I Was Blind - But Now I See
Sep 30 '05
The Bottom Line Please! Please protect your vision. You are the first line of defense when it comes to guarding your health.
The last seventeen months have been a bit of a blur. PUN INTENDED! I am now looking ahead - though the sight picture is a bit distorted.
For those of you who know the saga - skip right to the BOLD ITALICIZED ending paragraph.
For those of you who are still curious - here is the RDCV [Reader's Digest Condensed Version].
In late April of 2004, Mrs. G and I were vacationing in rural Pennsylvania. I was driving along a peaceful country road when a dark curtain suddenly began to obscure my vision. Within minutes I could see nothing out of my right eye. Mrs. G helped me get our car to the side of the road. We switched seats, she took the wheel and we began our hectic hunt for the nearest hospital.
Three states, three hospitals, and seven physicians later - I finally learned what caused my blindness. It seems that my right retina had spontaneously detached. [Interesting tidbits on this condition can be found at http://www.eri.harvard.edu/htmlfiles/retdet.html#WI or http://www.vrmny.com/retinal_detachment.htm]. Now those of you, who know the person behind the Gungian moniker, realize that I seldom do things the easy way. Not a single - or even double - detachment for moi! Au contraire, mine detached in 7 or 8 spots. To further complicate matters, the macular was already off. The medicos felt that the prognosis was not good for emergency surgery so they dispatched me closer to home for corrective surgery.
On 5 May 2004 my retina surgeon performed a trans pars plana vitrectomy to repair the damage to my retina. Now I am not a fan of surgery under any conditions and this was certainly no exception. For anyone interested in the gory details, you can go to http://www.vrmny.com/vitrectomy.htm. At the same time, she performed another procedure. This involved inserting a tiny flexible synthetic band (schleral buckle) to counterbalance the forces working on the retina.
Both procedures were done at the same time on an outpatient basis at a local hospital. They did insert an IV but administered only a local anesthetic. The surgical team even set up a TV monitor in case I wanted to watch them work on my eye. I declined their kind offer and lay on the table with my good (left) eye tightly closed. Mrs. G drove me home a couple of hours later.
In addition to the usual surgical dressings, a perfluorocarbon or perfluoropropane gas was inserted into the eye. This required "positioning" with my head parallel to the floor for several days. Once again - this was not a fun way to get out of work.
At first my vision seemed to get better but then improvement seemed to tail off. Come to find out that I had developed massive cataracts [http://www.allaboutvision.com/faq/cataracts.htm ] from the first vitrectomy. Sadly, this is not an uncommon complication to that procedure. So, in August 2004, a cataract surgeon removed the cataract and replaced the natural lens with an intraocular lens (IOL). Within a few days my vision improved immensely. I was much relieved.
My relief, however, was short lived. At my next follow-up appointment I learned that I had also developed a new macular hole [http://www.vrmny.com/MH.htm] as well as epiretinal membrane (macular puckering) [http://www.vrmny.com/ERM.htm].
Last Columbus Day it was back to the OR for yet another round of vitrectomy surgery. During one session in the OR, my surgeon performed a membranectomy to remove the scarring on my retina along with a vitrectomy to repair a full-thickness macular hole. Repairing the macular hole was similar to fixing a chipped auto windshield. The surgical team extracted some serum from another body part and "filled the hole".
The final surgical step involved inserting a perfluorocarbon or perfluoropropane gas to help the hole to seal. To maintain the gas bubble positioned against the wound, I had to keep my head parallel to the floor for 16 straight days. I was granted four, 15-minute periods each day to break out of this "positioning". This pretty well translated to no books, no Epinionating, and no films. [Needless-to-say, amorous pursuits were definitely out of the question.]
I did rent special equipment that served to orient and immobilize my head [http://www.vitrectomy.com ]. This meant tummy sleeping only with my head encased in a horseshoe-shaped cushion. I made lots of use of a similarly equipped chair/desk device. This kept me staring at the floor while out of the horizontal bed position. [These devices were a great aid. But I somehow feel that the Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition would have found them quite familiar.]
Inactivity was my greatest trial. I am not in the least athletic - yet lying or sitting immobile for hours was certainly a test of this patient's patience. Mrs. G should be put on the fast track for canonization simply for enduring me. I returned to work slowly - a couple of hours a day the first week and gradually ramped back up to full time. After about three weeks, my vision was stable enough that Mrs. G no longer had to chauffer me.
As this Columbus Day approaches, it marks nearly one year since the final round of surgeries. I have gone through 3 prescriptions for eye glasses and the folks at Lenscrafters recognize me on sight and call me by name. The great news is that the vision in my right eye is back to about 80% of pre-detachment. I can even see through the repaired area - but with a somewhat distorted field of vision. The most limiting residual effect is eye fatigue. I used to read for hours straight. Now my right eye begins to weary after a mere 10 - 15 minutes. It lets me know by gradually closing. Bummer!
I caution each of you - take care of your eyes. Don't dismiss possible early warning signs such as "floaters" or uncharacteristic eye fatigue. If I had been able to see this coming, I may have saved the macular and retained my once perfect vision. I am, however, ever-grateful that God gifted me with the advances in medical science and the skill of my surgical teams. To steal a phrase, "I was blind but now I see."
Write On!
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Location: Falls Church, Virginia
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10/16/06 - Life is hectic - but good! Write On!
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