Can You See It Now?

So, today it was off to the eye doctor. I'd been putting it off for some time now, and the deciding factor was that someone must have flushed my contacts...case and all. One night it was there in the bathroom cupboard, and the next day, it was gone. I had a back up pair, but I wasn't even totally sure I had them in the right eyes, or if they were a matching set and not two left lenses or something.

The receptionist talked me into seeing the new dr. who is working there. I agreed, but made sure he would cater to my extreme dislike of going to the eye dr. The main eye dr. there saw me when I was nine years old and getting my first pair of glasses. Then I saw his partner, who I loved a lot, but she decided to move to Missouri. It'd almost be worth driving there to see her.

The new guy had to get the downlow on me, though.

First off, I'm one of those people prone to vasovagal syncope. When my vagus nerve is stimulated, I drop like a fly. I learned this the hard way the first time I was fitted with contact lenses when I was 18. The dr. fumbled around with the lens, and suddenly, I didn't feel so great. I barely got out, "I don't feel so..." and the next thing I know, I'm slumped in my eye dr's arms and he's holding smelling salts under my nose.

I always have to make it clear that if you touch my eyeball, I will pass out. I can touch my own eyeball, at least a few times, or long enough to get a contact in and out. I've experimented a few times, and if I touch my eyeball with my finger about five times, I do start getting lightheaded and that "going to pass out soon" feeling.

It was truly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. If it weren't for the fact that I love wearing contacts, I would gladly forgo the yearly eye exam. But for other reasons, I cannot.

There's something called Stickler Syndrome that runs in our family. It's a genetic condition that effects the collagen in one's body. The connective tissue in joints, ears, eyes, and hearts are targeted by this condition. It can cause glaucoma, detached retinas, arthritis, heart valve problems, cleft pallate, severe myopia, and all sorts of fun things.

My great-grandma went blind in her early 30s from glaucoma. My grandfather had the cataracts, heart problems, hearing problems, as well as many of the marked facial features of the syndrome. If a parent has it, there's a 50% chance of passing it on to a child. I'm convinced that my grandpa did have it, and it remains to be seen about my mom.

I had to explain both my ability to pass out from my eyeball being touched and the genetic condition. After a good look at my optic nerve, I didn't exactly get the best news. Apparently, there's something not quite normal about the positioning of my optic nerve. And because of my family history and the weirdness of my optic nerves, add in my nearsightedness, I must be watched closely.

Hearing, "Well, you aren't likely going to go blind in your 30s, but we do need to keep an eye (ha, pun intended?) on you," wasn't so comforting when I had to point out I'm barely in my 30s.

I think he tried to make me feel better by asking if I read a lot when I was a kid. Yes, I had to admit, I've had my nose in a book since first grade and I was reading those "I Can Read" books. He said it was common to see my level of nearsightedness in an avid reader.

"In a few years," he said, "We'll probably need to get you fitted with progressive lenses when you're having trouble seeing your column to write it."

You know, I hadn't even given any thought to bi-focals.

It's back again next week because they discontinued the contacts that I loved. I also have to get the glaucoma check done as well. I'm so not looking forward to it.