I Have a Headache

Yesterday and today have been medically interesting. And this time, surprisingly, it wasn't Eli who needed the unexpected trip to the doctor- it was me!

When I got Eli up from his nap yesterday afternoon, I noticed that I couldn't see him very well- my vision was kind of dim in one area of my sight. Thinking it was just because we were in his room with the blinds closed, I walked out into the bright living room. It wasn't better at all- it was worse! I started seeing this wavy, shimmery thing on the side of my vision, and it freaked me out.

I called my mom immediately, because she's a nurse and because she's my mom, and, though calm as always, she was pretty concerned, because she has a rare disorder of blood vessel weakness that caused her to have a mini-stroke at age 44, and it tends to be genetic. And guess what her first and only symptom was? Visual disturbance in one eye!

Of course, I am (internally) going nuts- I am a hypochondriac as it is, but add to it the actual presence of a serious symptom and you've got one scared girl! I called Eric while my mom entertained Eli, and he came right home from work and took me straight to the ER. By the time we left the house, though, my vision was back to normal and I felt great, apart from a headache. But still. We had to get this checked out.

The ER visit was surprisingly quick and easy. I guess if you have such a strange one-sided vision thing they panic and get you right back, because the initial diagnoses for this type of thing are stroke or retinal detachment, both of which must be treated immediately. I was thinking in my head, "I will be very first 28-year-old to have a stroke!" I was also thinking, "This is just like Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken where Sonora loses her vision due to retinal detachment after her horse slipped on the high-jump platform and she plummeted into the water with her eyes open." Of course, I didn't say any of this out loud because apparent mental insanity would only make things worse.

Anyway, after eye dilation, exam, CT scan, and eye sonogram (who knew they did sonograms of the eye?), I was pronounced healthy. The doctor urged me to go to my eye doctor asap, hoping that he could find something that the ER doctors couldn't. He also uttered the words "multiple sclerosis," which of course sent me into a panic and straight to the health-related websites searching for early warning signs of this disease, visual disturbances being among them. (I must stop my hypochondiachal ways!)

Anyway, I am rambling way too much... My wonderful, fabulous eye doctor that I have been seeing since I was in 5th grade squeezed me in this afternoon. While his staff oohed and aahed over Eli as he pushed the rolling chairs all around the waiting room, I got the most thorough eye exam known to man.

The diagnosis? No, not a stroke or a retinal detachment like we feared... occular migraines. Basically a migraine headache that doesn't manifest itself so much in pain but more in visual disturbances that last for about 20 minutes and then go away completely, leaving you with a headache. That's all! We are so relieved!

Though I'm sad that we spent probably thousands of dollars at the ER, I am so thankful that it is only a migraine thing that will probably only occur every once in a while and is relatively harmless. It's crazy how life can change in an instant when health issues are at stake.

But tonight the Wilson household will all sleep safely in our beds here at home and thank God for healthy, normal days.