15 March 2020
Story #977
R. Linda:
As you and a few people know, I had an eye injury and have not been able to look at a computer or phone screen (without the night mode) because the brightness hurts my eye. Thus, there are no stories on Gabriel O's life.
In bits and pieces, I have been putting together me story for you to be more thorough about how frustrating it has been to have one eye to see out of. Without getting into the particulars of what and how the "accident" happened, just know that something out of the ordinary happened, and here I sit with one eye closed, the other covered by gamer glasses that cut the blue light out, so I don't ruin me one good eye.
The day after the "accident," I went to the doctor and was told ripped cornea MAYBE, though it didn't really look like it was that, and I was given brown eyedrops that burnt like hell and was told to keep the eye closed and so on, and it would heal up.
After a week, I went back to be told the eye was recovering nicely, BUT the pressure behind the eye was up to a reading of 40 when it should be 20 or lower. Okay, well, I didn't feel "pressure", but okay, so I was given drops for that. I could see perfectly, everything was sharp and clear, the vision was 20/20. The next day after putting the drops in the night before, me vision in that eye was cloudy and blurry. I thought, well, ok, that will disappear as the day goes on. It did not. It was like having late-stage cataracts, from what me dragon-in-law told me, that I could hardly see out of the eye. I put the drops in again that night, and the same thing happened the next day.
I had to drive to Boston, so I took the back roads that save time, but as I was turning, I hit someone's car. I never saw them. And why? Because me peripheral vision was gone! I called me eye doctor when I got home, and they told me not to use those drops, but prescribed me something else. I started using the something else, and me vision started to clear very slowly, but they really didn't help. I went for a pressure check and was told that me pressure was up to 44, and laser surgery was the next step.
So I go in, they zap me eye like a hundred times, and when they were finished, me eye felt really weird. I was like -- what just happened? They handed me a prescription for DROPS and told me to get them on me way home. Mind you, I was the very last patient to get the surgery, and living in a rural state that rolls up the sidewalks around 5, and it was 6 p.m., I wondered if I had time to drive an hour away to fill the prescription. Tonya (me designated driver) told me there was a small chemist's (pharmacy) on the way home in a small town we had to pass through. Well, ok, I thought, but will they have these drops? Usually, little places don't carry everything, but we were in luck; they did have the drops!
While waiting, we picked up a few bottles of wine, chocolate-covered cherries, and assorted small things. I went to the counter, the bill was rung up, and I was charged $240.00! WHAT? The drops were $167 since me insurance covered a good deal, but I had to pay the $167. So that bit of shopping in a tiny village drug store was more money than I paid at the mall at Christmas. Geez!
The chemist told me to put the drops in right away, and he walked away, no help, like, "Let me do that for you since there is no looking glass." So looking, I guess, helpless, Tonya led me half-blind self out to the car, where she put the drops in me eye, and we proceeded home.
The laser surgery helped clear the vision a little, but I still couldn't see anything on me right side. I could barely read, and the light still hurt. My post-surgery appointment pressure reading was 35! Still too high. I was given more drops. This time, I had the script filled by the large pharmacy, and they told me my insurance would pay $149, and I'd owe them $386. WHAT, WHAT???
I told the pharmacist NO WAY. I had no guarantee the drops would do anything, like the first and second sets (which were not inexpensive), and would simply end up sitting on me shelf. She told me there were other drops and to call me eye doctor. I did. Miracle of miracles, I got a free sample of the expensive drug. It burns when I put it in me eye, which has not helped much. I was told I have a mild case of glaucoma (which does not run in me family, is in only one eye and has me perplexed as to how this could be for someone (I was told) who is too young for that condition. One day, I had perfect vision; the next, I had barely any. How does that happen?
For the past few months, I have been going back and forth to the eye doctor. I still used the samples while he investigated something else for me to try. Meanwhile, me insurance sent me an email that I could get huge savings on the drug that I had samples of. Yes, a big savings of $214, and I get a co-pay of $3,459.12! WHAT, WHAT, WHAT?! Well, you know that wasn't going to happen, and why did the price go up?
