I have been nearsighted for as long as I can remember. I needed 4.50 diopter glasses when I was in Grade 4, and had 8.50 diopter glasses by the time I wore contact lenses in high school. By the time I had LASIK surgery in 1999 my eyes had deteriorated to 12.5 diopter. Even through I enjoyed close to 20/20 vision after LASIK, I was always warned that my eyes would always be severely myopic and at risk for retinal detachment. But, of course, I always thought that those things happened to other people...
So around 3-4 years ago my eyes post-LASIK had deteriorated to the point that I needed to wear my glasses all the time. I was up to around 2.5 diopter so it was nowhere near where I was prior to LASIK. When I went back to where I had my LASIK performed, in the hopes that an enhancement procedure could be performed, I was told (after a battery of tests) that I had the beginnings of cataracts, and hence would be like a "moving target". Having just hit my 40s this was a little disturbing to hear, and also disappointing in terms of my getting my vision corrected. As my vision started deteriorating to the point of needing my glasses redone almost every month, I switched to using gas permeable contact lenses upon the suggestion of my ophthalmologist, same type of lenses as I had used prior to LASIK, to stabilize my vision. And it worked out pretty well for me until early this year.
By March of this year, my eyes had gotten so much worse that it was last year that my ophthalmologist referred me to see Dr Siepser, who specializes in post-LASIK vision correction. I finally went to see Dr. Siepser in August. The diagnosis of cataracts on both eyes, to the point that my eyes could not be refracted for glasses, was not a surprise, but was still surprising - cataracts happen to OLD people, not to gals in their mid forties! My ophthalmologist cousin suggested that my cataracts are most probably congenital, as LASIK does not cause it. Doomed to bad vision, I accepted my fate.
I had cataract surgery on my left eye on Friday, September 14. Through a small incision in my eye, the old lens was taken out and replaced by a Crystalens, which would allow me to have good near and far vision once I heal, although additional LASIK enhancement may be required, which was included in my treatment. Straight out of the outpatient operating room, I could see so clearly out of the left eye that I asked why both eyes were not done at the same time. I found out why later that night, when my vision darkened in that eye, as I was told to expect. In bright lights, my left eye saw really clearly but indoors and in darker settings, vision was obscured. My post-op appointments on Saturday and on Monday were good, I was healing as expected and could resume normal activities, although i was warned that things may get worse before they got better.
By Wednesday, September 19, I was seeing so clearly from my left eye that I had the cataract surgery for my right eye scheduled for the following week, Friday, September 28. By Thursday I was thinking I had jinxed myself coz somehow my left eye seemed blurry, but I was not worried coz I WAS told that things may get worse before they got better. By Friday, my left eye was still blurry, and there was a small blind spot or dark circle forming on the lower left corner of my field of vision. I was not sure if this was normal, but over the weekend, I actually got more concerned coz the blind spot was apparently growing, and covered the entire lower left quadrant of my field of vision by Sunday. To make things worse, my right eye was somehow irritated or infected, maybe tired from being the dominant eye for so long, and was painful and red. So I stayed home on Monday and made an appointment to be checked out, not optimistic about having the right eye operated on that coming Friday.
The afternoon of Monday, September 24 was when I was found to have retinal detachment on the top part of my left eye, which corresponded to the black spot (my "new friend" who was always there) on the lower left quadrant of my field of vision. I was immediately referred to a retinal specialist and was told to prepare to go into emergency surgery the following day. The blurriness I had observed from Thursday the previous week was most probably the onset of the retinal tear and eventual detachment, so it was encouraging that over the course of a few days, it had not progressed so quickly.
I saw the retinal specialist on Tuesday morning, September 25, and was scheduled to have surgery at Wills Eye Center in Center City Philadelphia early the next morning, following completion of bloodwork and medical clearance from my family physician. I was already told by the retinal specialist that the detachment was big and was on the upper part of my left eye, and that even after reattachment my central field of vision may be distorted since my macula was affected. By that evening, my "friend" had grown to the point that there was a dark mountain covering the lower half of my field of vision, and I could barely see above it. I prayed for calm, and for strength, for faith that my vision would be saved, that my eye would not go completely dark before I went under the knife. It really felt like the darkness was closing in.
