My appointment today marked six months post-op since my second surgery. Six months since I was wheeled out of Dulaney Eye Institute with my face in my palms, a throbbing in my left eye, and an ache forming in my neck.
In a short six months, I went from completely helpless, to where I am now. I have learned more about dealing with health insurance companies than I ever thought I would. I have a wealth of knowledge about my eye's anatomy, its function, and unfortunately, its dysfunction. But more importantly, I have learned so much about life, humanity, and healing. The love and care you can give and receive is breathtaking. I will never be able to fix my own eyes, or anything else that may go wrong, but I can give unto others what I was so lucky to receive: the faith in humanity and goodness of others.
The appointment:
It was a good one. Everything is stable! Huge sigh of relief. Since it had been three months since I last saw the doctor, I was painfully nervous while in the waiting room. I have a feeling that nervousness will never go away each time I return after a long time between visits. The laser treatment in both eyes looks great, there is no fluid, and my retina(s) are completely flat. So far so good, and I'm not going back until October.
Here is where I'm at:
Below is what my vision looks like in my left eye with glasses on...
It's hard functioning sometimes with limited vision in my left eye. I find myself turning my body or head with my right eye closer to whatever I'm looking at. I definitely favor my right side now because of the inability to see well on the left side. Women will be able to commiserate with this: I have a hard time putting make up on my right eye because I have to use my left eye to see (since my right eye is closed to put on the eye make up). This is impossible for me. So I have to keep my right eye slightly open to see what I'm doing, which usually ends with some sort of make up getting in my right eye and irritating it. But it's all a part of adapting and eventually I may have vision restored on that left side. The doctor believes that the dark spot in my vision is my cataract. A specific cataract that develops from the use of the gas and having eye surgery. He says its smack dab in the middle of my lens, which would explain why I see that dark spot in the middle of my vision.
At this point I just need to call him if anything changes, but he is thrilled with my progress. It is hard to believe that six months ago I was starting my journey through this living hell and now I am back to living life. But I couldn't be happier.
