Eye'm doing fine

The patch came off today, not a minute too soon, and my eye looks gross. In a matter of hours I've gone from seeing nothing but light and dark, to seeing fuzzy objects in front of me, and I know it will continue to improve. I am having discomfort, which I can bear.

Yesterday, waiting for surgery turned out to be like every visit to this clinic - a long wait. Instead of my usual impatience with endless waiting, I sat in a chair and closed my eyes, and felt myself melting into a state of near complete relaxation and well being. By the time I was on the table I remained in that calm state, and when the nurse inserted the port for the IV into my hand, she apologized for the sting of the needle. I told her "You are really good, in fact just about perfect because I didn't feel a thing. Now I have complete confidence everything will go well."

I think she was shocked speechless at that point. The anesthetic made my eye completely numb, but otherwise I was lucid throughout the entire process, which only lasts a few minutes. The eyepatch was taped on and I was soon ready to go home. The surgery experience was excellent, although I miss the residual effect of being "out" for the procedure. Last year I recall I could barely keep my eyes open for 24 hours after the surgery, and I don't remember feeling much pain. This time I felt pain which got worse up till sometime between 11 pm and midnight - since then it is mostly an achy discomfort. I put ice on it for a while today, which seemed to help a bit.

I told the nurse I didn't want a prescription for Vicodin (I hate the stuff), so they wrote it for Tylenol 3 with codeine. Duh, I think the two meds must have similar ingredients and the same reaction to their usage, at least for me. Without going into much detail, the effect is sort of like when I was at Ft. Pulaski this year, and the water pressure at my site dropped to where barely a trickle came out of the faucet! So I would rather suffer pain than go that route.

This morning Jeannie dropped me off on her way to work and Joe picked me up afterward. I asked the Dr. when I could drive, and he replied "Monday". When I dissapointedly said "Awww", he said "Well ok, if you feel ok you can drive tomorrow." Of course I won't try it unless I feel comfortable about maneuvering the F-350.

I so appreciate all the well wishes, prayers, good vibrations, etc. that have been sent my way. They have certainly had good effect, and I can say my operation is a success. Today the Dr. checked my other eye which I worried might have a problem. He dilated it and checked it thoroughly from all angles, and said there is nothing wrong. My next visit is in two weeks and he plans to keep a watch on both eyes.

So there it is. I'm on my way to having two good eyes again, and good vision with glasses of course. I will mainly need them for driving and reading, and I can deal with that.