Go big or go home. That’s the way many people live their lives. Plunge in head first. Outdo their competition. Go above and beyond.
In the case of my eyes, I have done just that.
Nearly three years ago, I was standing at the end of the counter at work when an explosion of black fireworks went off in my left eye. There was no pain, just black bursts is the best way I can describe it. I looked my coworker and said, “Well that can’t be good.”
Instead of going to the eye doctor right away (which by the way you should do), I waited until my son’s doctor’s appointment the following week to inquire. After a quick examination, she called my eye doctor thinking I needed to get in right away but I was able to wait until the next day.
After a very close examination, my eye doctor referred me to a specialist. The gel-like substance in the back of my eye called the vitreous was letting go casting shadows on my retina, creating what we call floaters.
This is a normal occurrence that happens when we grow older. The gel shrinks, dries up, and lets go. Usually this doesn’t happen until after 50 years of age. In my case, I am very nearsighted (I can’t see anything clearly beyond my nose without my glasses) which apparently can speed up this process.
I not only got one specialist, but two! I have seen both of them multiple times since November 2013. The inflammation specialist out of Denver was very impressed with the size of my floaters, even more so when the same thing happened in my right eye.
I’m not talking about a small fleck that drifts across your eye and is often mistaken for a small fly…ones that you learn to ignore. Nope. I’ve outdone most of the population and have enormous floaters that squiggle and swarm across my eyes constantly all day long. Big floaters are described as threadlike strands, cobwebs, rings and a person may even experience flashes (like a headlight in the corner of your eye). However you want to choose to describe it, I have them all.
Floaters of this magnitude interfere with many aspects of my life. My hobby of reading soon became too annoying; reading music can be difficult; although I’m cleared to drive, I prefer not to; I haven’t seen my son’s face or the beautiful scenery clearly without squiggles for nearly three years.
One day I was looking into my son’s microscope and I was staring down at my own floaters. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I so wanted to show my husband exactly what I see every minute I’m awake, but I couldn’t. I even asked one of the specialists if we could take a picture of the floaters. Unfortunately, floaters are translucent and pictures cannot be taken.
After dealing with the floaters for over a year, it was obvious that they weren’t going anywhere. I wasn’t going to learn how to ignore them. They were just too big. The option for surgery finally arose. Part of me wanted to jump in with both feet and have the surgery done right then and there, but I took my time in deciding and understanding that within the year of surgery I most likely would need cataract surgery, too.
It was just in March I had my first vitrectomy surgery on my left eye where my specialist from Rapid City goes in through the eye to remove all the vitreous and replace it with a clear liquid or gel. Despite freaking out when the patch was removed the following day and only being able to see light, not objects, the surgery was very successful and my vision improved every day until it was back to normal. (This surgery does not correct your vision, it just removes the floaters.)
If all goes well, by the time you are reading this, I will have had my second eye surgery (on Thursday - the day after my birthday!)…this time on my right eye. Soon I hope to be singing, “I can see clearly now…”
