Over the past few months I've:
I have a variety of hilarious stories to tell you all, pertaining to worries about eyelashes falling off during interviews and how I managed to apply eye drops during day-long school visits and walking tours without looking like a crazy person... But I'm going to have to wait to tell you all about that until after my interviews are completed. I don't want to give all my secrets away and then have some member of an admissions committee read about them on here!
But enough about medical school. Let's get back to the endlessly entertaining world of cicatricial pemphigoid. I'm proud to report that my eyes have been fantastic lately. Really fantastic. For instance, I'm now working as a science/English/MCAT tutor, and I can actually last through an entire 2 hour session without needing to use a single eye drop. It's so wonderful. And I know I sound a bit crazy for being excited to go 2 hours without eye drops but hey, that's like a 2400% improvement for me. I'll take what I can get people. Additionally, my eyes look fairly white most of the time and with all 4 punctal plugs in, they feel great. Unfortunately, I've been having trouble with one plug in particular, which first started rubbing my eye, and then fell out - multiple times. The first time it fell out was right before my first medical school interview and I was in a complete panic. As soon as it was gone, I was back to using drops in that eye on order of minutes. My poor boyfriend had to deal with the brunt of the fallout. Every few hours I would turn to him and wail, "I'm going to have to put drops in during my interviews! And then my interviewers will think I'm weird/ rude/ unprofessional!"
This marked the beginning of The Great Punctal Plug Fiasco of 2012. First, I tried to have the plug replaced by my local eye doctor, but all the plugs she had were too small and so the one she placed fell out only days later. Undaunted, I went all the way to Boston, where they had the ability to place an intracanalicular plug, which goes all the way inside the tear duct and therefore, can't rub your eye or fall out. Supposedly. Unfortunately, this plug was misplaced from the get-go. As I was leaving Boston, I actually called the office to ask if I should return before leaving town because my eye still didn't feel right. I was told to give it a few days because what I was experiencing was "normal."
I gave it a few days. It was not normal.
- Taken the MCAT
- Cried all my eye drops out for joy when I got my score back
- Been applying to, and subsequently, interviewing at, various medical schools
I have a variety of hilarious stories to tell you all, pertaining to worries about eyelashes falling off during interviews and how I managed to apply eye drops during day-long school visits and walking tours without looking like a crazy person... But I'm going to have to wait to tell you all about that until after my interviews are completed. I don't want to give all my secrets away and then have some member of an admissions committee read about them on here!
But enough about medical school. Let's get back to the endlessly entertaining world of cicatricial pemphigoid. I'm proud to report that my eyes have been fantastic lately. Really fantastic. For instance, I'm now working as a science/English/MCAT tutor, and I can actually last through an entire 2 hour session without needing to use a single eye drop. It's so wonderful. And I know I sound a bit crazy for being excited to go 2 hours without eye drops but hey, that's like a 2400% improvement for me. I'll take what I can get people. Additionally, my eyes look fairly white most of the time and with all 4 punctal plugs in, they feel great. Unfortunately, I've been having trouble with one plug in particular, which first started rubbing my eye, and then fell out - multiple times. The first time it fell out was right before my first medical school interview and I was in a complete panic. As soon as it was gone, I was back to using drops in that eye on order of minutes. My poor boyfriend had to deal with the brunt of the fallout. Every few hours I would turn to him and wail, "I'm going to have to put drops in during my interviews! And then my interviewers will think I'm weird/ rude/ unprofessional!"
This marked the beginning of The Great Punctal Plug Fiasco of 2012. First, I tried to have the plug replaced by my local eye doctor, but all the plugs she had were too small and so the one she placed fell out only days later. Undaunted, I went all the way to Boston, where they had the ability to place an intracanalicular plug, which goes all the way inside the tear duct and therefore, can't rub your eye or fall out. Supposedly. Unfortunately, this plug was misplaced from the get-go. As I was leaving Boston, I actually called the office to ask if I should return before leaving town because my eye still didn't feel right. I was told to give it a few days because what I was experiencing was "normal."
I gave it a few days. It was not normal.
The plug didn't seem to be doing much of anything at all and I could still feel all my eye drops just falling right down into my nose. So essentially that whole trip was just a giant waste. Cue more panicking.
At this point, I was able to get an appointment with a new doctor in DC. He was able to fit the correct size plug, but scared me a little when he said he was going to "push it down" to make sure it didn't scratch my eye. I knew that the plug he was using wasn't meant to be shoved too far down into the duct though, and I was now extremely paranoid about it falling out again. Luckily, it did not. At least not until a few weeks ago. So this Friday I have yet another appointment to replace the accursed thing.
And so the Great Punctal Plug Fiasco of 2013 has now begun.
In happier news, I recently began using something known as “autologous plasma eye drops.” These are preservative-free drops made from the plasma (or serum) component of one's own blood. This treatment is believed to be beneficial for people with severe dry eye and/or ocular surface damage due to trauma, or diseases such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, cicatricial pemphigoid, etc. The idea behind the treatment is that those with severe dry eye are lacking essential tear components, since their bodies no longer produce tears normally. Generally, these patients are advised to use artificial tears, which are great for providing wetness, but do absolutely nothing to help replace the missing growth factors, proteins, and vitamins (such as vitamin A), that are normally delivered to the eye in healthy tears. This is where the serum/plasma drops come in. The drops are made by spinning blood down to remove the cells. What's left behind is called either serum or plasma. (It's called plasma if the clotting factors are still present, and serum if the clotting factors have been removed.) This portion of your blood is then separated into small vials or tubes and given to you, the patient, to take home and stick in your eye. Since these drops have been made from you, and not some eye drop factory somewhere, they contain some of the good stuff that your eye may have been missing. Presumably, returning these naturally present tear components to your eye is beneficial, and may help to improve existing ocular surface damage. Pretty awesome right?
I've actually only been using these drops for about a month, so I plan to wait a bit longer to write up a real review of my experience with them for you all, but I did want to make a quick mention of this treatment since it's rather unusual in approach. So far, I don't think I've noticed a tremendous difference but I have noticed that my eyes are tending to be less pink if I stay up late. Whether this is just a fluke, or is actually due to the plasma drops... well, I guess time will tell.
So
until next time my friends. May you all have white eyes, copious tear
production, and unobstructed meibomian glands! And all your punctal plugs in the right place...
This post is dedicated to the
wise words of one, Dr. Seuss, who took the time to remind me, in catchy verse, to never ever ever give up on my dreams. Even when life throws horrifyingly named Prickle-ly Perches, Slumps and Cicatricial Pemphigoids at you:
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
