Doctors...an evil bunch

So my eye feels better, but vision is still not 100% .  So what did I do?

A week ago Friday I was invited to watch an air show at Kubinka Airbase outside of Moscow.  The air show was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Russian demonstration teams, the Strizhi and Russian Knights.  The air show was a good time, if not a bit repetitive.  But coming back home, just as I entered the embassy, I swung my camera bag over my head and shoulder, and the canvas strap scratched right over my open left eye.

The Russian MiG-29 demonstration team, the Strizhi

I felt that immediate, no-need-of-explanation pain that one gets in those instances, and started to blink wildly, hoping that whatever I did would be fixed with mass amounts of tears.  The pain pretty much subsided within the hour (perhaps the 5 shots of vodka at the fourchette helped), so I thought no more about it.

Saturday morning while walking down the street something, perhaps the wind or dust from the not-so-clean Moscow air, got in my eye, and the pain came back gangbusters.  The rest of that day was spent with an incredibly painful eye, reminiscent of my first week or so after my PRK surgery eight years ago. 

Sunday I couldn't take it much more and called one of the embassy doctors, who was nice enough to open the medical clinic and put me through some torturous poking and prodding.  Turns out I goughed a 1mm² hole in my eye, and got it infected.  I needed drops, dark and dreams.  Again, just like after the PRK:  lie around in the dark with eyes closed to let the eye heal.  Thankfully: 1) the eye heals fast and b) the Kindle turns any book into an audio book.  Unfortunately: a) the eye hurts while healing and 2) the Kindle voice sounds like a robot.  Oh, and it is hard not to fall asleep in a dark room with your eyes closed. 

But, on Tuesday (Monday was Victory Day here in Russia...big time holiday) the doctor looked at my eye and couldn't see the divot anymore.  The eye felt great to me.  Only problem: my eye was no longer 20/15.  My vision had worsened to 20/30.  Now I know what some of you are thinking: 20/30 is good!  I know.  I agree.  Eight-plus years ago I would have been ecstatic to have 20/30 in each eye.  But after surgery and eight wonderful years of 20/15 vision, I didn't want 20/30. 

Inside the impressive WWII museum at Victory Park in Moscow

So the doc wasn't too happy about my vision and he sent me to a Russian opthamologist.  Now, the Russian doctor was sweet, and her English was good.  But through her English, and then again through my Russian, I couldn't get her to understand that I my left eye had only 3-4 days earlier been 20/15.  "But together with both eyes you can see perfectly.  Do not worry.  You probably only need glasses when you drive."  Uh...what?!?!  She gave me even more drops and a prescription for something that'll make some white things under my eyelids go away.  And she prescribed hot cotton balls on my eyes at night and eye lid massage.  OK. 

So on Wednesday I returned to my American doctor and showed him everything the Russian doctor gave me.  He looked at my eye again, which really did look better (the Russian doctor said the cornea had healed perfectly), and suggested I keep up the antibiotic drops, and massage my eyes if I felt like it.  We tested the eye again and it had improved to 20/25, so that made me feel better.  But then, just as I was leaving (to go swim!), the nurse said, "Doc, Mike swims a lot.  Can he swim when he's taking those drops?"  The doctor looked at me apologetically and said, "Monday.  You can swim again next week on Monday."  The nurse was sweet and asked him, How about Saturday?  But the doctor was having none of it. 

So here I sit, finally able to see pretty good, but unable to swim.  I haven't swum since the Thursday before my eye-gouging.  I miss the water.  I even miss our strange little pool.  I've never wanted a Monday to arrive so much!

Comments

[Katie]

I think the sweet nurse is the real villain in this scenario.

I always evaluate doctors on whether or not they try to keep me out of the water. My husband is a doctor, and he's been known to find himself on the wrong side of that line...

[flagyl online]

So my eye feels better, but vision is still not 100% . So what did I do? A week ago Friday I was invited to watch an air show at Kubinka Airbase outside of Moscow. The air show was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Russian demonstration teams, the...

[can i buy lasix online]

So my eye feels better, but vision is still not 100% . So what did I do? A week ago Friday I was invited to watch an air show at Kubinka Airbase outside of Moscow. The air show was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Russian demonstration teams, the...