Gary's Third Pottery Blog

When the going gets tough, dragons gonna get going....

Gary's third pottery blog

WRITE TO ME! garyrith@yahoo.com Come see me! Open studio HERE! November 25-26 (11-4 each day); Aurora Art and Design, daily until 12/24; Cooperstown Art Assoc. daily until 12/24; Ellis Hollow Community Fair, 12/10; December 10, Little Red Wagon at the Space at Greenstar. All material on this blog unless stated otherwise is copyright Gary Edward Rith 2016

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

100 holes punched into my right eye: second glaucoma surgery




You will recall that last week I went in to have glaucoma surgery done on my right eye, to try to keep it from losing vision.  The pressure was too high to work on (glaucoma=  high pressure in the eye which destroys the optic nerve and your vision) so they did the procedure, using a laser to punch 100 holes in my left eye.  The whole thing is billed as no big deal, and in retrospect it isn't, but it hurt like hell and scared the sh!t out of me.
(The doctor says it has a 50-50 chance of helping in my case, and the thing with glaucoma is they are always having to try a new treatment on you.  I am rechecked in 8 weeks to see if this has helped stop vision loss.)

Yesterday was a bit different.  The pressure in my right eye had come down a little, and I was first on the schedule for the afternoon.  I made a bunch of pots in the morning and had great walks with the dog, trying to remain calm.  It actually helps to know that the day of the surgery hurts like hell, but then you awake the next day feeling pretty normal.

SO, as with last week, they prep the eye, a technician holds your head in place, and your eyes are open for several minutes while they blast it. It is like being forced to hold your eyes open while an Audi's halogen headlight is pushed up to your eye, then a laser pokes 100 hot needles into your eye and leaves them there.

But like I say, knowing what it was like and that I would feel better overnight made it seem routine this time.  You get used to things.  We came home and again, the wise dog and cat were all over me.  I couldn't open my eyes comfortably for an hour or 2, so stretched out in bed…and was quickly joined by warm cats and dogs…then it was FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, an old favorite indeed….
advice for living:


Jeff Spicoli: All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine


6 comments:

cm said...

"You get used to things." Best motto ever. :-)

Anonymous said...

We can get used to almost anything. I sure hope you have great success with this process.

Barbara Rogers said...

Hope that the agony you went through will give excellent vision for you! Feeling so sorry you had to endure that.

Michèle Hastings said...

Glad things went well. I hope the treatments are successful for you.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

I'm trying to get used to pain and discomfort in my left ankle, and it isn't easy even though it's been more than 2 months since surgery -- and longer since I broke the darn thing.
And since I've got super-sensitive eyes, this procedure sounds like torture. How do you hold your eye open for this treatment? I can't really imagine it.
I'm crossing fingers and toes for you, Gary, in hopes that you are in the 50% who are helped by this surgery!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I'm SO hoping that these procedures help your situation Gary. YOU are a brave man....but I suppose in this case, you've got to do what you've got to do no matter what. I'm sure you've got wonderful caretakers, but furry and not so furry. Keep us updated. You're in my prayers.
Suz

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I am a full-time studio potter, sculptor, and dog walker, married to superhawt Missus Tastycake.