So I went back and complained, and me doctor sighs and says to me, "I really don't know what is wrong with the eye. It isn't a ripped cornea, it isn't eye disease, it isn't glaucoma. I don't know what this is, but I am baffled. Your pressure has been too high, but we know the drops work to bring it down. So let's do this. I have a list from the pharmacy of eyedrops. Let's start with the cheapest and see where we go. And I agree that what your insurance is charging for the ones that do work is ridiculous. There are things I may be able to do to get them to drop that price, but let's see if we can find something else first."
Okay, so I got the $10 drops called in. I went to the pharmacy and was told it would cost $30. Yup, I stood there in shock, I mean $30 compared to $3,459.12 be a gift from the eye gods, but I was told $10. I asked about it, and the chemist informed me that I was getting a three-month supply instead of a one-month supply because the drops didn't come in smaller bottles. Great! Here I was with six useless bottles of eyedrops in me medicine cabinet. At a cost well over $400, and now I might be adding to the collection. UGH!
There was a near-happy ending. These cheap drops worked! Yes, I was a cheap fix. Me pressure reading was 18! Everyone was happy except that I still couldn't see fully out of the eye. One day, me vision was sharp; the next, not so much. I live in blue-light glasses. I will say they are me only saving grace because they soothe me eyes (both of them) when working on a computer or looking at my mobile.
I finally got me car back from being nearly totalled yesterday. I have yet to drive it, and of course, I got it back now because there be no place to drive to. Me work has me working from home, as are many associates. So cool, a car that looks as good as new . . . It looks very nice and shiny sitting out in me driveway. I sometimes look out and wonder if someone is here because I am not used to seeing a car parked there. Yes, my car was a saga in itself, as it was so old that parts were hard to get. Once they started the bodywork, they found the steering column had been bent, and there were a bunch of other problems. I tell ya, I couldn't cut a break, and this started months ago. The car was in the shop awaiting parts for the longest time, and I had forgotten I owned one. As it was, I was driven like Miss Daisy everywhere because of the eye, so now I can see, and me auto be back, but there's nowhere to go. How's that for Murphy's Law, or more accurately, O'Sully's having no Irish luck.
Gabe
Copyright © 2020 All rights reserved
Story #977
As you and a few people know, I had an eye injury and have not been able to look at a computer or phone screen (without the night mode) because the brightness hurts my eye. Thus, there are no stories on Gabriel O's life.
In bits and pieces, I have been putting together me story for you to be more thorough about how frustrating it has been to have one eye to see out of. Without getting into the particulars of what and how the "accident" happened, just know that something out of the ordinary happened, and here I sit with one eye closed, the other covered by gamer glasses that cut the blue light out, so I don't ruin me one good eye.
The day after the "accident," I went to the doctor and was told ripped cornea MAYBE, though it didn't really look like it was that, and I was given brown eyedrops that burnt like hell and was told to keep the eye closed and so on, and it would heal up.
After a week, I went back to be told the eye was recovering nicely, BUT the pressure behind the eye was up to a reading of 40 when it should be 20 or lower. Okay, well, I didn't feel "pressure", but okay, so I was given drops for that. I could see perfectly, everything was sharp and clear, the vision was 20/20. The next day after putting the drops in the night before, me vision in that eye was cloudy and blurry. I thought, well, ok, that will disappear as the day goes on. It did not. It was like having late-stage cataracts, from what me dragon-in-law told me, that I could hardly see out of the eye. I put the drops in again that night, and the same thing happened the next day.
I had to drive to Boston, so I took the back roads that save time, but as I was turning, I hit someone's car. I never saw them. And why? Because me peripheral vision was gone! I called me eye doctor when I got home, and they told me not to use those drops, but prescribed me something else. I started using the something else, and me vision started to clear very slowly, but they really didn't help. I went for a pressure check and was told that me pressure was up to 44, and laser surgery was the next step.
So I go in, they zap me eye like a hundred times, and when they were finished, me eye felt really weird. I was like -- what just happened? They handed me a prescription for DROPS and told me to get them on me way home. Mind you, I was the very last patient to get the surgery, and living in a rural state that rolls up the sidewalks around 5, and it was 6 p.m., I wondered if I had time to drive an hour away to fill the prescription. Tonya (me designated driver) told me there was a small chemist's (pharmacy) on the way home in a small town we had to pass through. Well, ok, I thought, but will they have these drops? Usually, little places don't carry everything, but we were in luck; they did have the drops!
