17 1/2 Months

Mr. Mustard started his job up in Santa Barbara on Tuesday. Paprika and I are staying in Los Angeles for the time being and Mr. Mustard will come to visit us on the weekends. Certainly, it's not ideal- but I think it's what's best for all of us right now. Mr. Mustard can focus on his work, and Paprika is so comfortable down here that we should stay put for the time being.

Last Wednesday (a week ago), we had a bit of an accident here and I'm still recovering from it. Paprika and I were playing peek-a-boo with a scarf. I was lying on my back and had the scarf over my face, and when she went to grab the scarf, she fell on me and her fingernail went directly into my eye. Her fingernail cut a sort of pouch in my cornea, and I thought everything would be fine and it would heal on its own, but within a few days it got infected and has been super painful.

I am under the care of an opthamologist, and he thinks that it will heal very well but will take some time. I have an eye patch and have to apply a lot of goop to my eye every day, as well as take special drops. I was worried b/c the drops say that they shouldn't be taken by breastfeeding mothers, but the doctor showed me a way to pinch a nerve in my eye so that the medicine does not circulate into my bloodstream. I am taking such a small amount that it shouldn't matter anyway- and even if it does get in my bloodstream, it's just a mild antibiotic, so it shouldn't cause any problems. I looked it up on the internet (of course) and the warning is just a precaution...kind of like how you're not supposed to drink any alcohol while breastfeeding.

The strangest thing about being patched up like this is that I feel like I'm missing half of my head. It's very disorienting, and I find that I am always losing things and just really not able to keep track of anything. My left eye (the non-injured eye) is very weak compared to my right eye, so it has been quite an adjustment. For example, the other day, I turned around to find that Paprika had taken my eyeglasses and snapped them in half. I feel a little bit like a dog chasing its own tail. I'm definitely adjusting to quickly, though, and managing just fine with one eye. I'm just very grateful that it's not permanent and will be so happy when it's all healed up.