Cataract surgery - the unveiling :)

It was another early morning trip to the hospital today for an 8:15 turn-up to get my pirate eye bandage off and to test the eye for the effectiveness of yesterday's surgery. 

It meant an early morning trip on early an early morning packed bus. By this time I'd got over my pirate hoopla from yesterday and just wanted to get the bandage off, feeling quite vulnerable. But it was amazing how people got up to let me sit in the seats for less capacitated people if need be. Especially as the bus was chockers.

David came with me, but I didn't think he should of as he got up early with me at 6:30am and immediately threw up in the toilet. Poor thing I guess the chemo does that. I told him he should stay home and I'd go in on my own, but he refused, had a quick shower and felt much better.

I actually wasn't in a good state to go anywhere on my own anyway. I couldn't wear my glasses for the one eye I could see out of as the bandage on the left eye was so bulky. So not only was I in a state of half blindness, but even more than that without being able to put on my glasses to see clearly out of my right eye.

Yes, "life begins at 50" folks. *pfffffffft*

We got to the eye clinic well on time, I checked myself in for the doctor at reception and went to the waiting area, which was surprisingly empty. Soon after my doctor came and soon after that she called me and David in for the great unveiling, ha ha.

So she took off the bandage and I could see out of my left eye for the first time in nearly a year. Only thing was it was the day after surgery and I was seeing double. She explained it was still the anesthetic affecting my eye and would pass. Evidently it was still stopping my left eye from following where I was looking. It's rather psychedelic really. Especially when I got outside on the sunny day with everything so bright. I was really glad David was looking after me. 

Doctor said I had a bit of a blood blister in there as I moved during surgery. I wasn't put under but they gave me an intravenous sedative, as well as the local anesthetic. Possibly because I'd had to be there so early and was really tired, I started falling asleep, and nodded off on the operating table, my head moving slightly to the right. 

This caused a big concern as they were doing laser surgery on the inside of my eye and just a little nod off was a big movement in that. Their protestation at my movement woke me up instantly, and I apologosed but said I'd just fallen asleep. Oh well, no biggy, nobody's fault, and all will be well in the end.

So at today's appt with the doctor she tested the left eye. I had a go at the eye chart line that maybe I couldn't see, near the bottom. That's just me darlings, always having a go beyond myself. Surprisingly though I just about succeeded  in reading all the letters on that line, but my left eye was doing all sorts of weird things so I couldn't. After all it was way less than 24 hours after the surgery and the anesthetic was still in play.

To me it was a miraculous thing of modern medicine even that. An eye that's blind can see again. Forget mythical Jesus. Modern medicine will do more than stupid healing prayers. Before the surgery the day before, as I've been for nearly a year, I was completely blind in that eye. Really really blind. All I could see out of that eye was if it was light or dark, that was it. It was unusually dense too.

The next weeks will be a healing process after the surgery, lots of healing eye drops and they tell me to take it very easy. Lots of rest, no heavy lifting, bla. Apparently if I heavy lift my eye will bulge out of it's socket? Ha ha. My new lens will power spew from my eyeball? ha ha. OK will play by their rules.....