Warning: Protective Eyewear Required!!!

On Thursday morning, I was playing with Amelia in bed and she grabbed my eye while I was looking away for a moment. I had often thought about how a little baby could really do some damage, and wondered that I hadn't heard of many cases of earrings being ripped out or eyes getting scratched. Maybe most moms' reflexes are just quicker than baby. Maybe not. I couldn't believe how badly it hurt, but couldn't see anything obviously damaged when I looked in the mirror. I was also coming down with a cold, and some of the symptoms overlapped as well. I ended up pulling it together and took A. with me to MOCA with Heather Shack, who was in town. I began realizing while we were out, though, that my eye was pretty bad and just getting worse. It hurt to have it open, it really hurt to close it, and light was awful.

Jeff stayed homefrom work on Friday, and we were fortunate to get a Doctor's appt. at ten in the morning. The doctor numbed my eye (ah, relief!) and then put what looked like a strip of litmus paper in my eye to dye my cornea. She confirmed that I have a "rather large" corneal abrasion, and called and made an appoinment at an optometrist for me that afternoon. She also prescribed a "mild sedative" which I seriously considered but didn't take.

At the optometrist's office, three different people saw me, each with their own set of drops and bright lights to shine into my very sad and sensitive eye. I reconsidered my decision about the sedative, but it was too late. I have to admit that it was pretty gratifying that both of the optometrists thought it was really bad. One assured me that I wasn't the first to have a baby scratch them, but wondered when I'd last trimmed her nails. Apparently, she had scratched all the way through the first layer of the cornea, but the cut was also really rough. My favorite moment was a conversation between the two optometrists that went like this,
"So, do you think you'll put a contact lense over the eye to smooth it out?"
"Well, I thought about it, but there is already so much inflammation, it might make it worse. Actually, I was thinking about getting in there and scraping to even it out.... (Both get a little excited at the idea) But I don't think I will."
Is that what the "mild sedative" was for? Yikes! Anyway, I was happy that the treatment only involves three different drops every four hours. I thought it was interesting that they want to keep the pupil dilated all the time. This is because the dilation and constriction with light changes is what really hurts the most, since the whole eye moves when that happens. Educational experience.

Anyway, I am happy to report that my eye is feeling MUCH, MUCH better today. My vision on that side is still a bit blurry, but it looks almost normal. Now if I can just get over my cold, I will be in great shape. But I don't think I'll be wearing earrings any time soon!