A word or two about "discomfort"
Speaking of Discomfort.
Okay. So after the surgery, Mom drove me to Galveston, where I would spend the next couple days recuperating. I was surprised at how little “discomfort” I felt. Then at some point I scratched my head and realized why I felt so little discomfort. The entire left side of my face, from the cheekbones up Was numb, as was my scalp on the left side of my head. The aftereffects of the shot in the eye, no doubt.
When I had a cornea transplant 14 years ago, once the anesthetic wore off, the pain was excruciating and unrelenting. This time it was only burning and piercing. Still, a bit more than Tylenol was competent to handle. So I (okay, it wasn’t me, it was Mom) called the number on the post-op form and got me a prescription for Vicodin. It didn’t come close to stopping the pain, but it did take the edge off enough to let me sleep (something I didn’t get to do the night after my last cornea transplant).
Anyway, I still had the eyeshield taped over my left eye, and I kept my right eye closed most of the time. It was tolerable.
I had a follow-up appointment on Thursday, so Mom drove me back to Houston. My eyes were closed the whole way, but the light still hurt.
The doctor checked the pressure, looked at the graft, etc., and pronounced it “almost perfect.” He said he thought I’d be very happy with the results. They gave me some lovely parting gifts—some eye drops, wrap-around cataracts sunglasses, and a few other goodies—and sent me on my way, with the understanding that I’d call them immediately if the pain got worse, and that I’d come beck in two weeks for a follow-up.
So I went back to Galveston and watched TV with my eyes closed. I think there was a parody of a Presidential debate on most channels. It was pretty funny. One guy was a pompous blowhard who could only say “I would do better” or “I have a plan,” but never had anything substantive to say. The other one sounded like he was going to cry.
It hurt to open my eyes, or to move my eyes around much. And my left eye drips like a leaky faucet. And I have a Gollum-like aversion to light. Even with the dark glasses. Even the White Face, it hurtssssess our eyes, yessss, it hurtsssesss......
Then it was Friday. And much to my surprise and/or delight, the Sci-Fi channel was having a Farscape-a-thon (see previous post on “Firefly.”) I “watched” several episodes (to the extent you can “watch” a show with your eyes closed most of the time). I quite enjoyed it.
And then later on Friday afternoon/evening, I found my way home. Thanks, Mom.
And now it's Saturday evening and I'm bored out of my mind. It hurts to look at the computer screen (even though I'm wearing sunglasses and I have the brightness turned down to 5%) and I can barely read it. It's like looking through frosted class.
Oh well.. In another three months, the stiches come out, and three months after that, I should be as good as new (or atlleast as good as I'm going to get).
Okay. So after the surgery, Mom drove me to Galveston, where I would spend the next couple days recuperating. I was surprised at how little “discomfort” I felt. Then at some point I scratched my head and realized why I felt so little discomfort. The entire left side of my face, from the cheekbones up Was numb, as was my scalp on the left side of my head. The aftereffects of the shot in the eye, no doubt.
When I had a cornea transplant 14 years ago, once the anesthetic wore off, the pain was excruciating and unrelenting. This time it was only burning and piercing. Still, a bit more than Tylenol was competent to handle. So I (okay, it wasn’t me, it was Mom) called the number on the post-op form and got me a prescription for Vicodin. It didn’t come close to stopping the pain, but it did take the edge off enough to let me sleep (something I didn’t get to do the night after my last cornea transplant).
Anyway, I still had the eyeshield taped over my left eye, and I kept my right eye closed most of the time. It was tolerable.
I had a follow-up appointment on Thursday, so Mom drove me back to Houston. My eyes were closed the whole way, but the light still hurt.
The doctor checked the pressure, looked at the graft, etc., and pronounced it “almost perfect.” He said he thought I’d be very happy with the results. They gave me some lovely parting gifts—some eye drops, wrap-around cataracts sunglasses, and a few other goodies—and sent me on my way, with the understanding that I’d call them immediately if the pain got worse, and that I’d come beck in two weeks for a follow-up.
So I went back to Galveston and watched TV with my eyes closed. I think there was a parody of a Presidential debate on most channels. It was pretty funny. One guy was a pompous blowhard who could only say “I would do better” or “I have a plan,” but never had anything substantive to say. The other one sounded like he was going to cry.
It hurt to open my eyes, or to move my eyes around much. And my left eye drips like a leaky faucet. And I have a Gollum-like aversion to light. Even with the dark glasses. Even the White Face, it hurtssssess our eyes, yessss, it hurtsssesss......
Then it was Friday. And much to my surprise and/or delight, the Sci-Fi channel was having a Farscape-a-thon (see previous post on “Firefly.”) I “watched” several episodes (to the extent you can “watch” a show with your eyes closed most of the time). I quite enjoyed it.
And then later on Friday afternoon/evening, I found my way home. Thanks, Mom.
And now it's Saturday evening and I'm bored out of my mind. It hurts to look at the computer screen (even though I'm wearing sunglasses and I have the brightness turned down to 5%) and I can barely read it. It's like looking through frosted class.
Oh well.. In another three months, the stiches come out, and three months after that, I should be as good as new (or atlleast as good as I'm going to get).
Labels: Eye Surgery
posted by Jack at 10/02/2004 06:13:00 PM
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