The Eyes have it - but what?

Let's start with the good news...

Overall I've felt much better in the last couple of days: more 'with it' mentally and not so plain ill!
My back seems to be improving too: fewer and less violent spasms, though it still reserves the right to surprise me from time to time!
The infection in my big toe (not sure if I'd mentioned that one before) is also getting better, having been dealt with by a chiropodist who cut back the offending toenail which was the cause of the problem (ouch) and tidied up all my other tooties too.
And the itchiness which was so virulent before is less urgent and uncomfortable now.

However....
Plenty problems still remain.
I am still very weak and the slightest exertion makes me breathless.
My mouth is still very dry and I still have to 'eat' via the NG tube, although thanks are due to my cousin Patience for recommending a brand of cholesterol-free ice cream which means I can continue to enjoy the only normal food my poor mouth can cope with.

Not mine, but pretty similar

My nails are still very brittle and split easily, often tearing down below the quick.

But the real excitement this week has been to do with my eyes....


Last Tuesday I had so-called 'bandage' contact lenses fitted, which cover not just the iris but some of the cornea as well in order to retain as much moisture in the eye as possible. For a couple of days this provided a huge improvement and my eyesight was clearer than it has been for weeks. However, on Saturday suddenly my vision was 
blurred and milky, as if I was looking through a gauze screen, and my right eye became sore and inflamed. On Sunday I removed the contact lens in the right eye to see if it made any difference either to the soreness or to the clarity of vision compared with the left eye. It didn't! By Monday morning, my eyesight was so poor that I could only see things in silhouette, colours were dimmed and I could make out no detail at all. As luck would have it (and the Lady has not often blessed me thus over the last two years), I had an appointment that very morning at the Sutton eye hospital.

Having established at the initial eye test that I could barely read the top two lines on the chart, never mind further down,

the consultant had a good look at both eyes through her scope machine and advised that the outer layers of the cornea in both eyes were damaged and that there was a sterile ulcer in the right eye, causing the soreness. When pressed on the possible consequences, she started talking about breakdown of the cornea to the extent at which the eye has to be surgically removed and/or total blindness! As you can imagine, this was a bit of a rude shock to both me and Julia.

However, all is not yet lost. The final outcome remains uncertain I have been given antibiotic eyedrops to apply every hour(!) and antibiotic capsules to add to my list of drugs to be taken orally. I have to go back on Wednesday to check progress and am being referred to Moorfields eye hospital for a second opinion.

Meanwhile, Dr Julia has unearthed through research on the internet that sterile ulcers are not uncommon in those who have suffered from dry eyes for a long period, as I have, or in wearers of contact lenses (suspicion falls on the prescription of those for my condition). Dr J also advises that the most serious danger arises if the sterile ulcer becomes infected, so I am trying to avoid introducing any infection via my fingers for example.

Anyway, so far so good and my vision is already better just a few hours after dumping the lenses and starting the new treatment. Mind you, that's what I said after the lenses were first put in too, so stop counting those chooks right now.

Don't even try counting them
 

Stop Press: eyes better, back worse, nails still rubbish; and the LTS line inserted in my jugular came out overnight! No blood fortunately, but very annoying because it was only put in ten days ago, the bruising hasn't yet healed and it is needed for ECP treatment this Thur/Fri. Contacted St T's and awaiting their recommendation on what to do next. I favour leaving it for another fortnight before reinsertion because the shoulder is still so raw, but that means skipping another ECP session, so we'll see what they say.