Planet Eyeball

I received a referral from my optometrist to an outfit that treats macular and retina problems, on Alder off of Center Street. I had an earlier appointment in the North end of Tacoma to which I arrived with a flat tire, and learned to put air in the tire from a paid air compressor at a gas station [Adventure # 1] which I did prior to the appointment.

After my initial appointment, there was still air in the tire, but I needed to know what had gone wrong with it and get a repair, so I went to Les Schwab. [Adventure # 2.] No, the tire cannot be repaired, because it was driven on while flat. Why can't I just go bring a tire from home and have that put on? [I had kept my tires after having these put on last year, as they were nearly new.] Because once they removed the tire, they won't replace it. But I hate to pay for a whole new tire. Guess what? The original tire was under warranty. Yay!! They put on my full-size spare and promise to phone when my new tire has arrived to the shop.

Off I go to the Macular Retina place, [Adventure # 3] which wasn't that easy to find, but I found it. There are photos of planets everywhere. Orange planets with interesting features and canals on them. Anyway, I am admitted and have three sets of eye drops put in; one to numb my eyes, then two to fix open my pupils. I had the latter done at the optometrist and have grown to hate the effects. It takes hours to wear off, and I am stuck driving around with these cheesy dark lenses and all the lights are fractured and look like stars. This on top of the blurry vision in my left eye, which I am attempting to assess and resolve.

I describe as clearly as possible the changes in my vision in the left eye over the last week or so. The doctor seems mystified and is beginning to talk as though this may just be in my head. I am not encouraged.

The doctor also checked my blood pressure, inflating the cuff a total of four times to double-check my high blood pressure, and [oh, Sweet Jesus, as my arm is about to explode] instructing me to see my PCP and treat the hypertension, i.e. go back on medication. So I agreed, being under pressure.

Anyway, they looked at my eyes in various ways, don't see much. Then they decide to photograph my retinas with dye, to check the perfusion to my eyes. The MD injects a yellow dye into the vein in my hand, while the very pleasant practitioner takes photographs of both eyes as the dye takes effect. It was fun and fascinating. Kind of the high point of this adventure.

Now we return to the original exam room, and the doctor performs a very high-tech test: he holds up a red folder [my chart] and asks what color it is with my right eye [red] and what color it is with my left eye [dark red.]

The upshot of this was that he referred me to a Neuro-Ophthamologist office in Seattle off of Madison Avenue, because, as I have been wondering, he was thinking this may be a neurological problem. And these are the very people to see for that.

When I connect with the Neuro-Ophthamologists it turns out I obtain an appointment for tomorrow, [Adventure # 4] and I get to have a brain MRI prior to this. Oh, my. Yes, I am somewhat claustrophobic. So after I stop by Les Schwab and have my new free tire put on the car, I drop in on my daughter and ask her to be my designated driver. This way I am free to receive medication if needed to make the MRI bearable--otherwise it's not allowed. But I have every intention of driving the car back myself. By the time I spend hours in the other office, whatever I take, if anything, will have worn off. But it will be great to have my daughter with me for all this, anyway.

When I was still in the car at the Macular place after winding up my phone call to Seattle, the MD tapped on the window. He was off to surgery, and mentioned he had been thinking he might have to do surgery on me today if my retina was torn, but it wasn't necessary.

And I still have to report to Jury Duty on the 31st, phoning in the evening before to see if my group needs to come in . . .