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(Decided to put this in it's own thread, where I should have put it at first anyway, so as not to derail other threads, sorry)
Photo of the injury within 10 mins after it happened, after getting most of the facial bleeding to stop.
Notice that the blood can be seen pooling inside the eye. This drives up the internal pressure tremendously, and occludes vision.
By the time I got to the ER, about 12 hours later, it was a bit over "half full", they actually had considered drawing the blood off with a needle. Ugh.
We had drove/hiked 6 miles into the backcountry to hit a mine site. We had set up camp, and it was dark outside and getting verrry cold, so we started a fire in this big steel box of a stove. Went around gathering and breaking up firewood to fit in the thing. We were placing the wood against this rock ledge and busting them up to make the pieces short enough to fit. Had done it prolly a hundred times over already, over the hours.
I placed a smallish piece of wood down, and broke it with my foot, but the upper edge of it had caught a lip of rock and hurled the 10 to 15lb piece of rock straight into my face. Completely demolished my glasses, headlamp went flying, and I ended up sprawled out on the ground. About 10:30pm.
My right eye felt very strange, hurt like crazy, had blood pouring over my face from a gash above my eyebrow, broken vessels in my eye... had to get out my spare glasses and my mini-medkit that I had previously mentioned on here. Had blood soaking through the 4x4's for a bit, but it finally stopped bleeding. Taped around my head to fresh 4x4's. Couldn't hike out at night... too far, too cold, terrible roads. Too much pain.
Ended up leaving early in the morning. Arranged with my dad for a CHP to meet me at the nearest road, then drove me code 3 to the hospital 60 miles away. I was in so much pain from every bump and jolt on the way coming out that I was crying nonstop, and moaning; and I usually have a high pain tolerance.
Got rushed through the ER sign in, got a cat scan, my bones are all fine, no bleeding in my brain; but my eye is bleeding on the inside and from behind. The pressure in my right eye is at 40. (12 being normal). Got a shot of morphine, and 3 kinds of eye drops and some oral meds.
I have to see my opthalmologist tomorrow morning, and each following morning for a week.
So, I'll know more tomorrow. Till then I've got this plastic shield taped over my eye, and loaded down with medications and pain killers.
I was within a hair or having a medevac flown in, from the intensity of the pain last night; almost more than I could bear, and had no idea what was happening inside my head. Just cried and screamed a bit and made it through the night.
It gives a perfect example of a bad situation that would be easily taken care of when you aren't stuck in the back country.
In the CHP car, on the way to the hospital.
In the ER about to be released.
So, having seen the eye doctor, the result is that we won't know what damage has been done to my eye for a couple weeks. The blood remaining inside my eye will take time to dry up and be reabsorbed by the eye. Until then it gives me the effect of looking through a fogged glass window.
After it has cleared up, I'll take a visual field test and we'll determine what vision loss has occured, compared to my most recent visual field from a couple years ago.
I have to get my pressures checked at the eye doc's office once a day for a week, to insure the pressures are staying low, and that the clog hasn't broken open.
I'm currently on Norco, Diamox, Atropine, Prednisolone, Timolol; and occasional morphine.
The Diamox and Timolol work to reduce the pressure, Prednisolone is a steroid, Atropine is a high strength vaso-dialator, and Norco and morphine are for pain.
And I have to keep a plastic eye shield taped in place over it for the next couple weeks; and am not allowed to do any "physical activity", nor lift anything more than 5lb.
Photo of the injury within 10 mins after it happened, after getting most of the facial bleeding to stop.
Notice that the blood can be seen pooling inside the eye. This drives up the internal pressure tremendously, and occludes vision.
By the time I got to the ER, about 12 hours later, it was a bit over "half full", they actually had considered drawing the blood off with a needle. Ugh.
We had drove/hiked 6 miles into the backcountry to hit a mine site. We had set up camp, and it was dark outside and getting verrry cold, so we started a fire in this big steel box of a stove. Went around gathering and breaking up firewood to fit in the thing. We were placing the wood against this rock ledge and busting them up to make the pieces short enough to fit. Had done it prolly a hundred times over already, over the hours.
I placed a smallish piece of wood down, and broke it with my foot, but the upper edge of it had caught a lip of rock and hurled the 10 to 15lb piece of rock straight into my face. Completely demolished my glasses, headlamp went flying, and I ended up sprawled out on the ground. About 10:30pm.
My right eye felt very strange, hurt like crazy, had blood pouring over my face from a gash above my eyebrow, broken vessels in my eye... had to get out my spare glasses and my mini-medkit that I had previously mentioned on here. Had blood soaking through the 4x4's for a bit, but it finally stopped bleeding. Taped around my head to fresh 4x4's. Couldn't hike out at night... too far, too cold, terrible roads. Too much pain.
Ended up leaving early in the morning. Arranged with my dad for a CHP to meet me at the nearest road, then drove me code 3 to the hospital 60 miles away. I was in so much pain from every bump and jolt on the way coming out that I was crying nonstop, and moaning; and I usually have a high pain tolerance.
Got rushed through the ER sign in, got a cat scan, my bones are all fine, no bleeding in my brain; but my eye is bleeding on the inside and from behind. The pressure in my right eye is at 40. (12 being normal). Got a shot of morphine, and 3 kinds of eye drops and some oral meds.
I have to see my opthalmologist tomorrow morning, and each following morning for a week.
So, I'll know more tomorrow. Till then I've got this plastic shield taped over my eye, and loaded down with medications and pain killers.
I was within a hair or having a medevac flown in, from the intensity of the pain last night; almost more than I could bear, and had no idea what was happening inside my head. Just cried and screamed a bit and made it through the night.
It gives a perfect example of a bad situation that would be easily taken care of when you aren't stuck in the back country.
In the CHP car, on the way to the hospital.
In the ER about to be released.
So, having seen the eye doctor, the result is that we won't know what damage has been done to my eye for a couple weeks. The blood remaining inside my eye will take time to dry up and be reabsorbed by the eye. Until then it gives me the effect of looking through a fogged glass window.
After it has cleared up, I'll take a visual field test and we'll determine what vision loss has occured, compared to my most recent visual field from a couple years ago.
I have to get my pressures checked at the eye doc's office once a day for a week, to insure the pressures are staying low, and that the clog hasn't broken open.
I'm currently on Norco, Diamox, Atropine, Prednisolone, Timolol; and occasional morphine.
The Diamox and Timolol work to reduce the pressure, Prednisolone is a steroid, Atropine is a high strength vaso-dialator, and Norco and morphine are for pain.
And I have to keep a plastic eye shield taped in place over it for the next couple weeks; and am not allowed to do any "physical activity", nor lift anything more than 5lb.
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