You Should See the Other Guy!

After a long and arduous night of waiting and worrying, we were so relieve when we received the surgeon's phone call at 7:00am. Dr. Cuilla had been successful in gathering together a team to perform surgery and we would need to be at the clinic at 9:00 for Dale's 10:00 surgery. Now, I've had a total of three surgeries in my lifetime and never have I been so excited to go to the hospital... but then, of course, it wasn't me who was about to have my eye cut open. Several family members met us at the facility to sit with me during Dale's surgery, and for that I'm grateful. Talking and visiting kept my mind occupied for the hour long surgery.

Not too many years ago, a procedure such as this would have required a lengthy hospital stay. These days though, unless you've just had brain surgery, they pack you up and send you on your way. While it's nice to cut down on the medical expenses, it's also pretty scary, especially for the caretaker. The patient is generally so tired and medicated they don't really care to do anything but sleep. The caretaker, on the other hand, is left with a long list of "dos and don'ts" to figure out. What connotates "unusual looking incision"... "extreme tiredness"... or "excessive bleeding"? Awwwhhhh, hellllp!! I'm not a nurse, I'm an artist! It all looks bad to me! Most days, choosing the perfect paint color is the biggest decision I make! I'm pretty sure I didn't sleep or eat for the first five days after Dale's surgery. I'm certain now I would never want to be a doctor or nurse. The responsibility of someone's eyesight (or life) on my shoulders is more than I could handle.

The worst part of this surgery was not the bruising, not the swelling, not prying my poor hubby's eye open four times a day to put in antibiotic drops. The worst part was the requirement that he stay face down for five days! When I say face down, I don't mean lay on your stomach and turn your head to the side, I mean it literally, as in "parallel to the floor" kind of face down. It's kind of hard to breath with your face stuffed in a pillow so one has to find a comfortable face down position that also allows one to breath! Not only was it required to lay face down, but Dale needed to sit face down, and walk face down. Conversation with visitors became somewhat amusing. They would talk and he kept saying, "uh huh, I'm listening". Of course, if he did look up, the moment they saw his eye they'd tell him to go ahead and look back down.

We both got used to looking at his nasty-looking eye which was all back and swollen. The swelling and blackness didn't go away for about four to five weeks. Dale insisted that our sixteen year old daughter (his little photographer-in-training) photograph his eye every day so he could see the progress. He wanted to send his co-workers an email to let them know how he was doing while he was off work, so he attached a photo of himself. The subject line was: "A few bad nights in Mexico". Upon opening the email you saw the photo and it read: "You should see the other guy!!" Always the funny guy, he is.

So I'm sure you're wondering how his sight is and if the surgery was successful. Well, the surgery (per se) was a success, in that the retina was reattached. He can now see light and movement and has fairly good peripheral vision, which greatly helps with his ability to drive. However, it's been a little over two months now and his central vision is still recovering. He can see a minimum of things which are very blurry and distorted, and still can't see the "Big E" on the eye chart. Actually there is another letter above the "E" on these charts. It's a giant "H" about twice the size of the "E"... he can't see that either. His doctor said it could still be several months before he regains more vision and then would need a very strong lens in his glasses. When we were at the doctor a couple weeks ago, the surgeon talked about the possibility of another surgery to remove "junk and debris" from inside his eye. It didn't sound very exciting to us, so for now we're doing the 'ol "wait and see" (no pun intended).

I hope that in reading this story, you will take a moment to click on the links above and here in order to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of potential eye problems. We all know the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. We hear about early detection of breast cancer. We get checked for high blood pressure and diabetes and skin cancer. We just don't hear that much about diseases of the eyes and early detection. It is such a devastating thing to loose one's eyesight! Not only for the patient, but for their spouse and family members, as well. So please, have your eyes checked yearly. Ask for a dilated eye exam, as this is the only way your doctor can see all the way to the back of the eye and check for retinal tears or damage.

Again, thanks to all of you who have sent your thoughts and prayers. Rest assured, I've passed your comments along to Dale and he's so appreciative of your concerns. We have faith that his vision will continue to improve and I will keep you posted on his progress. Blessings to you all, and have a safe, happy, and very thankful Thanksgiving!