oh WOW! now i feel like i somehow went through it....i think maybe we need more of this...and reading them might (should) become a mandatory part of medical school. so they can feel the other side of things.....
This is a hard read in places but it is so powerful. The way you move between the lived experience and the chart notes is so effective. It shows that split so clearly, what’s happening in your body and what gets written down as if it’s the same thing.
I felt that sense of not being fully seen, of something being real and visible but never quite taken seriously enough to act on. “Function maintained at cost” really stuck. That quiet expectation to just keep going, even when something is clearly wrong.
The language does a lot here too. The drifting, the distortion, the way things don’t quite hold their shape. It makes you feel it rather than just understand it.
And the ending lands. Naming it as refusal rather than resilience shifts the whole piece. It gives it a kind of strength without pretending any of it was okay.
Thank you so much for reading this so deeply and taking the time to comment. I appreciate you sitting through it with me. You are naming exactly what I hoped would come through here, so thank you. It makes sharing a tough thing a little easier. 🖤
I had something very similar happen to me last year. While not the same degree of vision loss, it occurred in only one eye and i was told I could no longer wear contacts.
And despite multiple visits to an optometrist and ophthalmologist they couldn't figure out what was causing it or how to fix it, which was upsetting.
Thank you, Olly. Truly. I have barely begun to process my own experiences, but it is infuriating that so many share similar stories or worse. I appreciate you reading.
This was wonderful. What a great way to process medical trauma. Glad you got your vision back.
I appreciate you reading. Thank you so much. I am very lucky. 🤍
oh WOW! now i feel like i somehow went through it....i think maybe we need more of this...and reading them might (should) become a mandatory part of medical school. so they can feel the other side of things.....
I love that idea. Thank you so much. I appreciate you reading 🤍
You are a gift to read!
That is so kind. Thank you. 🌸
This is a hard read in places but it is so powerful. The way you move between the lived experience and the chart notes is so effective. It shows that split so clearly, what’s happening in your body and what gets written down as if it’s the same thing.
I felt that sense of not being fully seen, of something being real and visible but never quite taken seriously enough to act on. “Function maintained at cost” really stuck. That quiet expectation to just keep going, even when something is clearly wrong.
The language does a lot here too. The drifting, the distortion, the way things don’t quite hold their shape. It makes you feel it rather than just understand it.
And the ending lands. Naming it as refusal rather than resilience shifts the whole piece. It gives it a kind of strength without pretending any of it was okay.
Thank you so much for reading this so deeply and taking the time to comment. I appreciate you sitting through it with me. You are naming exactly what I hoped would come through here, so thank you. It makes sharing a tough thing a little easier. 🖤
I didn't realize you lost so much vision like that. This piece was phenomenal, by the way.
Thank you. Writing this was my first time really even letting myself think about it all the way. Survival mode is wild.
What an hard piece, Jacqueline, thanks for sharing
Thank you for reading, Nick. I feel fortunate that things resolved on their own, but it was definitely an experience.
The way you describe the shift from left to right and the peeling away of depth is so haunting.
Thank you for sitting with me in it. 🖤
Sitting with you on this one.
I had something very similar happen to me last year. While not the same degree of vision loss, it occurred in only one eye and i was told I could no longer wear contacts.
And despite multiple visits to an optometrist and ophthalmologist they couldn't figure out what was causing it or how to fix it, which was upsetting.
It is so unsettling to not have answers. I am sorry you went through that as well. Thank you for reading.
Oh this makes me so furious for you. The healthcare system has to do better my god the fact no one gave a solid reason or help is maddening.
Thank you, Olly. Truly. I have barely begun to process my own experiences, but it is infuriating that so many share similar stories or worse. I appreciate you reading.