Blind as a bat

Though the title is slightly cliche, it was almost a reality for me today. Here's the timeline for what happened today that left me blind for almost an hour.

9 a.m. : I arrive at work ready for the day. I start my computer up.

9:30 a.m.: I realize some weirdness on my screen. My screen starts to look like I've been staring at the sun too long (you know, that halo effect?). So, I take my eyes off the screen for a little bit, trying to refocus my eyes.

9:45 a.m.: I look back at the screen and realize my left eye is no longer functioning. I could tell this because a sentence would be cut off. For instance the sentence: The dog ran to the store looked like e dog ran to the store. Needless to say, I was scared to death. So, I decide to isolate my left eye to see what's actually being seen out of it. I close my right eye and all I can see out of it is a circle of light. That's it. No blurry vision. Just a round circle of light. I'm now scared shitless. I think I've lost my vision. I call the only optomitrist I know of (the one David goes to) and tell them my symptoms. The nurse says "It sounds like you're about to experience an ocular migraine." Now, I had no clue what this meant, but she suggested I come in as soon as possible, while the symptoms were still present.

9:58 a.m.: I go into my boss's office, tell him I can't see out of my left eye and then proceed to drive myself 8 blocks north to the eye doctors. While driving, my vision starts to blur a bit. I'm getting really scared that I won't make it, but I know I have to. I find a parking space.

10 a.m.: I enter the doctor's office and fill out a short sheet of paperwork (don't you love doctors?)



10:15 a.m.: They dilate my eyes and at this point, I have such a piercing headache, I can barely open my eyes to read the chart clearly. They do all sorts of tests and determine that I have some cloudiness in my eyes, but that's just genetic and not affecting my vision (luckily). However, then the doctor's dump on me sadness. I need glasses. Now, not really. Pretty much I need reading glasses, just if I plan to keep working in front of a computer screen my entire life. But, I don't need them for driving or living, or even really reading for short periods of time. I just need them for extended period of time reading. So, during the work day. And that's it. So, that was a relief. But, considering my day, it was more bad news. They don't make me purchase them today since it wasn't the reason I came in.

10:45 a.m.: I drive myself home. They had recommended that sleep is one of the best cures for that type of migraine, so I took some Advil after the medicine they gave me and went to bed. I slept for two hours.

1 p.m.: I wake up and still can't quite see up close. So, I figure I'll go back to work in an hour, when the dilation should have worn off. David was sweet and bought me lunch. Sight has returned to my left eye completely by this point.

And, thus my day of near blindness. It was incredibly scary and I hope I never get one again.