Its been five days since I noticed a tiny multi-coloured spot flickering in my line of sight. It comes, flickers like an irritating cursor for about five minutes, goes, and comes back again. At times it becomes difficult to read and staring at the computer screen or the T.V. makes it worse.
I visited the opthalmology department at the JDWNRH yesterday. The hospital was crowded as usual but the "eye" section was relatively sparse. I had to first have a routine eye check up and the personnel there wrote "sees flashes of light" on my prescription and referred me to the specialist.
But before I could see the specialist I had to "dilate my pupils" so a closer look could be taken. They put two drops of a liquid into my eyes and I had to keep my eyelids closed for a whole thirty minutes. As I sat there, head thrown back on the waiting room metal chair, eyes closed, I felt strange. Many thoughts flitted across my mind - what if there is some irreparable damage to my eyes? what if I cannot see colours? What if I cannot see?? - I could hear voices, but I could not see faces.
In that thirty minutes sounds became sharper, voices were clearer and my sense of appreciation deeper. Imagine a world without colours - red rose, blue sky, green grass, yellow tulips, orange oranges.... and then imagine darkness...Thirty minutes made me empathize with people living without sight. Hats off to them.
Fortunately, the specialist diagnosed the flickering as a "floater" - "may be experienced when people reach middle age". Nothing to worry about, now. It may stay, it may go. So, as of now its uncomfortable living with a multi-coloured cursor flickering in m vision now and then, but I am thankful or the "gift of sight" that I still have.
I visited the opthalmology department at the JDWNRH yesterday. The hospital was crowded as usual but the "eye" section was relatively sparse. I had to first have a routine eye check up and the personnel there wrote "sees flashes of light" on my prescription and referred me to the specialist.
But before I could see the specialist I had to "dilate my pupils" so a closer look could be taken. They put two drops of a liquid into my eyes and I had to keep my eyelids closed for a whole thirty minutes. As I sat there, head thrown back on the waiting room metal chair, eyes closed, I felt strange. Many thoughts flitted across my mind - what if there is some irreparable damage to my eyes? what if I cannot see colours? What if I cannot see?? - I could hear voices, but I could not see faces.
In that thirty minutes sounds became sharper, voices were clearer and my sense of appreciation deeper. Imagine a world without colours - red rose, blue sky, green grass, yellow tulips, orange oranges.... and then imagine darkness...Thirty minutes made me empathize with people living without sight. Hats off to them.
Fortunately, the specialist diagnosed the flickering as a "floater" - "may be experienced when people reach middle age". Nothing to worry about, now. It may stay, it may go. So, as of now its uncomfortable living with a multi-coloured cursor flickering in m vision now and then, but I am thankful or the "gift of sight" that I still have.
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