Tonight I went to five a side with the intention of having a good run about, since I missed a game last week while on holiday. I say five a side, but only seven of us turned up, so we decided to play three against three and one in goal.
We’d played for about a minute – I had a shot on goal blocked, and my team of three were attacking again. I went to pass the ball to Chris, past Deniz when the ball rebounded off of Deniz’s knee, right into my eye. I had no time to blink and it just hit me full force on the eyeball.
At first I went down to the ground holding my eye, thinking it would just be a stinger and I’d be okay in a minute or two. After about ten seconds I tried to look up and everything was just a blur. I could only make out colours and shapes, but that was it – everything was mess and my eye was throbbing like hell.
After a minute or two and some welcome Volvic for an eye-wash from Beppe, it became obvious that this was more than a poke in the eye style stinger.
Being the wuss that I am, naturally I went into headless chicken mode. Hey, what can I say, when most of the things I do depend on my sight, losing it is my worst nightmare. (well, waking up without my penis is my worst nightmare!)
I raced home in the car – how I got back with one eye I will never know, ‘cos I couldn’t judge distance to save myself – and ran into the house in the direction of the fridge for some ice. Fliss helped out, getting it into a poly bag and then a tea-towel so I could hold it against my eye, which by this point was almost completely washed out vision wise and aching like hell.
I’ve had ear-ache, tooth-ache, stomach-ache and almost every kind of other-ache I can think of. But eye-ache is a new one on me and it’s not fucking pleasant I can tell you.
Anyway, to cut a long one, we ended up at St Pauls eye hospital in the city after what seemed like an age on the bus. According to the nurse there my eye-pressure was 33 and I would later find out from the eye doctor that normal eye pressure is between 11 and 21. That could explain why it felt like it was going to pop at any moment.
After the thing being stuck in my eye to take the pressure I had x-rays of my “orbits” taken, before waiting for around 40 mintes to see the eye doctor. By the time I got to see her my sight had returned quite a bit and I was breathing easier.
The eye doctor lady was kind of cool – told me off for walking too quickly when she called my name; “SLOW DOWN! You have a bleeding in your eye, you have to take it easy!” she said firmly as I jumped from my seat. I’m thinking it might have been handy if the nurses had told me that an hour before. Not that I was break-dancing on the pavement while we waited, but a little feedback would have been nice. Once in her room, she shone really frickin’ bright lights of various colours into my eye, put drops in that numbed it and then took my pressure again. It was down to 25 at that point and I felt pretty relieved.
Anyhow, we have the Leeds festival to go to tomorrow and Saturday. Going to see (now that I can again) kewl rawk bands like Good Charlotte, Blink 182 and Sum 41. Lots of bounding around and pogo-ing would normally be on the menu. But not for me. Eye doctor lady told me I should really be bed resting for 48 hours – I’m not to drink, take part in physical activity or do anything at all that might cause secondary bleeding… which is a Very Bad Thingtm, apparently. I have to go back and see her again on Sunday at 11am so she can check my pressure is returning to normal – fingers crossed everything is on the mend by then.
I can tell you honestly that this is the scariest injury I’ve ever had – I don’t think I’ve been more frightened for a long time. So with that in mind, big thanks to the eye doctor lady at St Pauls primary eye-care unit, who was very re-assuring at a very freaky time.
