- Apr 9, 2011
- 417
- 356
As my mom and I were driving home from work she told me about one of her patients she had today. First off, my mom is an optical tech. Usually it's the normal eye exam, get your eye's checked, blah, blah.
So I guess I'll tell the story:
This young girl, 26, called my mom's work saying her eye's "gave out." My mom asked if she could elaborate on what she meant by that. The lady said she couldn't explain. So my mom told her to come in today (12/27) for an exam.
Today she came in and my mom could tell something was up. This woman couldn't stand up straight and her mom had to assist her to the exam room. My mom started the examination by asking her what was wrong with her eyes. The woman said she has dealt with anorexia and bulimia for the past 11 years. She had recently gone to the doctor's and he gave her about 2 months to live. She said both of her kidneys have failed and her organs have begun to shut down. So this all started to come together, my mom realized that her eyes were so oxygen deprived that essentially her eyes really did give out. My mom asked her when the last time it was she ate and she said she could recall having a sip of water two days ago.
Near the end of the exam this woman told my mom that she has accepted she would soon die because the damage that has started cannot be reversed. She said the one thing that she wants to be able to do is that when she does die she can see where she's at and see her family be there by her side. And that was all she said and my mom told her she'd get her some glasses.
This story broke my heart. I can't imagine dealing with such awful diseases for so long. It's impossible for her to ever recover since her organs have started shutting down. I'm assuming that she's not in a hospital because she wants to be with her family for the next few months. Gosh, this just kills me though.
So I guess I'll tell the story:
This young girl, 26, called my mom's work saying her eye's "gave out." My mom asked if she could elaborate on what she meant by that. The lady said she couldn't explain. So my mom told her to come in today (12/27) for an exam.
Today she came in and my mom could tell something was up. This woman couldn't stand up straight and her mom had to assist her to the exam room. My mom started the examination by asking her what was wrong with her eyes. The woman said she has dealt with anorexia and bulimia for the past 11 years. She had recently gone to the doctor's and he gave her about 2 months to live. She said both of her kidneys have failed and her organs have begun to shut down. So this all started to come together, my mom realized that her eyes were so oxygen deprived that essentially her eyes really did give out. My mom asked her when the last time it was she ate and she said she could recall having a sip of water two days ago.
Near the end of the exam this woman told my mom that she has accepted she would soon die because the damage that has started cannot be reversed. She said the one thing that she wants to be able to do is that when she does die she can see where she's at and see her family be there by her side. And that was all she said and my mom told her she'd get her some glasses.
This story broke my heart. I can't imagine dealing with such awful diseases for so long. It's impossible for her to ever recover since her organs have started shutting down. I'm assuming that she's not in a hospital because she wants to be with her family for the next few months. Gosh, this just kills me though.
