Friday, April 5, 2019

It's going to be something good

Harriet, being adorable on the kitchen table
Random roundup of news here.

Back in January, I got my eyes examined. For the first time in probably five years. I hadn't noticed my prescription changing much, but I'm basically blind as a bat, so hard to tell. I've been ordering new glasses online every year with my old prescription, and they've seemed fine - I always saw better, but that could simply be that the lenses weren't scratched.

Eye doctor writes new prescription, says he'd like to have me back for a few more tests because I'm so nearsighted; there are a few things he'd like to rule out. That turns into him sending me to a retina specialist, to further rule out things, and instead having them ruled in. Basically, I'm having eye surgery on May 1st to repair something that isn't quite broken yet.

I have a small hole in my retina. Specialist says it could have been there for years - I could even have been born with it - but myopia is very stressful on certain parts of your eyes, and, like every other part of us, even the muscles and tissues surrounding our eyes stiffen up with age. Something could detach, and soon.

So. Surgery.

Doctor says it's actually very routine (though it's not HIS eye), and will only take 30-45 minutes tops. I'll go home with a patch and eyedrops, lose the patch the next day and keep up the drops for another week or so.

Truthfully I'm more freaked out about the pre-admission testing, but that's because I'm a huge needle-phobic baby who has never yet managed to get a needle without either hurling or passing out.

I know. I come off as such a hardass sometimes, but show me something with a point that isn't intended for sewing, and off I go..

I'm trying to decide what kind of reward I deserve for getting through the testing without hitting either a tech or the floor. It's going to be something good.

4 comments:

annie said...

Karen,
I'm a bit of a lurker though we met one time on one of the NYC shopping adventures. I've just had both cataracts removed. I was very nervous about having my eyes messed with. Turns out my doctor used Propofol very briefly while she was numbing my eyeball. Never felt a thing, never felt as if I'd even left the world briefly. Then I had the eye patch/eye drops routine. I found that to be so much more annoying than the procedure! It's hard to reassure someone who's not been there but you will be very pleased the outcome.

SewRuthie said...

A mindfulness breathing meditation is helpful for me in medical situations!
http://franticworld.com/free-meditations-from-mindfulness-for-creativity/
is a favourite

patsijean said...

I recently had cataract surgery on each eye, left eye first, the right two weeks later. As Anne says, the numbing solutions are great. The eye drops (three types) were annoying at first, but I learned to schedule each eye and it was OK. On the second day after the first surgery, I looked at our comforter and exclaimed "Our comforter isn't brown!" Get that tiny hole fixed ASAP.

Audrey said...

Anything that improves your vision or keep your eyes working is worth it. I hate thinking about the future impact of deteriorating vision and arthritic joints (in my genes) on my sewing and life in general.