Thanks so much everyone for all your support & comments and birthday wishes! It is so wonderful to be able to come here, where everyone understands & offers such wonderful support. You guys have really become like a family to me.
Shannon, yes, it is my ophthalmologist, I don't know what happened, I must have gotten distracted while I was typing, as it looks like I only wrote part of the word - oops! Out of all my docs, he knows me the best. I've been seeing him (way too often) for over 20 years, even before my injury a couple years ago. I wish there was something you could do to help, but unfortunately there isn't anything anyone can do other than just being there for me. I am so thankful for your support & prayers, it really means the world to me!
Palady, your post really touched my heart! I can thank you enough for all the support, advice, and of course hugs you've given me over the past few months. Coming to HW as a relative newcomer to CP, you & others have taught me so much & have really helped me to navigate the world of CP. You are the mother hen of the board!

I really don't think I would be functioning as well as I am today without all your help!
fatherjohn, I'm so glad you joined us on HW, already you have added so much to our wonderful family! Your words are so true. It is so very hard to maintain one's identity when suffering from CP. Our pain controls so many aspects of our lives that it is hard not to lose one's self in it. Often times, throughout this process I have felt as if I was and am defined by my eye. At times I feel as if I don't know myself anymore. I have given up so much of what I loved, and my life revolves so around my eye. It is hard to find yourself & keep from becoming lost.
Frances, I don't think that that option is really on the table anymore. Because for the second time now, I did not respond to massive doses of steroids, it is somewhat more unlikely that inflammation is the culprit afterall. The doctor that I was thinking of seeing in Iowa is a neuro-ophthalmologist that sub-specializes in orbital inflammatory conditions, but because my doc is no longer going with the inflammation theory & neither I, nor my parents really have the money to fly me out there & back (not to mention that the doc will almost certainly be out of network for our insurance), I think I'm going to hold off. For now, I'll keep trying to do research & I'll keep looking for someone closer to the region in which I live, but honestly, I'm not even sure what to look for anymore either. I don't even have a theory as to the cause of my severe retro-bulbar pain, optic nerve inflammation, and other eye symptoms, so I don't know what type of expert I'm looking for. I sure hope that I'm one of those people who finally gets an answer, but right now, I'm not so sure. Everyone is stumped.
Skeye