Thursday, March 6, 2014

Cataract Surgery #1



This is me on Tuesday.  I am at Lakeland Hospital waiting for the team to get me ready for my first cataract surgery.  Bob - my Best Caregiver EVER - kept asking me for a better smile, but I couldn't quite muster one.  He sat with me the entire time except for the actually surgery which only takes a few minutes.  I guess they wouldn't let him in.  :) 
I had a wonderful crew of very nice people waiting on me hand and foot, right from the first person who sent me to the bathroom with clean towels and asked me to wash my face. (I think it was clean until one of THEM put a black mark above my right eye)  hmmm  One of those necessary things, I guess.
These are my vitals and from here they look pretty good to me.  Not sure what that squiggly line on the bottom is, but they let me in the operating room, so I guess it was OK.  Bob said they gave me oxygen because my level was low.  I remember them putting the mask on and the doc (or somebody) saying what it was, but that's about all I remember -- until a lot later when I finally woke up.  I was back in the above room where I started, and apparently the doctor had popped out my lens and replaced it with a brand new one (whose vitals I now have in my computer in case of emergency)  It's amazing what doctors can do and only because God in His mercy let them find it out.  He is the one who made all these things work so well in the first place and now He is letting us in on some of His secrets.  So I slept the rest of that day and all night and was still tired the next day.  Today is Day 3 and I feel really good accept for a little bit of itching in my right eye which goes away when I put the drops in.

The "Team" gave me this nice little "cage" to put on my eye when I sleep.  I guess that's to make sure I don't break the rules which are Do Not Rub and I saw them everywhere.  So my sweet caregiver, Bob tapes it on every night and I wonder if he thought the tape was not sticky enough so last night he really taped it good.  I mean REALLY.  It was like trying to get out of a giant spider web this morning.  That stuff really sticks.  Halfway through the day I was still peeling glue off my face.  I am trying to take good care of myself so I will be ready for the next eye two weeks from now.  Wish me luck.

6 comments:

  1. So glad you shared your surgical experience and pics, and that you are feeling better today. Glad you have Bob to help you, too. It's great to hear you're feeling better today. Wishing you all the best, Carol! :)

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  2. Did you have to stay overnight in the hospital? Larry had that done before we moved down here, but it was an outpatient surgery. And if you think you have the best caregiver ever, you're wrong, because I do. The only things I can do any more is walk with a walker the few steps from the bedroom to the living room and back. The TV, computer and craft cart are my constant companions. And some days I don't even get inspired to make any cards. There are a set of twins at our church who come to see us once a week, unless they are out of town seeing a doctor. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong with them, but I look forward to their visits. And on Wednesdays we get to have Noel for the day and then the rest come over for supper after work. I've been thinking about you lately. Maybe it's because you didn't tell me you were having surgery. Well it looks like Larry is just about ready to bring supper out. Love you and hope everything turns out well. Annd

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  3. Oops, I guess my computer spelled my name wrong.

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  4. I'm glad things went well and that you had an excellent caregiver at your side :) And I love it that you're reading a card making magazine in the picture!

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