The following morning, my dear friend Chelo who had taken me to all my doctor's appointments this fateful week, once again bravely took the trek with me into Center City for my surgery. We were at Wills Eye by 6:30 am and I was being prepped for surgery an hour later. I was thankful that my vision had not worsened from the night before. I underwent vitrectomy, my vitreous layer replaced by octaflouropropane (C3F8) gas and my retina reattached with a laser. As with the cataract surgery, I was awake the entire time, although i felt like my eye was actually closed but I was seeing lights and not feeling anything in my eye.
Boy, did my eye feel badly beat up after the surgery, like it had gone through 12 rounds with Manny Pacquiao! I was told to take it easy, no bending or lifting. I could read, watch TV, and be on the computer but no one activity for more than 45 minutes at a time, with 15 minute breaks. I was also to keep my head elevated at least 45 degrees when i slept for a week, since I had gas in my eye, no airplane flights or sky diving, for laughing out loud! I also was not to have water or soap on my face or near my eye for 72 hours, no baths for 24 hours, ugh, lovely, I'll be both blind AND smelly....
I posted my post operation pirate look on Facebook. Looked much better than after I took the patch off that evening, talk about "Halloween" eyes, bloody hell. It looked about as bad as it felt. The eye drops, Tylenol and ice packs helped, and still do. I was told post-surgery to expect to see mostly light but little else out of the operated eye, but i could readily discern colors and shapes which were more defined in bright light. The day after (see me in my green shirt), my eye still looked horrible but I could actually discern more things the closer they were to my eye, and a miniscus of clearer vision seemed to be present on the upper part of my field of vision. It is like my eye is under water, seeing all swirls of light and color, very distracting and psychedelic! It has been getting a little clearer day by day, although it may take 6-8 week for the shroud to completely disappear, and at least two weeks for me to see clearly at least the upper half of my field of vision. It is legal for me to drive with one good eye (!), whether I am confident about doing it is another matter....One day post-op, I started walking as the one allowable form of exercise, being careful to go really slow so as not to sweat, since I could not wash my hair! By Friday, day 2 post-op, I walked about two miles and was just worrying about not straining too much as to feel it in my eyes. I had joked with Chelo about bathing with goggles on, but i was serious, and with my daughter's scuba goggles on, i was finally able to wash my hair... Ahhh, wonderful to feel fresh again but keep my eyes dry.
Another milestone for me today, day 3 post op, to be able to wash the gunk out of my eyes with soap and water, and finally I will be able to wash my face in the shower, little joys I take for granted. My eye is still a little swollen and bloodshot, so i keep my shades on when I can, or have my eye patch. Looking a little better today (see below), the redness is going away and is barely discernable when I am smiling (and my eye gets smaller).
A bigger milestone was driving my daughter to her voice lesson, a short trip which I took with an eye patch on my left eye, to lessen the distractions of my distorted vision. I think I will stick to these short driving trips for now, my right eye does get tired easily, and I do not have good depth perception or good peripheral vision with just one eye, but at least I have mobility and can get around. I am also able to see things a little bit more clearly on the lower part of my field of vision - I can discern the figures on my keyboard when my eyes are about a handspan away from it, I can see my palm, the floor, my feet. How amazing to be so happy to see this much, this little... I am very grateful, I am very blessed and oh so lucky!I still need to work up my eye strength towards being able to work again from home, and I plan to take the time I need to then work towards being able to drive 40 minutes each way on the turnpike to get the work. I should be able to work from home a little but more each day next week, and maybe i'll be driving back to work in 2-3 weeks. I vow to take things easy coz I am still not out of the woods, and am still at risk for re-detachment until I completely heal after three months. Needless to say I am delaying having my right eye cataract operated on until maybe sometime next year.
I will be posting on my progress on this blog,please stay tuned! As I work myself back to being able to bowl, I will continue posting on my bowling blog, JingGalBowls! (http://jinggalbowls.blogspot.com). Right now I am not optimistic about being able to bowl at all in the next couple of months, but of course once I get the go ahead, I would love to bowl, ballroom dance and do Zumba and weight training again. But all in good time, dodging darkness takes time, and for now my focus should be on healing and getting my eye healthy and seeing really well once more. Till next, remember to never take anything for granted!
