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Retinal tear & upcoming laser procedure

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I had quite the weekend with my right eye! Friday night, we were settling in for a mellow weekend with nothing on the agenda when suddenly I started seeing strands of floating black lines, floaters, and whirling grey smoke. I thought it was my hair and grabbed at it but it was nothing. I went to check in the bathroom mirror and I kept seeing grey swirling things floating around with black dots. I kept quiet about it since I didn’t want to rashly say something and worry my family.

Thankfully, I was able to make an online appointment with an optometrist for the next day; there was only 1 available. Well, after getting my eyes dilated and getting picture taken with a special machine, the cause was revealed. A retinal tear and blood in my eyeball. The optometrist made some phone calls to several of his ophthalmologist colleagues to see if anyone was available see me on a Saturday afternoon. After what seemed like hours (although it was like fifteen minutes), he got in contact with one colleague who would come into the office to see me. I breathed a big sigh of relief and called Chris to tell him the news.

My mind went through a roller coaster of fear and worry and gratefulness. I’m so grateful that my body sounded the alarm clearly so that I could quickly recognize something was amiss. And I’m thankful that I was able to meet two doctors on a Saturday afternoon and figure out what was wrong.

After meeting with the specialist on Saturday, I now have an upcoming appointment for a laser procedure this Friday morning to seal up the tear.

Empty lobby on a Saturday…on my way to the 5th floor to meet with the retina specialist.

This is how I understood what went wrong: The vitreous gel in my right eye pulled away from the retina and caused a tear. And I guess that’s why there was blood in the eye. If more of the vitreous gel gets through that tear, it could pull the retina away from the back of the eye, which is called retinal detachment. That is a situation you want to avoid at all costs as that will permanently damage your vision. I have a family history of retinal detachment and any issues that are eye related gives me uncontrollable heart palpitations.

As for now, I’m still seeing floaters and shadows in my right eye. I can’t focus too long on one thing or it’ll give me motion sickness and headaches. My goodness, life is full of surprises! We just got back from L.A. and we were about to have a mellow weekend and that quickly turned into a medical crisis! I’m grateful Chris was able to walk me through it on the phone with the retina specialist and ask the right questions for me. When Ellis needs me as her advocate, my attention is sharp and I can ask the right questions. But on Saturday I was speechless and didn’t know what to ask. Mind went blank. Tables turned and Chris asked all the right questions for me.

When I was walking back to my car, my knees felt weak and wobbly. My knees do that when I’m under a lot of stress, but I was still able to drive home safely and allay the worries of my worried people at home. What a weekend! But so grateful to God for many things: the sudden eye symptoms that I couldn’t ignore, discernment to get it checked out right away, available appointment and meeting with the specialist on such short notice. Only God!

Categories: doctor visits doctor's office Faith journey family God Mom lIfe Personal growth

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singlikewildflowers

Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!

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  2. Esther, wishing you well for Friday! It is scary but sounds like you are in very good hands. We have a family history of cornea disease and my mother has has two cornea transplants and I will need these in the future. I’ve come to respect the professionals very much. Oh, how true that when in the midst of your own trauma you lose that ability to be your advocate – good that Chris could ask all the right questions. Take care and be careful. Annika

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  4. Eye issues can be troublesome, to say the least. The good news is that today’s techniques for dealing with them are so far ahead of what was available even twenty years ago that trouble can be averted in many, many situations. The thought of using a laser to ‘pin’ a bit of torn tissue back in place is amazing! I’m glad you were able to get help so quickly, and that you were smart enough to pay attention to those unusual symptoms!

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  6. Wow that’s pretty scary to have happen all of a sudden. So glad you could get in to be seen so fast. Prayers and good wishes sent your way for all to be taken care of easily. 🙂

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  7. Wow is all I can say. A detached retina is scary, so it is good you were awake (as opposed to being asleep) and able to make calls and see someone right away, on a Saturday yet! My mom had laser surgery on her one eye many years – I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it was termed a “well” in one eye. This was to avoid any problems with her vision. We went for the consultation with the specialist who came to our opthalmologist’s office a couple of days a week. He showed us a penny and how he had used the laser to create a hole in President Lincoln’s eye – this was to show us how precise the laser would be. I took her for the surgery, done at the opthalmologist’s office, but I had to wait in the waiting room. He sat on the floor on a special seat and aimed the laser up at my mom’s eye. It was fast, no pain but she had to wear dark sunglasses home to avoid the sun in her eyes and she had white, milky antibiotic drops to use afterward for a day or two. The doctor called that evening to ensure everything was fne. This has to be 20+ years ago. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers for this Friday Esther.

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    1. Linda, I was shocked too! We were having a slow start to the weekend when the floaters and shadows kept bothering my right eye. I feel blessed to have been able to see the optometrist and retina specialist all on the next day and on a Saturday too.
      The retina specialist told me that the laser procedure will take 15 minutes and that it will create a scar tissue so that the gel won’t travel to the back of the eyeball. I have short term memory: I forgot that I had those tears in both eyes about two years ago and those resolved itself. I took it easy to recover, but then I forgot and went back to life like nothing happened. Ack! Bad memory!
      It’s so great that you were able to take your mom to all her appointments and take care of her. She must’ve felt so secure and supported knowing that you were there for her. Isn’t it wild how laser can do these eye procedures? Medical technology is wonderful. Thank you for your prayers!!

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      1. You said this runs in the family – hopefully this procedure corrects your eyes for good. It is scary though. My mom’s procedure was quick too and that was years ago … we were amazed at the size of the hole in Lincoln’s eye in the penny – very precise. You and the family are always in my prayers anyway, so I just added an extra one for you. Let us know how it went when you’re able. Take dark glasses in case he wants you to wear them home – I guess Chris is driving you there? You never know – modern surgeries or procedures are not like years ago. I say that because my friend Ann Marie had cataract surgery and e-mailed me the same night to tell me it went fine and was driving the next day!

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      2. Thank you! When we went to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano, we went into the chapel and saw candles that people lit. Ellis didn’t know what they were, and I explained that you lit a candle for us too when she had her surgery. She looked up and me and said, “Awww, Linda is so sweet!”
        The doctor said that my vision wouldn’t be affected, so I drove myself to the procedure and back. It’s too much emotional pressure for me to handle 3 other people’s emotions, which puts my nerves on end. If it got bad, then I would’ve called him to pick me up and somehow worked out how to bring my car home. Glad that didn’t happen; the logistics of that would’ve been troublesome.

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      3. I enjoyed touring the Mission and its chapel. That’s nice you pointed out the candles and that I lit one for Ellis to her. Thank you. My mom and I went to the nearby Catholic church to light a candle for my grandmother for Mother’s Day and her birthday after she passed away and I did likewise for my mom (once a month) after her passing. Then the church was vandalized and so it was only open in the morning for daily mass and on Sundays. Any candle lighting had to be done just before services and everyone was there … I didn’t like that idea, so now I do my lighting of candles online and just donate to have them available for special times and worries.

        Did you see the Swallows at the Mission? They hide in the crevices of the walls. They were gone and had just migrated when I visited in October 1980.

        That’s great you could drive yourself to the office Esther. In fact, that’s amazing you had laser surgery and could drive immediately thereafter. Hopefully the migraine is gone.

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    1. Thank you, friend! I feel at peace about it…that must be from the Lord because it’s unexplainable. But my fears get in the way too when I least expect it. Human condition. Like this afternoon, I took a nap and woke up with a terrible stomach ache and throwing up. My mind and body do not communicate well or the psychosomatic symptoms take over.
      I believe that God is in control and will lead me through it.

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