Señor Terremoto sporting his night-time eyepatchI'm probably going to be offline for a bit -- my husband had surgery to repair a detached retina about a week ago and he must remain in a face-down position much of the time for approximately two weeks. He is allowed to be up to eat and shower, but that's about it. We rented a chair that resembles a massage chair -- with a special U-shaped face support -- and he sleeps on a special foam pad setup that we bought just for the occasion!! He has a two-way mirror that's supposed to let him watch TV or movies, but it's not an ideal way to view the world.
And now the moral of this tale: if you have any odd visual symptoms -- new floaters, hazy vision, bursts of light -- speak up!! And get to an opthalmologist as soon as possible!! Treated early, a detached retina is likely to be much less disruptive to your life.
Ouch! Glad they caught it in time for it to be repaired but didn't know it was such a hassle - of course, to really put a good spin on it, he could ask for a masseuse to go along with that massage table :) Then maybe he'd share?
ReplyDeleteDang!! Wish I'd thought of that!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI hope you "pirate" is better soon! I had serious floaters earlier this year; they were being watched to catch detachment [if it happened] early. Vision is still a bit off in left eye, but thankfully no surgery needed. Take care!!
Kathryn, I went through a scare like that some years ago -- the floaters do sink eventually, if it's anything like my experience.
ReplyDeleteChris, I hope your hubby has a full recovery! I'm sure this is a trying time for you both. Good advice, when it comes with our vision it's nothing to mess with!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good wishes, Carrie -- and I hope to be back online soon!!
ReplyDeleteOh - that's no fun. Not able to paint or do much. Wishing him a very speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good wishes, Adrianne!!
ReplyDeleteI hope your hubby is feeling better soon. Why does he have to be face down? I know nothing about detached retinas but can't figure out why being face down is required. Please enlighten me. Hope all is better soon.
ReplyDeleteNancy, thanks for your good wishes. He's actually feeling well, just very bored. There was only a day or two of discomfort with this procedure.
ReplyDeleteHe has to be face-down because they put a bubble of some sort inside the eye to push the retina back in place. Since bubbles want to float, you have to be face-down so the bubble stays in the right place to do its job. It gradually disappears in about a month, leaving the eye working properly again if all has gone well.
Oh- that looks like me three years ago- thankfully those long face-down days do come to an end and it's great to be up and around again...still painting too.
ReplyDeleteAnita -- thanks for the encouraging words. This really is a test of endurance, as you know, and it's great to hear that your sight is restored and that you're able to paint.
ReplyDeleteWow! I didn't realize how lucky I was. I had made an emergency visit to my eye doc in November, and it was subsequently found that I had 4 tears in my retina. Two bouts of laser treatments seems to have taken care of it. Had to keep my head elevated and no bending, lifting or exercise. Piece of cake compared to what your hubby is going through. Whew! Was I lucky! Hope the time goes by quicky and his eye has a full recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle -- almost 4 months out now and he's doing well. Glad to hear your experience was less traumatic!!
ReplyDelete