Can You Read This Line?

Well, no, not with my right eye, but I can read nearly the whole chart with my left eye.

Went to the eye doctor yesterday. This appointment had been delayed a little over a year because of cancer's move to my brain this time last year.

My eye doctor isn't in a shopping mall. He's a very serious doctor, a surgeon. And he's an interesting guy for sure. My primary physician calls him a "genius."

He's Orthodox Jewish, with the yamika and a full beard. And yesterday he was sporting bright red socks and army boots. He's very amicable, very polite and extremely well-mannered and well-spoken. And he is very, very smart. Oh, and he calls me "brother." I like that. (smile)

For the first forty-years of my life I never knew that I had something called fourth-nerve palsy, until this doctor discovered it upon my first visit, more than a year ago. Fourth-nerve palsy is a condition where both eyes do not work exactly in conjunction with one another. One eye will roll-up or out or down a bit. Often it is caught early on in life and fixed through surgery. The primary result of fourth-nerve palsy is double vision.

The doctor was amazed that I made it through 40-years without knowledge of the condition, and with perfect eye sight.

"You played basketball?" he asked me.

"Yep, I was pretty good too." I answered.

"I don't know how you pulled that off," he said shaking his head.

Well it turns out that I would tilt my head a little until everything came into focus, or I would close my right eye at times and let the left eye do the work.

When I played basketball I always cocked my body a little to the left. This drove my coach in high school nuts who continuously begged me to square off to the basket.

When the doctor found out that I was in the graphic arts he was even more surprised.

As I discussed it with family and friends it all seemed to come together. Many people had seen me working on the computer with the right eye closed. Pictures from childhood showed me with my head tilted slightly to the left.

During and after the radiation treatments the fourth-nerve palsy became very evident, and caused me a lot of eye strain. I've meant to get back to this eye doctor. But as time went on the strain on my eyes seem to continuously improve. It was a moving target for him to analyze. So I waited.

According to the doc, a new treatment has been developed to correct this condition. A series of Botox injections are made in the muscles around the affected eye to convince those muscles to act in conjunction with the other eye.

Seems pretty wild to me. I scheduled an appointment with two of his associates who specialize in this. I'll meet with them in April.

In the meantime I write this blog with my right eye slightly closed.

The doctor again yesterday expressed disbelief that I've functioned this long, and this well, without ever noticing this.

"I thought this is how everyone saw the world," I said to him.

We both laughed.

And by the way, my vision is still terrific. My left eye is definitely stronger than my right. But there's still no need for glasses.