Monday, March 9, 2015

Eye Surgery, Part V

The surgeon said he is focused on me
being able to see single vision again when I look straight ahead.
They can achieve this part through surgery
which will take an hour under general anesthesia. 
Met with the eye surgeon today. The last time I saw him was in October. He told me there was a slight improvement in how my eyes were aligned since the last time I saw him six months prior.  He commented on how it's unusual to see any kind of improvement over that time period.  There's an 85% to 90% percent chance the surgery will work and I will have single vision again.There's a possibility I may have double vision when I move my head from side to side and then my eyes will have to learn to adjust back to single vision again.

Example of double vision I've seen for a year.
When I move my head the right, the images separate further.
 I move my head to the left, the images move closer together.
There's a chance after surgery I will still
see double a little when I move my head.
The brain may auto correct this and merge the images together.
 It can take 3 months for the eyes to adjust to the surgery.
The surgery will take an hour and then once I'm awake I'll be able to tell whether or not the vision is corrected. If an adjustment needs to be made, adjustable suture stitches will hang from my right eye.I will receive eye drops to numb my eye and they'll be able to make the adjustment with me awake. Which should only take 20 minutes if needed. 

It's outpatient surgery and I'll get to go home the same day. See the doctor for a follow up the next day then again in three months. After the surgery it will take three months for my eye to adjust to the changes. 

There's a chance I'll need to have prisms added to my lenses to fix any remaining double vision after the surgery. 

I am both happy and angry about the situation at the same time. Angry because in these situations you make if/then statements. If doctors had listened to me in 2009 and corrected the issues I was having then, I wouldn't be dealing with this now.
Eye contraption

But that's not what happened. I may animate what I feel like doing to the medical professionals responsible for this happening.

2nd view from the waiting area
All the changes in my body over the last year from these brain injuries is an adjustment to make. It's like grief, you have to adjust to living without the relationship. You still grieve for what is no longer there. but You're able to function again like you did prior again over time.  

1st view from the waiting area
Flowers by the front desk.
The doctor asked me whether I had a preference to using the adjustable stitch method or having the correction done. I didn't have a preference for one or the other, however I commented how I could handle seeing the adjustment being made if needed because as I stated, 'After what I've already been through, I shouldn't have any issues with 'seeing" anything once the procedure is complete. I've survived being up at 2am with feeling and hearing the shunt overheat inside my brain multiple times prior to the March surgery. I've had a camera stuck up my nose and down my throat while awake. I don't feel 'seeing' the last part of the eye surgery will freak me out too much. Still weird though.













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