The Aftermath: Days 2 through 4

November 30, 2012 - December 3, 2012

Days 2 - 4: Adjusting to this buckle.

Ok, so I was doing well for a little while. The prednisone kept my pain at bay, and I kept my kleenex box close by for the goo. (By the way, the prednisone drops were kind of milky, so they would cloud my vision- as if it could MORE cloudy, ha- for a few minutes. Then there was some white goo that would end up in the corner...ok, ok, no more gross detail.)

Just kidding! Check out this photo, kind of gross:

The redness is getting more visible as the
swelling starts to go down.
This is Day 2.

This is what my vision was like as this point:

Top Image: Vision in my left eye
Bottom Image: Normal 20/20 vision

I didn't have to do much during the day, so my time was spent watching TV and just trying to heal. It was during this time when I would lay there for hours at a time, flat with my head propped up, and when the TV got boring (which happened about 30 minutes after turning it on), my mind would wander. I started paying attention to every little thing I was seeing in my vision. This didn't start out being a bad thing. But it sure ended up that way. You'll read about that later. 

Sleeping was fairly simple; I was able to sleep at night and didn't have much pain, and only some discomfort. My eyes were very tired by the time about 8 pm hit each night. That was okay though, I wanted to sleep and just focus on getting better. 

My second follow up appointment was on December 3rd. 

Same routine- waiting room, vision test room, exam room. Vision was getting better, pinholed at about 20/40. Pressure good. 

All good signs so far.

I would get sickeningly nervous on doctor's appointment days. It wasn't bad at first. I hadn't had a depressing visit yet. 

Until now.

My eye was already dilated (I would be on dilating drops for 3 weeks total). He looked in. 

Same routine. Up, down, left, right etc.

He pulls away from the equipment. 

"Well the fluid level is about the same, maybe down a little bit, but pretty close to what it was the day after surgery."

Sigh. Not bad news, but not good news. 

After the appointments, my eyes were always irritated because of lights he would shine in them. My right eye was looking good; scar tissue forming where he lasered it and no tears. 

It was that night when things started to slowly hit me. I think the rush of what had happened started catching up to me. I also found out that I would no longer be returning to work. My only job now would be freelancing (photography), and I wouldn't even be able to do that for an indefinite amount of time. 

That was scary. No job, no idea when I would be better. Too much uncertainty. What was going on? 

Next appointment: December 6th.