My Health Record---Eyewise

 I had  a regularly scheduled eye appointment on November 10. The visit included a repeat of the dreaded Field of Vision Test.  I contend this test is not very accurate, and it should be redeveloped to eliminate the subjective aspect. And I think some young equipment developer should initiate the design of the various pieces of equipment so as to make them more user friendly. Why should the patient have to contort their body so as to fit the machine, and then strain to hold the pose while undergoing the exam. I suppose a major drawback would be replacing the office equipment, and that the manufacturers of such would not support a new development. Oh, well, I survived the tests, including the dilation, and Dr. F. said he was surprised to find  that a "blind spot" in the right eye,  I gather a symptom of macular degeneration, was gone, but that one such spot now appeared in the left eye. Why?  He dunno.  But everything checked out pretty good, and he set a  recheck appointment for 6 months from now.

      (I remind myself that besides double cataract surgeries and the follow-up YAG surgeries, I have had several retinal tears lasered, plus another surgery ostensibly to prevent the worsening of glaucoma, though of the more rare normal tension variety. I also was diagnosed with Fuchs' Corneal Dystrophy, which I gather coincides with  a thin cornea. Mild, they say, and my vision remains quite good.)

  On the drive home, which was a Tuesday, my eyes felt somewhat stiff and achy when I shifted my gaze, attributable to the testing I assumed. That persisted off  and on for the next few days. I'm used to such stuff by now. But early the following Monday, I woke up to pain in my right eye, in the upper inside corner very sensitive to the slightest touch. I looked in the mirror to find that my eyelid was red and swollen, so much so that part of my vision was obscured. Now I've endured much worse pain which I was satisfied to wait out, but hey, this is my eye. I don't ask much, but want to be able to see, walk and talk for as long as possible. So I called the office Monday morning for an appointment to check whatever was going on. I couldn't tell if the pain and swelling was on the eyeball, or the inside of the eyelid, or maybe even an eyelash or other foreign body speck got in there. I found that I could not get an appointment in Troy until Wednesday afternoon. Cripes!  On Tuesday, my eye felt much the same and I called the office again/ No luck, nothing available sooner. So I decided to call the bluff of Dr. F.. Every single time I've seen him, about 4 or 5, he has handed me his card, pointing out that it has on it his cell phone number. He is a fairly new import from Florida, and has recently become a partner joining Zieker, Sax and Rabady. I can't say I was overly impressed with him, maybe his seeming a little "flighty."  I left a message on his cell, and he later returned my call. The first thing he said was did I want to come to the office now. It was getting late in the day, so we agreed to stick with the Wed. appt.   (To be continued)