I didn't see it coming. Years ago, kids would say, "Cross my fingers and hope to die, stick a…read moreneedle in my eye" when they wanted to prove they were telling the absolute so-help-me-God truth. But I never thought I'd be crossing my fingers, hoping I won't go blind and telling a surgeon to go ahead and stick a needle in my eye. At least that's what reattaching a detached retina initially sounded like to me. Boy, was I wrong!
It all a started with something creeping into the bottom of my right eye, like maybe a small animal running past me down low. I mistook it as an early "floater," signaling the need some day in the future for cataract surgery. But it grew like a rising moon, blocking a third of my right-eye vision, then about half, then three-quarters. If I had gone earlier to my ophthalmologist, I might have had a relatively quick laser fix but, instead, I squirted some Visine eye drops in hopes it would somehow magically clear my vision. A speedy trip to my ophthalmologist would have been a better choice because it is considered an "emergent " problem that merits immediate attention. I waited a little too long but I got in touch with my ophthalmologist at Cascadia Eye in Stanwood who suggested regional eye specialists at Pacific Northwest Retina with clinics in Bellevue, Bellingham, Burlington that specialize in these types of surgeries. They performed laser surgery in Bellevue on the very same day as multiple clinic team assessments were made in Bellingham. The travel from one to the other was well worth it. All doctors and staff were very pleasant, very talented, fun to be with, and very efficient to process and complete the surgery without waiting.
The technology is amazing and more than I can wrap my brain around but, as I understand it, the surgeon put my torn retina back in it's place and held it where it belongs with a temporary gas bubble holding it there, then fastened it with laser flashes -- done with partial anesthesia and zero discomfort. The commonly used short acting gas Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) expands mildly then slowly shrinks 2 to 3 weeks after surgery.
Like most unexpected challenges in life, the recovery process is a good opportunity for "time-out" soul searching, life review "insights", meditation, playing calming music and listening to upbeat audible books. Some people prop up a mirror on the floor to watch television from a rented $200-$400 per week ergonomically designed face-down chair. I used rolled up quilts and pillows to do pretty much the same thing in my recliner chair.
You will appreciate a patient partner, like my professional retired wife Julie, who keeps an eye out for you, so to speak, and squirts eye drops several times a day for the next four weeks. Keeping the gas bubble pressed against your retina is the key to a positive outcome. That process may arguably be the most difficult part -- sitting face down looking at your feet, elbows on kneels and hands holding your head up makes you look like a worn out old patient in crisis with a headache but it really is the vital key to restoring sight and gives some comfort too. When walking around, you will need to stoop over a little bit, head down "nose to toes." This regimen is necessary 90 percent of the time for at least three days with only a few catnaps likely. I spent the nights sitting in a recliner, bent over a thick rolled-up quilt face down on pillows stacked on my knees. (Oddly enough, the only discomfort was neck and back pain similar to whiplash due to the constant downward position.) Similarly, sitting in a chair face down on a pillow at the edge of a dining room or folding table works too. After three days face down you graduate to gathering pillows and blankets for a living room campout, sleeping upright in a recliner for about a week.
As the healing process continues with a few headaches and tears, it's a bit like walking with one eye submerged in a swimming pool as the bubble very slowly oozes down a little bit more day by day. Before you know it the bubble recedes and your vision returns to varying levels. Each patient's outcome is said to be slightly different. But oh so better than losing sight in an eye.
