Post by zeke on Nov 4, 2019 10:51:29 GMT -8
So, I will give an update here as well.
After returning from the Canyon in April, I was diagnosed with macular degeneration and was being treated for such with an injection of Avastin into the eye every 4-5 weeks. I had good days and bad days, vision wise, but never got down about it. Something about my make-up just allows me to go about life with whatever cards are dealt to me.
In late Aug, I noticed a big downturn in my vision. I could no longer see even the biggest letters on the eye chart, glasses or none. The Dr commented on it during my Sept visit, but didn't seem too worried about things. When my Oct visit was not any better, they did a more thorough exam and discovered a completely detached retina. They sent me to their highly skilled surgeon (Harvard trained and did 2 years with Cleveland Clinic just doing surgeries) for pre-op exam and he commented on the scar tissue build up from where the eye had tried to heal itself. He was very careful not to tell me his opinion of how long the eye had been trying to heal from this detachment. He also spotted a small tear of the retina in my other eye, and fixed it in his office that same day. So, each eye has had something done to it within the last week.
Post op exam has me seeing some of the eye chart, even without my glasses. I have an oil bubble in my eye, placed there to aid in keeping the retina in place while things heal. So, my vision is going to be somewhat blurry until Jan when they go back to remove the bubble. I really won't know if I truly have Macular degeneration until then. It may have been the retina this entire time, but MD does run in my Y chromosome family.
As long as the repairs succeed, I'm good with my Drs. The end goal being that they got it right, even if eventually. The first day after surgery was painful, but much better now. It has been 4 days, with improvements each day.
Thanks to all of you who sent me well wishes and kept me in your thoughts. I feel like this procedure will allow me many more years of use out of that eye, so I can enjoy my outdoor endeavors for some time yet. I'm glad that what I was seeing while at Pickle Gulch was not the full extent of my future vision out of that eye.
After returning from the Canyon in April, I was diagnosed with macular degeneration and was being treated for such with an injection of Avastin into the eye every 4-5 weeks. I had good days and bad days, vision wise, but never got down about it. Something about my make-up just allows me to go about life with whatever cards are dealt to me.
In late Aug, I noticed a big downturn in my vision. I could no longer see even the biggest letters on the eye chart, glasses or none. The Dr commented on it during my Sept visit, but didn't seem too worried about things. When my Oct visit was not any better, they did a more thorough exam and discovered a completely detached retina. They sent me to their highly skilled surgeon (Harvard trained and did 2 years with Cleveland Clinic just doing surgeries) for pre-op exam and he commented on the scar tissue build up from where the eye had tried to heal itself. He was very careful not to tell me his opinion of how long the eye had been trying to heal from this detachment. He also spotted a small tear of the retina in my other eye, and fixed it in his office that same day. So, each eye has had something done to it within the last week.
Post op exam has me seeing some of the eye chart, even without my glasses. I have an oil bubble in my eye, placed there to aid in keeping the retina in place while things heal. So, my vision is going to be somewhat blurry until Jan when they go back to remove the bubble. I really won't know if I truly have Macular degeneration until then. It may have been the retina this entire time, but MD does run in my Y chromosome family.
As long as the repairs succeed, I'm good with my Drs. The end goal being that they got it right, even if eventually. The first day after surgery was painful, but much better now. It has been 4 days, with improvements each day.
Thanks to all of you who sent me well wishes and kept me in your thoughts. I feel like this procedure will allow me many more years of use out of that eye, so I can enjoy my outdoor endeavors for some time yet. I'm glad that what I was seeing while at Pickle Gulch was not the full extent of my future vision out of that eye.
