Michael called me from school one day to tell me that his right pupil was dilating and his left pupil was constricting. He said it didn't hurt but he could tell something wasn't right. This happened a couple of times before I called our optometrist who told me to bring him in while it was happening. This was tricky because his dilating episodes sometimes only last for 3-4 minutes. However, I did manage to rush him to the optometrist during one of his dilating episodes. Michael was examined and we were told that his eyes were still responding to light and that he had never seen anything like this. He said that we would need to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. Then he threw in a comment about the possibility of a brain bleed which made me worry. Michael started to keep a log of his dilating episodes to see if we could figure out a trigger, but the episodes were random.
I called the Moran eye center to get an appointment with the only neuro-ophthalmologist within 700 miles of our home. I was told that I would need a referral from an ophthalmologist.
So, I checked Michael out of school a few days later for his appointment with an ophthalmologist. While we were in the waiting room, Michael had a dilating episode. They rushed us back to the examination room and again we were told that his eyes were still responding to light, his vision was still good, and the ophthalmologist had never seen anything like this. The ophthalmologist told me that he was glad to see it happen because he might not have believed how extreme it was without seeing it first hand. He told us that he would call the Moran eye center but they were very busy and we might not hear from them for days or even weeks.
The very next day the Moran eye center called me for an appointment. I was both relieved and worried. Relieved because I was hopeful for some answers and worried because they called to get us in so quickly. I wondered if that meant it was something serious.
Here is a picture of Michael's pupils at the end of an episode. You can see that his left pupil is smaller than his right pupil.
We met all the prerequisites for our appointment with the neuro-ophthalmologist at the Moran eye center. We filled out the huge health packet that was sent to us in the mail. We followed all the instructions and arrived early for our appointment. Then we waited......
and waited......
Finally, 2 1/2 hours after waiting in the exam room, I went to the front desk to ask for a vending machine since Michael was hungry. They brought him crackers and water which helped with the wait.
When the doctor finally came in, he diagnosed Michael with Benign Episodic Unilateral Mydriasis. My favorite part of that diagnosis is the 'benign' part because it isn't harmful. The doctor said that often times these episodes are accompanied by headaches which thankfully Michael has not had. The episodes are still occurring occasionally but we feel grateful to know that they aren't harmful in any way. I feel like our prayers have been answered.
