I agree that time is of the essence under the circumstances.

I have never been diagnosed with GCA but I did have recurrent flares of uveitis. An inflamed red eye was hard to ignore and was obvious to anyone who saw me. Other symptoms included blurry or foggy vision, floaters, photophobia and occasional flashes of light before being unable to see. For me, there were plenty of symptoms but not too much pain before I couldn't see. Even when I couldn't see, my uveitis flares responded quickly when I took 100 mg of prednisone.

I'm grateful for the ophthalmology department at the nearby University. I knew the phone number from memory and could call it any time of the day or night and someone always answered. All I needed to do was mention "uveitis" and I was immediately asked how soon I could come in to be seen. It could be a holiday ... it didn't matter because there was always an ophthalmologist who handled emergencies.

I got somewhat nonchalant about uveitis because I could somewhat tell how serious each flare was. Some flares of uveitis developed more slowly than other flares. I once went to a rheumatology appointment with a red eye. My rheumatologist immediately asked me if I knew that one eye was red. I knew but I didn't call the ophthalmology department yet. My rheumatologist called the ophthalmology department for me and refused to see me until I went to see the ophthalmologist first.

My rheumatologist always asked me about symptoms of GCA after I was diagnosed with PMR. She made sure I knew those symptoms and what to do if I ever had the symptoms. I frequently had facial pain because of trigeminal neuralgia and that can be mistaken for symptoms of GCA.

Trigeminal neuralgia and GCA are both conditions that can cause facial pain, but they are distinct entities with different causes and mechanisms. Alterations in the innervation of the eye by the trigeminal nerve can also affect vision.

I had surgery for trigeminal neuralgia but now I have neurotrophic keratitis as a complication from the surgery. I'm at risk of developing a corneal ulceration. Treatment is aimed at corneal protection and preventing vision loss.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431106/#:~:text=Neurotrophic%20keratitis%20is%20a%20degenerative,this%20condition%20experimentally%20in%201824.
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Sometimes I think it is a miracle that my vision is still relatively good. Except for the medical specialists I have seen, I probably wouldn't be able to post this.

"Access to medical care" is part of the problem and receiving a correct diagnosis and treatment is the other part. I was lucky and didn't have any problems with either part.