Yesterday I had a follow up from my stay in the ER to discuss my vision loss. It was with a new retinologist who I absolutely love. Although he gave me incredible care, he gave me news that was a little disappointing. The blood clot in my right eye caused cell death, so my vision in that eye will not return. The good news is my left eye is perfectly healthy! Even though this was not the news I was hoping for, I am grateful to be in such good hands with my new retinologist and I am grateful that I am now stable. I can see out of the peripheral of my right eye, but I would say roughly 60% of the center of my vision is now a black circle. But I am not in any pain at all and my brain is slowly learning to adjust to my new normal!
I chose to go with a new retinologist because I was informed the vascular issues I had in my eye were evident for over a year. The small blind spots I had from over a year ago were only the beginning. I was frequently frustrated with my old retinologist and often left my appointments feeling unheard. My new doctors are unsure if this significant loss in vision could have been prevented, but it went brushed off and undiagnosed despite my expression of concern for the symptoms I was having. I do not hold negative feelings towards my old retinologist. Doctors are just humans like the rest of us. But I mention my story to remind everyone: you are your own best advocate. If you feel your doctor is not giving you the attention you deserve, fight for yourself. It very well may have been written in the stars I would lose a significant part of my vision at 23 years old. But this issue still went undiagnosed for over a year despite very regular visits with the retinologist. You are your own best advocate 🧡
