Days 10 - 12 Post-Op: The Red Zone

February 2 - 4, 2013

Thursday's appointment went well, for the most part. My retina was still attached, no infection, and I'm on the right path: right where the doctor wants me to be. The downside? I couldn't have any more face-up time. Still had to be down 95%+ of each day. I was hoping to hear I could have a few more hours of up time.

Oh well.

Gas bubble size: 85%. So as the doctor says, it's still very large and I need to maintain as much face down time as possible.

My vision has been changing every day. I can see the bubble shrinking each morning when I open my eyes. I've been making note how it looks each day, and I'm hoping to make a time-lapse video of what my vision was like from surgery day through the disappearance of the bubble. That will be a fun part of this whole ordeal, for me at least!

Sleeping is still hard, I'm exhausted but it feels like the norm now.

My equilibrium is so adjusted to being face down now that when I am vertical, I stumble around like I'm drunk. The room spins and I teeter back and forth. Fortunately I am only up for a total of 30-40 minutes a day.

Neck and back pain isn't as bad, Advil keeps it pretty dull.

My eye is still swollen, my eyelid in particular. That's mostly fluid though.

Just to prove that no two people, and therefore recoveries, are the same: I did not and still have not had any issues with my eye draining and oozing. Trust me, I'm not complaining, but just because I am experiencing things, doesn't mean you will too. Keep in mind this is just my account and everyone will be different.

There are still moments where I'm frustrated and irritated. When Ryan suddenly says, "oh wow check that out!" while the TV is on, and I don't have my mirror on my tray to see it, I am reminded of the frustration that comes along with this recovery. But again, all minor inconveniences for the sake of vision. Right?

Right.

Keiko likes to play on the chair...

So does Ryan...

Now Keiko bats at Colin Kaepernick.

As I type this out, one of my best girlfriends is sitting in the hospital in labor. She and her husband will be welcoming their son, who will be arriving a little early, but we all know he and mom will do great! Things like being able to visit her, and easily watching the football game (instead of hunched over a small TV, see below), and enjoying the Super Bowl parade tomorrow do spark a little bit of frustration. I can't drive myself to see her and the baby, I couldn't go to a local bar or sit on the couch to watch the game, and I can't go to the parade. Well, I guess I could, but I would only be looking at people's feet. Not too appealing. My mind just has to keep reminding me, "only a little while longer."

Just a few more days. Thursday is another appointment. We will see if my two weeks of face down life will be ending or continuing.

Let's hope I get some time back up in the clouds and off of the ground. It's like I'm in the red zone, and I just have to break the plane.

Ryan rigged a TV for me- my own private viewing screen! He's such a fantastic husband. He deserves a trophy. But I swear, he wasn't the reason the Lombardi went missing briefly! I'll get him his own one day...

My private view!