Headed over to Retina Consultants of the Midlands, where they advised planning for a minimum of 3 hours. After a good deal of waiting, multiple scans and images were captured of both eyes. Dr. McGill then met with me and conducted an ultrasound on both eyes. He was uncertain about what exactly was happening — it didn’t appear to be a typical case of eye cancer. His concern was that it could be a “met” that had originated from somewhere else in the body.
“Do you have your PCP’s phone number?” I said yes I do. As it turned out, I actually had an MRI scheduled for the very next day to have my back scanned, which felt like fortunate timing given everything that was happening. I was dealing with extreme back pain at the time, the kind that makes even the simplest daily tasks feel nearly impossible. I had been actively working with the spine clinic to explore options and see if there was anything they could do to identify the source of the pain and hopefully relieve it. Two years prior, I had suffered a bulged disc in my back that had caused an impingement of the nerve running down to my legs. The pain and loss of function that came along with that injury was absolutely debilitating. That particular ordeal was significant enough to be its own story entirely — in fact, things had gotten so bad during that episode that the squad had to come and physically pick me up off the bathroom floor before transporting me to the ER. It was one of the scariest moments I had experienced, and it left a lasting impression on me about just how serious back injuries can become when they reach a certain point. Now, here I was again, dealing with my back, hoping that this time we could get ahead of things before they escalated to that level once more.
We reached out to my primary care physician right there in the office and after explaining the situation, we were able to get a CT scan of the abdomen ordered. The order was then submitted and successfully put through insurance for coverage approval.
On the way out of the office I rolled my left ankle after standing up, and nearly fell in the office.
