Okay, I’ve finally started the doctor rounds. Yesterday was an optomalogist appointment. I really haven’t been able to see very well out of my right eye since I fractured my skull. I wasn’t thinking it was going to be useful, but I was wrong, as usual here.
The guy I saw, i’d never met before. He says he used to race bicycles, criteriums mainly, when he was going to school in Florida. Now he climbs mountains. Pretty nice guy.
As it turns out, he did a ton of stuff. He took pictures of the insides of both my eyes, measured the thickness of the lenses and lots of other stuff. I have about 30 minutes of energy in me and this took close to 3 hours, so I eventually just sat, then did whatever his staff asked.
As it turns out, my right eye got pretty squished from my brain slamming forward on it. Squished enough that it isn’t too happy and needs some attention. It doesn’t sound like I have to have any surgery or anything, but I guess I’m supposed to take some more steroids, like for a while. He told me that I need to come and see him pretty often and it will probably take over 3 months before we know exactly how it is all going to work out.
Wow. Three months from now is the end of January. The steroids cost something close to $300 at the pharmacy, for the first round. I’m going to research the whole thing a little bit before I commit to this whole deal. Steroids and these TBI’s don’t sometime like to get along that great.
I have a neurosurgeon appointment this morning at 10 am. That is 8 hours from now. I think it is the final appointment with him. I’m hoping, plus assuming, that I don’t need any head surgery as of now, so this should be a easy one. I have more appointments next week at KU Med, where I guess I’m going to find out better how long this whole thing is going to take. I’m planning on getting on a new drug regiment then. Hopefully something that will allow me to expand my night from 3 hours sleep to something closer to normal, like over 6 at least. These days are so, so long, like only 2 hours sleep last night.
The Cubs did pretty well last night. Incredible they hadn’t won the World Series in 108 years. Probably a pretty happy bunch of baseball players. Trudi is pretty happy, since Chicago is her home town.
Okay, time is about up. Funny how short of a time I can concentrate on any given thing now. Guess it is all part of getting better. Pretty slow going though.
Pretty modern eye doctor’s office.
Guess this is a photo of the inside of my eyes. Seem sort of veiny.
Dr. Marefat looking over all the data he collected. Super good guy. Really good doctor.
Good morning my friend. I started to write Job 1 is to take care of yourself and then I went to Job 1 and see: There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. Funny, not the land of Oz. It’s a book about suffering. Anyhow, I don’t want to be no chattering chain, I simply want you to know that you’re loved and you will be comforted in your suffering. HE takes care of the sparrows, so don’t mind no money the best you can, it’ll work out; its your health while you’re here, climb that mountain, see what you can see. Only the best students get the hardest lessons. From suffering into blessing and restoration.
I had to do some math to post this. I’m so thankful for my life today.
I feel for you Steve. I hate being hampered by so much as a cold or headache so I imagine this is pretty demoralizing for you. Just try to wrap your head around the fact that this is not something like a broken hip where you can kind of hobble your way back onto your bike before you actually probably should.
I know that your life has pretty much always been bike racing but understand that bike racing is not life. There are MANY that have had their careers cut short by injury. Think about football players and motorbike racers not to mention cyclists. All good things come to an end. Not saying that “this” is the end but it very well could be. Do yourself a favor and try to forget about the bike for now.
There were some really good ones in today’s post.
“I have about 30 minutes of energy in me and this took close to 3 hours, so I eventually just sat, then did whatever his staff asked.” No kidding?! What a novel concept!
“It doesn’t sound like I have to have any surgery or anything, but I guess I’m supposed to take some more steroids, like for a while. He told me that I need to come and see him pretty often and it will probably take over 3 months before we know exactly how it is all going to work out.” “I’m going to research the whole thing a little bit before I commit to this whole deal.” Hmmm, you say he’s a “really good doctor”, but I agree – you should do some research for a while with a TBI before trusting his advice.
“Funny how short of a time I can concentrate on any given thing now. Guess it is all part of getting better. Pretty slow going though.” You guess?! As many times you’ve written something close to this statement, I wonder when you will actually believe yourself.
Finally, while reading the blog the past few days – I’ve been wondering. What city is Trudi from?
Be patient Steve. 3 months (and a few hundred/thousand bucks) is nothing compared to the quality of your eyesight for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. I don’t know what the affect of your eye injury is, but w/o 2 good working eyes, which provide you with 3D vision, riding a bicycle will be difficult/dangerous.
Speaking of baseball, most pitchers have to take a full year off of throwing a baseball for ‘Tommy John’ surgery. A year! This is your brain. You should probably not be on a bicycle until next summer, or later.
Listen to your doctors.
TO blue jays gonna kick some butt 🙂
interesting how the eye gets squashed like that.
I bruised some ribs about 3 weeks ago now, took a corner on wet pavement in a construction zone (we have construction everywhere now, its the new economic stimulus action plan… I call it the new crack addict economic action plan… doesn’t do much for the long term but just raises taxes and debt).
Anyhow, went down hard.
Noticed my bowl is impacted along with other organs. Guess the swelling around the ribs pushes everything aside.
I gotta cut back on the cake I guess to make room for the swelling 🙂 damn, I love cake and icecream 🙂
That doc really does look cool man. Looks like he’s actually paying attention and is LOOKING at results.
$300 for cortisone? What rip off. Dexamethasone most likely.
I think what makes Steve so unique is also the reason why he has been so successful for so long. I think Steve is fine the way he is. That is why I enjoy reading his blog. Get well soon.
Having been through masses of issues with “health care professionals” it seems like when they don’t know what to do, they prescribe steroids……..very smart to listen with caution to that advice, and get a opinion, from maybe what another poster suggested, a neurological opthamologist. Sometimes what these guys want to do, either doesn’t solve the problem, or makes it worse. Just because someone seems sharp and is a nice guy, doesn’t mean they’re a really good doctor. I almost ended up with spine surgery I didn’t need, where the radiologist wrote no cord compression, but I was referred by a GP to a neurosurgeon, and he wrote “cord compression” on my diagnosis to push through a disc replacement. Finally went for yet another opinion at UC San Diego Health (they are a teaching college and are up on all the latest studies etc) and found out my mountain bike crash plus some other trauma had caused a condition called frozen shoulders. Had almost two years of down time with one misdiagnosis after another, and yes the GP wanted me to take steroids, rheumatologist put diabetes and hypertension on my diagnosis (all BP readings for the entire two years were 90 over 60 and I’ve never even been at risk for diabetes) and quack neurosurgeon wanted to do a complete disc replacement just to make $25K from the insurance.