I’ve Had a VERY Long Weekend!

It started on Friday afternoon with an odd phenomenon:

• Flashing lights in the perimeter of my vision. Not constant, but intermittent. At first, I thought it might be reflections off the lenses of my trifocal lenses. I took them off, but the problem persisted.
• After an hour or so, they were not going away. I checked, and my ophthalmologist’s office was closed.
• I was now more aware of my vision, and noticed an increase in “floaters”. Now, some of those, I’d had since childhood – they were almost transparent, and were only visible on an unpatterned, light surface – like a cloudless sky.
• These new floaters were smaller, light brown, and resembled a small smear. There was also a larger one that resembled dark gray lace, near the outside of my left eye.
• I put in some eyedrops, put my Kindle away, and went to be early. I planned to call my doctor first thing Monday.
• In the morning, I still had the same optical anomalties. I did a web search using the terms “dark floaters”, “lightning flashes” and “eyes”, and, after a lot of ads and unqualified people with a website, found some accredited experts (I believe Mayo Clinic was one) who agreed on the essential info – If this happens, it is considered an Optical Emergency. Seek medical attention immediately.

Well, that scared the Living Jesus out of me.

I was pretty sure that driving would not be a good idea, so I called my children who live not that far from me. One was busy at the time, but the other agreed to drive me, if I could wait about an hour.

At the ER, they didn’t hesitate to get me seen. I had a lot of questions about getting hit in the head, falling down, and asked over and over again, in different ways, “Do you feel safe at home?”

To be honest, I thought this was just more mandated-from-above CYA nonsense, but later learned that falls and head blows were among the most common reasons these symptoms popped up. As this had not been the case, I answered in the negative.

After that quick triage, the intake nurse left the room, and I heard her say, “I have a triage that needs to be seen right now.”

That ‘triage’ was me. For the first time, I started getting seriously concerned.

I got the usual vital signs check, then waited for a doctor to see me – not long at all.

He shined lights in my eye – a LOT. and had me do a vision check with my glasses, one eye at a time.

He left for a while, then came back and said he thought I was OK, but was waiting for a final call.

When he came back again, he said I needed to go to the UH main campus, and see another ophthalmologist. My son agreed to take me there. When we arrived, I told him I was likely to be a while, and that he could leave. I would call someone when I was finished. As he was hungry, and the Browns game was soon to start, he agreed.

Again, I didn’t have to wait all that long. This time, the tests were longer, and far more extensive. I learned in the course of chatting with my doctor that University Hospitals has a dedicated Center for Retinal and Macular Diseases Surgery. So, luckily, I was in the right spot to be helped.

Around 4:30, I was finally released. The diagnosis was the best possible. Apparently, optical fluid shrinks as we age. It can cause symptoms such as I had. But, so can retinal tears, caused by the same shrinkage. I was released with permission to fly and drive (good thing, as I had planned to do BOTH very soon.

I came home, thanked God, and went to be early, relieved that I wasn’t going to lose my sight.