about usMom's Story
Why i run
My mother, like so many, has been an inspiration on my life. Growing up, she was at every one of my sporting events; no matter how far away they were- many times being the only parent at the event. She was even adopted by most of my teammates as the team mom; as she was always bring us snacks and meals at long tournaments, rooting for each of my teammates with the same passion she cheered for me and my brother.
When not taking care of our family, my mom worked at a hospital as a Patient Care Attendant. She took care of every patient as if they were a member of her own family. That’s just how she is. My mom is a born caregiver and has always been the most caring and compassionate person that I have met. She has taught me compassion, humility, and understanding. She showed me that a single person can in fact change the world, even if it is just one person at a time. Her legacy is what inspires and drives me to be the best person I can be. The next 52 weeks are for you Mom. I love you.
mom's story
In the summer of 1997, while doing my morning rounds at the hospital, I rounded a corner to go to my next patient’s room and as I turned the corner, I knew instantly that the floors had just been cleaned, but it was too late. I slipped, falling backwards; I could hear and feel my leg breaking in three places. I was rushed to the ER and they put a cast on my leg, assuming that the leg would stabilize on its own without needing surgery.
Sometime during the next week, I was home alone and decided to go sit outside and get some fresh air. When coming back into the house from the back yard, I tripped on my cast and fell. I was worried about protecting my leg and forgot to shield my head, slamming it on the ground. My head felt like I had been hit by a concrete wall. I was able to prop myself up onto the couch to rest, but by the time everyone got home I had forgotten about falling. Around October that same year, while watching TV, I noticed things looked funny on the screen. I covered my left eye and noticed that I couldn't’t see anything out of the right. The next day I saw the ophthalmologist, who assumed that this was caused by high blood pressure, as my blood pressure was elevated that day. I was extremely upset with everything that was happening, so of course my blood pressure was up. I accepted their explanation, as I still could not remember falling months earlier.
I continued to see the doctor over the next few months and every time I returned they told me there was nothing that could be done to save my vision. For the next seven months, I rehabbed my leg, and learned how to live with sight in just my left eye. I learned to drive and also how to do all of my work duties at the hospital. It took some time, but I could even draw blood from the knuckle of a sickle cell child. I was putting my life back together and adjusting with this new disability. Things were different, but I was able to do what I loved, so I was happy. Exactly one year later from when I lost sight in the right eye, while taking care of one of my patients at the hospital, I realized that my vision was disappearing quickly from the left eye. I told my supervisor that I needed to go home immediately before I was blind and could not get home. Things were rapidly getting dim and I was very scared. When I got home, we got hold of the ophthalmologist and I immediately got in to see him. He sent me to see a neuro-ophthalmologist and over the next few weeks I was seeing him 3 times a week because things were getting darker and darker. I was having every test imaginable to try to figure out what was wrong. The doctors were able to finally give what I had a name; Optic Neuropathy. They had given my condition a name, yet still did not know the cause. One night they admitted me into the hospital and had me placed on massive doses of steroids. By the time the steroids helped, the nerve had atrophied and much of my sight was unable to be saved. Had I remembered the fall when it first occurred, they could have possibly saved my sight entirely, but by the time they found the problem it was too late.
I was never able to return to work after losing my sight. I had to give up driving too. It was too hard for me to do those things anymore. It is hard to explain to doctors who think that I can see more than I can. While there is light back in my world, I have no peripheral vision in my right eye. What I can see in the left, it is severely distorted from the right. Objects are shadowy, and sometimes when I go outside all I see is brightness. I don’t see below my chest in either eye unless I’m looking down, so I often run into things that I can’t see. I have to count stairs to remember where the bottom is. If I go into a store, I am very light sensitive. My depth perception is off so I don’t always trust what I see. While I can’t read books, I go every week to pick up talking books to keep my mind active. I thank God that I still have enough sight to see my children grow. My son takes me to sporting events every year, and even though I can’t see the ball, I still love to be part of the excitement. It has been 10 years since I have been in the hospital and I miss my patients. Had this not happened, I would still be working. I cherish every day and know that God has a plan for my life, even if I don’t know what that may be yet.
Do you have a story about how Optic Nerve Disorders have affected your life? If you would like to share your experience, please click here to post your story on the FiftyTwo4Mom blog. Look for the Mom's Story catagory.
