Randy had to go to Harborview today for an opthamology appointment. He was also scheduled to go through the evaluation for the Metro Access, but the opthamologist had put drops in Randy's eyes that prevented him from seeing so he wasn't able to go through the evaluation. It had to be rescheduled for the 25th, when he goes in for his EEG.
In between the appointments, though, his mom took him up to 3 West and he got to meet Becky, Pauline and Carmen. I wish I could have been there to thank them all again for all they did for us. Since I couldn't go, though, I asked his mom to at least get a picture of Randy with Becky. She said it was a nice reunion ~ everyone was crying and everyone had wonderful encouraging words for Randy.
The opthamologist (Dr Sohn) had Randy describe his double vision and wanted to know about the prism glasses Randy was prescribed and wanted to know about Dr Baxstrom (the eye doctor from Good Sam). He said there is a lot of debate about eye therapy and he is of the opinion that the eye exercises don't do any good and that the eyesight, if it improves, will do so on its own.
He checked Randy's vision with eye charts and checked his ability to track light. Randy said that when he was looking left, his double vision subsided a bit. He checked Randy's vision with some prism glasses. He also checked Randy's eye pressure and then recommended that Randy see the neuro-opthamolgist (which we were really wanting him to see). So randy saw Dr Mudumbal. The two doctors examined all of Randy's records from Harborview and they examined the CT scans on the computer screen.
Randy has some nerve damage - 4th nerve palsy. The facial fractures may have caused some scar tissue to form. Dr Mudumbal said that he doesn't think we can get a definitive correction yet because it is still early in the recovery. He said they won't know the total extent of the eye damage until 6 to 12 months from now. They said that at that time, he will be re-evaluated and see if there is a necessity for corrective lenses or surgery.
They said that Randy's eye is having muscle spasms. They put some drops in his eyes to paralyze the muscle spasms and his nearsightedness went away. They will be seeing Randy in 6 weeks. At that time, the doctor will determine if it is necessary to prescribe the drops to Randy. Right now, though, they are wanting to give his body more time to heal.
I admit that I am struggling a bit with lack of patience right now. Randy's eyesight is one of his biggest complaints, second only to the headaches. I was hoping for more answers or solutions today. Throughout this recovery, we have been told often that we have to wait to see ~ wait to see what the mental deficiencies really are, wait and see how much the use of the left side returns to, wait and see how well his eye sight will be. Logically, I know that we are still early in this whole recovery process, but emotionally, it feels like it has been a long time.
1 comment:
HI, Rush family! Wow - so much happens and when you look back it really WAS a short time, even though it feels like forever when you are going through it. Rachel - you are so faithful with your posts - I hope you get a chance to go back through and look at the ones with titles like "Randy had a good day today". FOCUS on the positive (as you have already been so good about doing), especially when you start to feel discouraged about not getting medical answers. I talk with others and we still can't believe Randy got discharged from the hospital so quickly!
Hey Randy! You be sure to be super good to your family right now - the stress at work is can be a lot some times, and it is really hard to keep priorities in order. We miss you awfully, but this environment - honestly - can be challenging. Well, maybe not for you - you are so calm and competent about your work! What if you came back at the rate of 2 days per week for awhile - like Monday and Tuesday, then gradually add a 3rd then 4th day? Or even coming in for 3 4-hour days the first few weeks. You handle transitions great, so whatever you do I'm sure will be best, but I just wanted to share my perspective.
In prayer for Mr. and Mrs. Merrill...
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