Deidre spent most of her time reading schoolbooks or doing online homework problems. She was in her second year of college and planned to graduate after three and a half years. That meant she took a few extra classes during the summers, but it was a lot more stressful. This last summer had been brutal between working and schoolwork. As her fall classes approached, she found that her desire to be as dedicated to her classes had waned slightly. She was frustrated by this and vowed to do better. She chalked it up to some slight burnout.
About three weeks into the new semester, the temperature outside dropped, and Deidre wanted to go to a movie rather than schoolwork. She had worked hard for the first three days of the week but needed a night off. She gave herself one more hour of studying, then called her friends and made plans. They picked up some food from the dollar menu and headed to the movie theater.
Once inside, she laughed and joked with her friends. It was good to get out and feel like she was doing something she wanted. She was starting to think it wouldn’t be harmful to relax a little on her schoolwork and maybe take fewer classes. Why did she need to push herself so hard to graduate early?
The lights dimmed down, and the movie started. Within twenty minutes, Deidre had a stabbing pain behind her eyes. This lasted for ten minutes, and then it went away. For the next several minutes, she noticed that her eyes were slightly sensitive to the light, and her vision worsened. It got so bad that she had to get up to use the bathroom. When she came back, her vision was mostly better. She wondered if she had just had her first migraine. Her mom had migraines, significantly worse around her menstrual periods.
The movie ended, and Deidre and her friends went their separate ways. The following day, she was back to her usual self. However, over the next few weeks, she discovered her eyes would become fatigued when she was reading or looking at things far away. She went online and found some articles about overtaxed eyes and eye strain. She learned that her eyes might be getting tired due to driving, reading, fatigue, or overusing digital devices.
She bought a pair of blue light glasses from an online store to help with the eye strain. Deidre finished the semester, but her headaches and eye strain were substantially worse during her final exams. She had begun to worry that maybe her vision had changed. She called and set up an appointment with an eye doctor for a visit.
Doctor Becky, the Ophthalmologist, was pleasant. She listened to Deidre’s complaints and symptoms and agreed with some of her conclusions.
“Have you ever had an eye exam before?” asked Doctor Becky.
“Maybe years ago,” said Deidre. “But I don’t remember much.”
“It’s pretty simple. I will check the pressure in your eye first. We will look at some of your light sensitivity and get a good look at the pupil itself. It means we will need to put some drops in your eye. Then we will do a test to see how your vision is. Does that sound good?”
“Sure.”
The exam went flawlessly. But Doctor Becky couldn’t find any change in her vision. Everything else was normal as well.
“So?” asked Deidre.
“You have 20/20 vision. There were no problems or other issues that were seen.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well…with eye strain, the permanent vision doesn’t change. The fatigue causes blurriness, but rest should fix the problem. Maybe if you avoid reading for Christmas break and avoid excessive amounts of time on your phone, you’ll see an improvement when you start up classes again. If not, let me know.”
Doctor Becky also recommended some eye drops.
Deidre had no issues during the rest of her break. But, when classes started again, the blurriness and headaches started back up again. Deidre called Doctor Becky immediately.
Doctor Becky said, “This is curious. I am a little surprised, but maybe we are looking at this a little wrongly.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe this doesn’t have anything to do with your eyesight. My recommendation is that you get a brain scan. This will help us look at the entire picture.”
“If you think so,” said Deidre, but she was more worried than ever.
Two weeks later, Deidre went to a local hospital and had a brain scan. It took another week before Doctor Becky called her back into her office. By this point, Deidre felt helpless. Her headaches were worse, and her blurriness was nearly daily, even on weekends. Her grades had slipped, and she was frustrated.
Diedre asked her mom to join her for the visit. Deidre asked, “Did the scans show us anything helpful?”
“They did, but it took me some time to talk with a specialist to figure out the best treatment for you.”
“Is it something bad?” asked Deidre.
“Not terrible, but something is causing your vision changes, headaches, and more. If left untreated, it could get worse.”
“Is it cancer?” asked Deidre. “I’ve been researching brain cancers and found they can cause symptoms similar to mine.”
“No. It’s not cancer. There is something that we believe is causing the problems. It isn’t eye fatigue though that is one of the primary symptoms, among others.”
“What was found?”
“On the brain scan, there is something called an Osteoma. This is not cancer or something inside the brain that is putting pressure on your brain. You aren’t at risk for seizures or other complications. The Osteoma is a benign head tumor that is like extra growth on your skull.”
“Ouch. That sounds painful,” replied Deidre. “But a tumor doesn’t sound like a good thing.”
“Well…it depends on the meaning behind the tumor. In this case, it is not cancerous, and sometimes it doesn’t even need treatment.”
“I can’t live like this,” said Deidra. “I feel miserable all the time.”
“I know. That is why I called someone and talked to him about the possible treatments. He also looked at the scan. He recommends that we do surgery to remove the piece of bone causing the problems. Its location is probably causing inflammation and other issues, especially when you are reading a lot. He worries that without treatment, your symptoms will get worse.”
“What’s the treatment?”
“Surgery. It is called the Expanded Endonasal Approach or EEA. This is a minimally invasive surgical technique where they go through your nose and remove the tumor. They kind of half to go through your sinus cavity. It sounds worse than it is. You will stay overnight in the hospital for one day, and you should be able to go home the next day.”
“If you say so.”
“Once you’re on the other side of this, you’ll be thrilled you had the surgery.”
“Let’s do it.”
A few weeks later, during spring break, Deidra was checked into the hospital for surgery. Like before, she was anxious and wasn’t sure what to expect. Of course, she had seen Doctor Becky who had provided lots of encouragement. She had also met with the surgeon and was explained the process and this did alleviated some of her stress. But she wasn’t sure he was actually ready to have surgery though her nose.
The nurses at the surgical center were incredible. They were kind and helped answer all of Deidra’s questions. By the time she was wheeled back, she was ready. The surgery went perfectly, and when she woke up, she was surrounded by her doctor and a few nurses. Her family came and saw her for a few minutes. She needed some more sleep, and a few hours later, felt much better. She had done so well, that she was sent home that evening. She rested for the remainder of spring break.
She resumed her studies and reading without much of a delay. She had alwasy thought her issue was eye fatigue, but her symptoms resolved completely. She was suprirsed how well she recovered. Her only remaining symptom was an occasional nosebleed. She was able to graduate early.
