In the Blink of an Eye

My vision is horrible. Just horrible. Without corrective lenses, I'm as blind as a bat. No--I take that back. At least a bat can utilize sonar. I'm just outta luck. I've always worried what would ever happen if I ever lose my glasses or accidentally rinse my last pair of disposable contact lenses down the drain. I would be useless. (Although Mariah would definitely find the bright side: Ooh Mommy! Now we can get you a Seeing Eye dog!)

So with my last pair of contacts opened and my script expired, I figured it was time for an eye exam. Of all of the appointments I face, the eye exam is probably the one I dread the least.

Until day.

Thankfully, I didn't have to endure the sadistic "eye puff" pressure procedure. They have all this high tech stuff now. After the vision portion, Dr.S reviewed the pictures the tech took of the back of my eyes. He chose his words carefully and basically told me there was an issue with my left eye. There appeared to be a hole in the retina. Dr. S informed me that he's on staff at our local military hospital and would have no problem getting me in to be seen by ophthalmology. I was trying not to freak out, but of course all I could hear in my head was "I'M GOING BLIND! I'M GOING BLIND!"

Dr. S told me he wanted to take a closer look first and proceeded to dilate my left eye to the max. Then he rechecked my eyes and took another set of photos. He tried to reassure me the entire time. Little did he know I was already picking out my eye patch fabric.

In the end, Dr. S discovered that the "hole" on my retina was just an artifact on the equipment (so much for "high tech"). It's kind of like what a piece of lint or dust would look like on the reflection of an overhead projector (Uh-oh. I just dated myself. I remember sweet-smelling dittos, too). Dr. S then showed me the other pictures to compare. On the first set, there was definitely a "spot" on my retina. It was nowhere to be found on the second set. His bad or God's miracle-- I'll take it either way. I'm just thankful I'm not going blind. Although, I bet I could rock eye patch couture.