To preserve Muthart’s optic nerves and prevent infection, doctors performed emergency ocular surgery — a procedure classified under critical care ophthalmology with significant medical malpractice exposure.
During her week in the hospital, she was offered drugs to ease the pain. However, she only accepted them once or twice, as she was committed to staying off drugs.
Diagnosis and a New Path Forward
Following her recovery, she was transferred to a psychiatric inpatient treatment facility, which is where she was officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder — a condition now recognized in early intervention mental health screenings and eligible for long-term disability insurance under psychiatric criteria.
Although life is harder now that she’s blind, Muthart feels ‘optimistic’ about her future and would still love to become a marine biologist.
She concluded:
“It took losing my sight to get me back on the right path, but from the bottom of my heart, I’m so glad I’m here.”
