Ok, a few people seem interested in what exactly happened at the eye hospital. It was suggested I write a post about it, so here goes.
Mo came with me again for moral support. We arrived early, sat amongst hoards of people and waited for my ‘Ultrasound’ scan. I was not in the least nervous about this. “They’ll just slap some gloop around my eye and slide the scanner around” I thought. “A bit like they do for pregnant women.”
After about ten minutes I was called in. The first thing I notice is a bed. No! not a bed to sleep in, one they use for procedures. “Oh a bed” I said. “Yes, please don’t go to sleep on it though” said the doctor. “Oh, do I have to lay down then?” says I. “Yes please” says he. I gingerly climb on to the bed and lay down flat. VERY flat! So flat that my neck hurt. “It’s very flat” I say. “Yes” he says, “I need your head low.” I’m beginning to wonder why he needs me laying so flat in order to spread a dollop of gloop on me.
“We’llgiveyousomedropsthatwillnumbyoureyesandthen……………” I didn’t hear what was actually going to take place but I was nervous now. It didn’t sound like gloop and a hand-held.
Nurse: “OK I’m just going to give you some drops. Close your eyes for this. Let me know when it stops stinging”
Me: “It hasn’t started stinging”
Nurse: “I’ll give you some more”
Me: “Still not stinging”
Nurse: “Open your eyes I’ll give you more” Drop, drop, drop, drop.
Me: “Can’t feel a thing”
Nurse: “Well you’ve had plenty so it’ll be OK”
Doctor: “Maybe you have a high pain threshold”
Me: “I don’t THINK so!”
Doctor hovers over me with a large clear cup in his hand. I wonder why – Not for long.
Nurse lifts my top eyelid, doctor shoves the bottom rim of the cup under my lid. Nurse lifts bottom eyelid. Doc shoves the remainder of the cup rim under. I now have a cup in my eye! It soon became apparent that the cup was, in fact, a kind of funnel because it had no base. For some strange reason having a cup in my eye was very disorientating, not made any better by the fact that ‘doc’ now fills it with water! “It’s only water” says he. Now the ceiling is swirling all over the place as I view it through moving water. “I’m just going to put the probe into the water” says doc. Here comes the hand-held. “OK” I say.
Doc: “Look down” I look down and I’m immediately bombarded with hundreds of flashing lights and swirls of turbulent water while doc is rolling the hand-held over the surface of my eye! Water runs down my face and into my ear.
Me: “It’s running in my ear”
Doc: “It’s only water”
Me: “But it’s filling my ear” Doc dabs face with tissue.
Nurse: “Long slow breaths now. Your doing so well”
Doc: “Look up ….. look left ….. look right” Each time I get the same light show, and pretty wet around the ears.
Doc: “Turn your head to the right.” I turn, doc pulls cup out, a torrent of water is released and he quickly dabs my face with tissues.
Next eye.
Doc: “Would you like a rest before I do this one?”
Me: “No, just do it”
Nurse: “You’re doing so well”
This eye, for some reason doesn’t take the numbing fluid very well and it hurts a bit. Still, I have a high pain threshold, so doc says.
Finally over, I go to sit up. Nurse rushes round and holds me down. “No, take your time. Nice and slow. You’re doing so well” Nurse on one side doc on the other, they help me to my feet. I ask for a tissue, nurse says “Try not to rub your eyes” I say “It’s for my ears” Nurse laughs. I wobble outside and, as instructed, sit until I feel steady.
And this is just the pre-laser treatment!
More drops and 45 minutes later I was led into the laser treatment room.
Top doc: “This will only take a few seconds. It won’t hurt, you may feel a little pop. Look straight ahead” Click……click……click. The noise was like the little gas ignitions on a cooker. “Next eye please” Click, click, click. “OK, please see the nurse for more drops and an appointment next week for another (yes ANOTHER) ultrasound”
Aside from a slightly unpleasant feeling and a few bright red fireworks in the back of my eye, the laser treatment was a piece of cake.
So you see the actual treatment WAS only a few seconds. I would say a hole a second. I had three holes in each eye.
The drops that they give me, I assume are to prevent the build up of fluids behind my eye, which was the cause of my problem. It does that job very well but eye fluid isn’t all it dries up! I am finding it difficult to hold a conversation. My mouth is so dry that my tongue won’t move about to form words. It sticks to my mouth! I’ve no doubt that me not talking may please some people.
Note: For anyone who may need this treatment in the future, I can assure you that there was no pain at all. As always, it’s the ‘not knowing what they are going to do’ that’s the worst part.
We have lived in this house for nine years and regularly injure ourselves on the brass door handles. They are on all the doors on the ground floor – all six of them. That’s twelve chances of an injury as we move about our home. The doors don’t open widely and the handles are positioned higher than most doors, so we catch the top of our arm on them as we walk through. It’s very painful! As you can see they are not the smoothest of handles. Many a cup of tea has been spilt because we are suddenly brought to a stop by the sneaky handle slipping quietly up our sleeve as we pass by. I’m sure I hear a nasty little snigger at those moments.
I have no idea why we put up with it for all these years really, but NO MORE! We finally decided to do something about it. No longer will those ugly doorhandles determine our fate as we pass through each door.
Stumble it!
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