I have a throbbing headache, of a kind that would follow lots learned in a compact time but in my case is the result of considering the ONE thing I learned today that I'll actually remember. So we learned about a disease where the blood vessels in your head are inflamed, and when this affects the vessels to your eye, you can suffer sudden blindness. You have to treat this immediately with steroids, to save the other eye from blindness. Something I appreciated from lecture that can't be read from books was the comment on the context of the patient. The professor noted that because patients with this disease are often elderly with numerous co-morbidities, treating them with steroids is no light decision. Steroids affect just about every part of you, and it will worsen your diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease, all of which one elderly patient probably has. With perhaps not a very extended time left to live, the question arises of whether saving sight is worth exacerbating life-threatening conditions. Our professor posed this question and answered yes, because when blinded, the elderly often pass away within a few years. Such loss is difficult to adjust to, and depression is a co-morbidity as well, even as its path to loss of life is not as clearly defined as say, a stroke. While blindness leads to concrete things that affect health and may lead to death, like falls and fractures, it's really the general state of not seeing that is harmful.
The image of a body whose many parts have lost their respective vitalities, fighting for its sight, made me a little sad, but it also seemed right. I'm glad that when people choose to struggle, it's not for subsistence but for substance.
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i don't know if my grandpa had this particular disease you guys talked about, but he experienced a sudden blindness once. he's an only child and he never really knew his dad. but he was very close to this mom, and one of the few things she left for him after her death was a house she had built for him. when the communists razed down the house, he became so upset that he went completely blind for a few days. i wonder if the doctors treated him with steroids... this same grandpa started losing his sight again a couple of years ago. i felt very sad knowing he couldn't see as much with his eyes- i guess for the very reasons you mentioned. but by some miracle, his sight has again returned. the mysteries of life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story Jen. I've heard of sudden blindness in response to traumatic experiences too, but don't know much about it. The return of something after loss is definitely miraculous, and even though it's sad to have lost it in the first place, I'm glad it led to a sort of restoration for your grandpa. Miss you <3
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