While waiting, we picked up a few bottles of wine, chocolate-covered cherries, and assorted small things. I went to the counter, the bill was rung up, and I was charged $240.00! WHAT? The drops were $167 since me insurance covered a good deal, but I had to pay the $167. So that bit of shopping in a tiny village drug store was more money than I paid at the mall at Christmas. Geez!
The chemist told me to put the drops in right away, and he walked away, no help, like, "Let me do that for you since there is no looking glass." So looking, I guess, helpless, Tonya led me half-blind self out to the car, where she put the drops in me eye, and we proceeded home.
The laser surgery helped clear the vision a little, but I still couldn't see anything on me right side. I could barely read, and the light still hurt. My post-surgery appointment pressure reading was 35! Still too high. I was given more drops. This time, I had the script filled by the large pharmacy, and they told me my insurance would pay $149, and I'd owe them $386. WHAT, WHAT???
I told the pharmacist NO WAY. I had no guarantee the drops would do anything, like the first and second sets (which were not inexpensive), and would simply end up sitting on me shelf. She told me there were other drops and to call me eye doctor. I did. Miracle of miracles, I got a free sample of the expensive drug. It burns when I put it in me eye, which has not helped much. I was told I have a mild case of glaucoma (which does not run in me family, is in only one eye and has me perplexed as to how this could be for someone (I was told) who is too young for that condition. One day, I had perfect vision; the next, I had barely any. How does that happen?
For the past few months, I have been going back and forth to the eye doctor. I still used the samples while he investigated something else for me to try. Meanwhile, me insurance sent me an email that I could get huge savings on the drug that I had samples of. Yes, a big savings of $214, and I get a co-pay of $3,459.12! WHAT, WHAT, WHAT?! Well, you know that wasn't going to happen, and why did the price go up?
So I went back and complained, and me doctor sighs and says to me, "I really don't know what is wrong with the eye. It isn't a ripped cornea, it isn't eye disease, it isn't glaucoma. I don't know what this is, but I am baffled. Your pressure has been too high, but we know the drops work to bring it down. So let's do this. I have a list from the pharmacy of eyedrops. Let's start with the cheapest and see where we go. And I agree that what your insurance is charging for the ones that do work is ridiculous. There are things I may be able to do to get them to drop that price, but let's see if we can find something else first."
Okay, so I got the $10 drops called in. I went to the pharmacy and was told it would cost $30. Yup, I stood there in shock, I mean $30 compared to $3,459.12 be a gift from the eye gods, but I was told $10. I asked about it, and the chemist informed me that I was getting a three-month supply instead of a one-month supply because the drops didn't come in smaller bottles. Great! Here I was with six useless bottles of eyedrops in me medicine cabinet. At a cost well over $400, and now I might be adding to the collection. UGH!
There was a near-happy ending. These cheap drops worked! Yes, I was a cheap fix. Me pressure reading was 18! Everyone was happy except that I still couldn't see fully out of the eye. One day, me vision was sharp; the next, not so much. I live in blue-light glasses. I will say they are me only saving grace because they soothe me eyes (both of them) when working on a computer or looking at my mobile.
I finally got me car back from being nearly totalled yesterday. I have yet to drive it, and of course, I got it back now because there be no place to drive to. Me work has me working from home, as are many associates. So cool, a car that looks as good as new . . . It looks very nice and shiny sitting out in me driveway. I sometimes look out and wonder if someone is here because I am not used to seeing a car parked there. Yes, my car was a saga in itself, as it was so old that parts were hard to get. Once they started the bodywork, they found the steering column had been bent, and there were a bunch of other problems. I tell ya, I couldn't cut a break, and this started months ago. The car was in the shop awaiting parts for the longest time, and I had forgotten I owned one. As it was, I was driven like Miss Daisy everywhere because of the eye, so now I can see, and me auto be back, but there's nowhere to go. How's that for Murphy's Law, or more accurately, O'Sully's having no Irish luck.
Gabe
Copyright © 2020 All rights reserved
ROFLMAO welcome to the blind club. I do have peripheral vision in my bad eye but if you stand in front of me you disappear! At least you get to drive. I don't. So no more whining. I do enough of that for both of us!
ReplyDeletei'm sorry that happened to you. i was wondering why so few stories get better.
ReplyDelete