Insight into sight

   My great news this week was that my optho-neurology appointment  got moved up from August 13th to yesterday!  I was supposed to see them one week after I got discharged...it has already been three!  Anyway, at my last visit with my MS doctor, she told me I had little chance of regaining sight in my right eye.  So, Ive been anxious for this appointment.  Since this is a more informative blog as well, I should introduce you to my doctors:  I saw Dr Lesser.  He is, as I found out, one of the only Neurology Opthamologists around.  So, he is quite the popular guy, but you would never know it.  He treated me like I was his most I important patient (even giving me his cell phone number and email address at the end of the appointment, in case I had an emergency and his office couldn't contact him).  The appointment was 4 hours long.  It took me quite a long time to convince them I had NO sight in my right eye or no feeling in the right side of my face.  When it finally sunk in, the doc asked my permission to use my 'abnormality' as a training session for his new Techs.  Im all for training to make better Techs and Docs, especially if the organs are within my body and they are not like vultures outside the door of the ER waiting to collect(NO, Im not an organ donor). 
   I have a lesion on my optic nerve, which is causing my blindness.  The docs at Yale gave me IV steroids to hopefully shrink this lesion  and regain  my ability to see.  No such luck.  I also have a lesion on my brain that effects my facial nerves on my right side.   One nerve stretches up across my forhead, the other across right under my jawbone and then one towards my chin.  They also affect bititng, chewing and  swallowing.  The group of them is called the 'Fifth Nerve'.  Well, the numbness stops at midline of my face.  The doctor rolled up a tissue and wiped  it along my forehead from my right to left and asked where I regained normal sensation.  I stopped him at the midline of my forehead.  He noted that to the techs.  Then he did the same test across the middle of my face.  This time I stopped him on the far side of my nose.  He noted this important fact to the techs that it was NOT at the midline this time and that I was not faking this numbness.  The fifth nerve actually stops at midline everywhere but at your nose.  It covers your whole nose.  Interesting!
   Ok- so Im not faking my highly annoying facial numbness and problems chewing, talking and swallowing.  Good.  Moving on...  Another three hours of assorted eye tests.  At the end, the doctor asked if I wanted to call my mom in (who drove me) for the diagnosis.  I told him, first, Im 38.  I don't really need her to be there.  Second, she has my 1 1/2 year old daughter with her whom which really isn't interested in hearing a long diagnosis. "So, go ahead". He does believe that the vision loss is related to my MS and it is atypical for vision deficits related to MS to be permanent.  However, my loss is profound and has already gone on for 4 weeks.  My optic nerve is also already beginning to pale.  So, even if I were to regain some vision, it would never be as it was.  But he told me not to give up hope yet that I wont regain something.  That being said, there are a few other optic nerve diseases(that he does not think I have but wants to rule out) that mimic the ones of MS.  These diseases will in fact spread to the other eye and leave me completely blind.  So, consensus? I am either going to regain some sight or lose it completely, but I should never waste my money on a 3D movie again because I will never see 3D.  This, I don't mind so much.  The only 3D experience I was ever fascinated with was that at Disney with all the other sensory experiences.  That was cool and one not to be missed if going to Disney.  Was it fantasia?????
   Ive just over the past few days been making great strides here at home.  Ive got to get out and watch the kids play in the sand at the beach twice now and I even put them all to sleep by myself last night.  What a happy Mom I was, snuggling to sleep my babies.  Bedtime can be frustrating, but there's nothing like not being able to participate in it for three months to make it seem glorious.  As much as I would like to be able to snuggle them in bed for the rest of their lives, there comes a time when your own space is oh so valuable.  SO, today is the great bedroom makeover.  How to create individual space in one large room for three children.  Im pretty creative, but very limited by physical ability now...  Will post results!  Once we can actually  buy our house and add on some more bedrooms, things will be much easier.  Today, besides The Great Bedroom Makeover, I have OT and we clean our new fish tank for the first time.  Hopefully all goes well.  So far we have not managed to lose one.

  I'm paving my way through my Service Dog application.  I have filled out my preliminary application and have started my secondary.  I got my Doctor to sign off, two personal letters of reference.  Now I need my Professional letter of reference, Bio, Picture and Medical releases.  If I meet the requirements, I need to go in for a personal interview.  If I make it past that, I owe them $8500 and a year wait.  Yes, that's $8500.  They mention partial scholarships and they will also help me with a fundraising campaign.  Its exciting!   http://ecad1.org/default.htm
   This week I am due back at my MS Specialist, Dr Mary Bailey, another amazing doctor I get the privilege of working with.   So, I will blog you then..