Monday night 5 Feb 2018
I was watching T.V. when I suddenly noticed a lot of flashes on the top right corner of my left eye.
Tuesday
Noticed a watery layer on the same area on top right hand corner each time I shift my eyes to the left. Didn't think it was serious. I was used to flashes & floaters in my eyes. Anyway, decided to get my eyes checked.
Datin Teo of SJMC (Subang Jaya Medical Centre) was on leave. So I went to Ranu Eye Specialist Center.
Dr Ranu didn't find anything wrong with my retina. It's just posterior vitreous detachment, he assures me. Need to monitor closely.
Thursday afternoon
The translucent layer is covering more than 1/3 of my left eye & blurring my vision. Went to Dr Ranu again. He again examined & found nothing wrong. In order to put me at peace, he referred me to Dr Kenneth Foong of SMC (Sunway Medical Centre), vitreo-retinal specialist. But Dr Ken was on leave. He then referred me to Dr Selva of SMC. But Dr Selva was only available on Saturday.
No. I need to see a specialist immediately. Hermon Yong, who's done this before, recommended Dr Paul Singh from Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital who treated him before. But that was 20 years ago. Dr Ranu then suggested Dr Lim Kian Seng at ISEC (International Specialists Eye Centre). But Dr Lim was at a conference. I finally decided to see Dr Ronald Arun Das. He was recommended by a few people, and I had one previous consultation with him, and sort of liked him.
I prayed oh so hard. I asked God for the restoration of my eyesight for His Namesake & His glory. Hoping against hope that it is only a simple floater issue that will go away.
Friday
At ISEC, Dr Ronald immediately diagnosed my problem as retinal detachment & recommended immediate vitrectomy. It was an ocular emergency. His very words. He will squeeze my op to just before another one of his surgery at noon.
I was stunned.
I half thought he would just give me some eye drops, maybe laser my eyes, then send me home and come back for follow-ups......
I followed the nurse, like a lamb to the slaughter, to get registered for the surgery! I was in a daze. Literally didn't know what I was doing..... Just kept thinking about having to cancel our Penang trip during the Chinese New Year holidays & the planned Bangkok family trip on Mar 17!
I so wanted to have a general anaesthetic op but couldn't because this was a last minute unscheduled op & there were no anaesthesiologist available.
I have earlier watched YouTube videos about vitrectomy and how three ports will puncture & be inserted into my eye ball through the eye white to facilitate inserting the fibreoptic light, vitrector & other micro surgical instruments. It was scary.
After lying down on OT (operating theatre) table, they applied a few different numbing eye drops. Finally Dr Ron gave me a jab in my eye, & mentioned that the hardest part was now over. I think that was the anaesthetic jab. It didn't hurt at all :D. (I was expecting a tooth extraction type of jab...!)
After that when Doc started puncturing & inserting the micro instruments into my eye, I only felt some light pressure on my eye ball. Could actually even see the vitrector sucking away the vitreous! Doc then performed cryo and laser on my eye.
Soon I couldn't see anything at all with my left eye. I think that was when Doc pumped in the gas bubble.
The op only took about 20 minutes. Faster than expected. A doctor friend later commented that Dr Ron is very skillful & fast in what he does.
After being pushed out of the OT, Doc ordered 5 hours face down. And thereafter two weeks of lying on my right side, with 5 minutes rest every waking hour. Quite confusing becos I was told before the op it will be three weeks face down..., Will ask Doc again during my followup on Monday.
Good news. AIA approved my Guarantee Letter, so my surgery was covered by insurance.
Saturday.
Removed the bandage. Vision is very blur & distorted. Like looking through a fish bowl. Could actually see the meniscus of the gas bubble on top of my vision.
Sunday.
Nothing to report. It will take a long time to see the results of healing, that is, after the gas bubble has dissolved..
I can still see that translucent layer on my top right corner.
Will it go away......?
Nothing I can do, now.
I got a good Doctor who did a good job.
