I hoped that whatever caused the trouble would go away as quickly as it came, but things only grew worse, So Denene took me to see our physician. One look, though, and he sent me to an ophthalmologist’s office where a handful of doctors, assisted by physician’s associates/assistants, began the process of applying various eyedrops, each with a function of its own—numbing, staining, dilating, constricting, etc. They poked, prodding and shined bright lights of various colors and intensities into my eyes, all while talking among themselves as if I weren’t sitting two feet away. In the meantime, irritation- and pain-induced tears rolled down my cheeks, which were absorbed by the mask I wore, a requirement, of course.

The experience of having so many medical folks doing this and that to you while you can’t see them or the instruments they held in their hands was extremely unsettling. Meanwhile, they discovered a scattering of small ulcers across the surface of my eyes, including across the pupils.

At the end of the appointment, still puzzled about the cause of my troubles, the lead physician rolled the dice and decided on a medication to try for one week. Well, it didn’t work and the condition grew much worse. I. Couldn’t. See.

A specialist was summoned who identified the problem right away, a virus, he surmised, that had likely been dormant in my system since childhood. He prescribed numerous medications in the forms of eyedrops and oral meds. This came after the specialist informed the doctor who’d been treating me that the medications he’d prescribed were not the correct drugs and that they’d actually caused more harm than good. He was genuinely concerned that the virus had spread to the optic nerve which would/could cause permanent blindness. Fortunately, it was limited to the surface of the eye … this time. I later learned the specialist was actually the boss of the entire place, which explained the instant change in demeanor whenever he entered the exam room. I’m thankful the specialist/boss took charge of my case. Had he not I may not be in the position to pen this article.

After a week or so of taking the proper oral meds and plethora of different eyedrops and uncomfortable in-office procedures to  remove “things” from the surface of my eyes, my vision slowly improved and the pain, swelling, and irritation began to subside. Bright lights of any type were still a huge cause of discomfort; therefore, I kept my eyes closed or covered. And my vision was still blurry. To give you an idea of how poorly I could see at this stage, try closing your eyes to the point where you can barely see through your eyelashes. That was a big improvement from day one. Needless to say, using a computer or even watching television was still out of the question.

A week or so later, though, I was able to type and post a message about my eyesight on Facebook by enlarging the page to the point where there were only 6-8 words on the screen, and they were still fuzzy. But seeing 3″ tall extremely fuzzy letters, well, that was a welcome advancement. Still could’t recognize my own reflection in a mirror, but it was progress.

As days passed and with the help of the new medications things turned around and my vision slowly returned to where it is today. Still not normal, but okay.

The doctor theorized that a medication I take may have triggered the virus flareup. Unfortunately, the medication is one that’s part of my required daily medications. Therefore, I’m now taking two new medications that will hopefully prevent the return of the virus. I am to take these medications for life, two eyedrops each day along with a tablet the size of a 1964 Volkswagen hubcap. It’s a small price to pay if it prevents blindness.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’ve not been intentionally rude by not replying to messages. Hopefully, things will continue to improve as days pass and I’ll soon return to blogging regularly, hosting WPA Online classes (exciting new classes are in the works and will be available very soon), and handling other important business.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to express their concern and to wish me well. I couldn’t read your messages until recently, but when I did, well, very much appreciated.

“What A Wonderful World”