March 08, 2007

An Eye For An Eye

Today, Son gets off the bus and tells me that someone poked him in the eye. I get him up to the house, have him put a cold compress on his eye, and manage to take a look.

His cornea has a big tear in it.

Trying not to panic, I start making phone calls, only to find that I can't get in touch with his regular eye doctor, and the emergency room at the hospital is no damn help either.

I called up to Wal-Mart, where I go for my glasses, and they say if I get Son there by 5:30, the doc can take a look at him.

Well, it wasn't fun. Son was scared, crying, and in so much pain that the doctor could barely get a numbing drop in Son's eye. But, in the end, Son's eye was looked at, and the doc put a contact lens in the eye, so it could heal. Son has to have antibiotic drops every hour, and will have to go in to the vision center tomorrow and Saturday.

Which means he'll miss another day of school. All because some bastard child on the bus was being a schmuck.

And, once Son is done with the antibiotic drops, he'll have to have drops for the next six to eight weeks, sterile saline drops, to make sure the cornea doesn't tear again.

I hope I don't ever have to hear either of my children scream in pain again.