I got a great God who has created me with a fearful & wonderful body! He has never let me down whether in matters great or small. I have already petitioned to Him as only a child could ask his father. Only thing to do now is to trust Him.
Monday
Went for my follow up today.. Doc reminded me not to move too much & stick to the positioning protocol to prevent tearing again. I thought he was being a bit impatient.
Tuesday.
Thought I saw some broad flashing light moving along the bottom. What could that be? A bit scary here. Maybe it's just images of the smaller gas bubbles..?
Monday Feb 19
The occasional flashes has reduced. The translucent layer has gone.
Went for my follow up. Doc says the retina is healing nicely. The gas bubble is about 50%. However, the image above the gas bubble is a bit distorted. Straight lines, edges, etc, are not perfectly straight. They are sort of wavy in the center.
I still have four more days of sideways positioning :D
Friday Feb 23
Today is the last day of my lying down sideways positioning.
What a relief!
How did I endure the past two weeks?
One day at a time.
One hour at a time.
Today is not the end of the journey. My retina will take 4~6 weeks to heal fully. The gas bubble will probably take another week to disappear. My vision distortion will take some time to stabilise, if there are no other problems.
Where was God in all these? Dare I make a bold statement of confidence even though my journey is far from over?
I could see His impeccable timing.
Just when most of the retinal specialists were unavailable due to the pre-festive season, God led me to Dr Ronald who was an expert in this field.
I have just finished my office assignment when this happened. It could have happened when we were travelling to Penang for CNY holidays.
Retinal detachment has a bad reputation of happening again without warning especially for high myopes like me. It is so beyond my control. Each time I notice flashes in my eyes, my heart would skip a heartbeat. Is this deja-vu?
I pray for strength and will continue to trust God for the remainder of this journey.
Friday March 9
Started working since Tues March 6. Vision nearly as good as before. The slightly wavy lines in left eye not so noticeable when I am looking with both eyes.
My eyes tend to tire easily. I kept reminding myself not to strain my eyes, and rest my eyes by looking in the distance at every periodic interval.
Wonder how long before I can go back to normal life, able to lift heavy things like pail, car battery, hammering, etc...
From the FB (facebook) chat group some say 3 months, some say one year, some say cannot lift more than 5 lbs weight, some say always cannot lift heavy things........!
I am confused and disheartened. I am only 58. Have I so fast become an invalid that I cannot carry out any simple laborious tasks...? Like carrying a pail of water to mop the floor?
The other day when I carried a pail of water becos of water cut, I felt a "tug" on my eye. What was that?
What about my trip to Bangkok on Mar 17. Will I be able to carry my own luggage?
So humiliating...so useless.....
I nearly got involved in a car accident this evening. Slammed on the brakes when some idiot beat the red lights right across in front of me..! That jolt! Did it dislodge my retina?
Reading all those articles (& hearing from Dr Ronald, too) that the possibility of the other eye getting RD is 10~15%.
Now wishing I had also dilated my right eye for Doc to check last Friday!
Felt very depressed. Wished I had requested anti-depressants from Doc. Maybe will request for it at my next follow-up visit.
Having this perpetual fear that I have a glass eye that might break anytime....
Wed Mar 14
Had a final check-up before our family trip to Bangkok on March 17. Doc gave the all clear. But dunno why I still feel the occasional ache in my eye. Maybe it's the nerves that are still healing from the laser to my tear. Anyway, I guess this is where faith and trust in God comes in. The timing of my RD just before CNY already showed that God was in control all along. However much I would like to, there are many things in life that are out of my control. Just have to trust God one day at a time. He has never let me down before.
Mon Oct 8
Eight months post-op. I am near getting back to normal life again. God willing, I hope I will continue to live happily ever after.... :D
Praise God!
Feb 9
Face-down posturing
Aug 4 with my 15lb Clubbell
A determined man with focus on His LORD and GOD while being wise and prudent in his daily tasks and future! Well done bro.
ReplyDelete