it was painful. i couldn't open my eyes because any light created a searing pain in my retina. my right retina, to be precise. my eye was completely bloodshot and at first i thought maybe i had pinkeye. nope. i had to take out my contact and i knew i wouldn't be able to drive to work, or even work period. i called in sick.

i figured i would have to just let it follow its course so i took some echinacea/goldenseal and bilberry/eyebright. i made a hot chamomile tea compress and sat on the couch in a gloom. it became apparent quickly that this was no normal eye infection. my eye was in serious PAIN. johnny came home for lunch and thankfully decided to find me a doctor. since i don't have health insurance yet (i will on feb. 1st) i was trying to avoid the e.r. he found me a doctor in snellville, about 30 mins away. my dad took me there. and hour and a queasy stomach later, we arrived at the clinic. i was literally blindfolded because the teeniest amount of light in either eye inspired a searing pain in my infected eye. i had on my sleeping mask with the chamomile compress underneath and one hand on my dad's shoulder while he led me from the car to the building. i followed closely, knowing my dad he was very likely to walk me into a pole or have me trip over a curb. we went inside and even though i can't confirm this, i am quite sure he was lost and that we were walking in circles. he mutters to himself, pauses, mutters again, and continues on. somehow he walked me into tree branches (i thought i was safe indoors, but i was wrong!) and then finally we found the clinic suite.

the doctor gave me a pain reliever in my eye and i was able to open them. kinda. then she tortured me with her instruments and lights and announced that i had a corneal ulcer. which kinda freaked me out. it's actually common with contact lens wearers and it's from wearing them for too long. i walked out of there with thick sunglasses (on a very cloudy day) and went home with a teeny bottle of antibiotic eye drops worth $100.00. i had to put one drop in my eye every hour.

the next morning i was much better. i had a follow-up exam and got another bottle of the most expensive liquid on earth. i have to wear my dorky superthick glasses. my right eye looks like a zombie's. but i am happy, not so much pain anymore. still a bit light sensitive but i am optimistic for a full recovery.

this here is a prime example of how i work. i must learn ALL of my lessons the hard way. from now on, i cannot sleep with contacts in. in fact, i should probably be wearing glasses more than my contacts, which i know now are evil. i guess i could get lasik but i am too much of a chicken and don't have the couple grand to shell out for it. 2008 is going to be a great year, dammit.