Look At Each Problem Clearly
My eyes were the one part of my body that caused me little to no trouble. I had an eye injury when I was very young while playing sports that caused me to briefly wear glasses. And, when I had both of strokes 17 years ago I had blurred vision for a couple of weeks. My autoimmune disease also causes my eyes to occasionally become dry but Visine or prescription drops resolve that issue in minutes. However, nothing has seriously changed my vision; my sight always remained perfect or very close to it until now.
In the last year or so, it’s become increasingly more difficult for me to drive at night, especially on extremely dark roads. So I mentioned this during my yearly eye exam. I have to go get checked out because a medication I take, Plaquenil, can cause retinal detachment.
For the first time, the ophthalmologist told me I have astigmatism. She said it was my decision whether I wanted to get a pair of glasses. But, she added that glasses could help with the glare from the headlights from other cars and it could prevent me from straining to see fine details like the edge of roads.
I thought about it for about five minutes. I wasn’t worried about the glasses making me look old or anything like that. I was concerned about the money. I’ve been spending a fortunate on tests from my heart. Then, I thought, “I need to see to do my job, to write outside of work, to enjoy traveling and do other things I love.” So, I decided to get them.
When I slipped new glasses on and sat behind the wheel of my car to drive home, I was grateful that my eyesight was an easy thing I could fix. I needed that news as I continue to test my heart to try to figure out it’s issues and try to come up with a plan so I can live long enough to need glasses for more than driving.
(P.S. I probably paid too much for the. Burberry frame that will live in my glove box but I’m worth it)
#smallblessings #aging #glasses #WomensHealth #SickButNotWeak #invisibleillness #chronicpain #chronicillness #invisibleillness #disability #spoonie #autoimmunedisease #autoimmunediseaseawarenessmonth
