Reset, Review

Yesterday I stuck a foreign body in my eye and raked it across my cornea. Just like that. I knew the moment I did it that it could be trouble. It was one of those moments like watching a glass fall from your hands or running through a stop sign in full view of a police car. I couldn't take it back. I was in a hurry and applying eyeliner. I swooshed the pencil across the place where my lid should be except my lid wasn't closed - it was open.

Crap.

I blinked, blinked, and blinked some more. I pulled out a magnifying mirror and attempted to see what I knew I'd never see without stain and someone else's eyes. I went on with my day. I more or less forgot about it except for a little mild irritation and a couple sneezes in the afternoon. Then I got in my car to drive into Houston for an art opening. It was dark and I was facing oncoming headlights and I had a telltale halo effect.

Well, this wasn't good.

I stayed out a couple hours and headed home.

When my eyes aren't feeling good I experience fatigue. I arrived home around 9:30, feeling like I'd read about a hundred pages of a difficult book but still without any scleral signs: no redness or discharge. My goal was to get to bed as soon as possible. My phone rang and I reluctantly answered. I'd been expecting this phone call.

Could I see clear to ignore the last few days of noncommunication? A difficult situation had come up and he didn't really know how to handle it but it had nothing to do with me. Maybe we could just pick up where he had dropped us off?

Suddenly I saw the red (flags).

My fatigue became overwhelming enough to prompt me to end the phone call and the day. Wishing him a healthy, happy life I bade him goodnight and goodbye.

My pillow felt cool and welcoming as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

This morning I awoke to the relief of the realization that I'm still young enough to heal pretty darned fast. My eye is fine and my sight seems to be normal.

Here's looking at you.