Sunday, December 5, 2010
Retina, Detached
A hostile red circle. Particles of snow. Petroleum jelly and smoke. A swarm of blood, and light trying to push through that blood. Crumbling around the edges. Retinal hemorrhage? No, detached retina. Alarming if a good eye doctor lived a mile way. More alarming when it tears away close to midnight, and you're out in your second home by yourself, on a weekend, with a seven-month-old puppy on your hands, two hours from a decent hospital. And there you are, driving west on a winding two-lane road, as your vision gets cloudier and grainier. This is the story of Mark's last 24 hours. Luckily, texts helped to keep us in touch through the night. And luckily, the preliminary surgery, conducted while Ned slept in the backseat of the car, looks promising. I'm on the bus, passing through Syosset as I write; I'll be out at the house in few hours. Still, Mark's in no way out of the woods. The recovery for the next two weeks? The head must be kept forward at all times, or the work of surgery is undone. Take lots of Advil, the doctors say. Merry Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
22 comments:
i'll be thinking of mark and you....sending healing energy your way as much as i can.
Thanks, Nancy. I will let him know.
Please take good care of him... and yourself, you guys will be in my thoughts and prayers...
Thanks, Jesse. That's much appreciated. I'm at the house now.
Glad to know you are together now... sounds like a terrifying time. Hope the world brings you some quiet tonight, and rest. Love to you both. xxxooo
Love to you, too, Laura. Thank you. A peaceful night out here, except for a certain dog gnashing heartily on an empty Gatorade bottle in the living room.
scary stuff. glad that you are together and hope that mark has a speedy recovery.
Thanks, Jayme. Yes, very chastening. The out-of-the-blueness of it. A few floaters and then craziness. He's gone to sleep, which is just what he should be doing after being awake for 34 hours straight, or some such hellish figure.
I've heard of detached retinas twice before in two people close to me, people who made good recoveries. There's plenty of hope. All will be well.
My sister-in-law in Madrid just went through this last month. Head down for six weeks.
Hope Mark's recovery is swift. Thinking of you both. xoxox
Wow..scary stuff...happens fairly often in guys our age...I know at least three others, all recovered well. Our thoughts and tidal waves of good, positive healing energy to both of you.
EX OH
Paul ....Such a scary thing. Keeping both you and Mark in my thoughts.
Thank you for the report, Elisabeth. And thanks for your concern.
Hi Katrina, Six weeks! Your poor sister-in-law. We're still hoping that his recovery will be of the shorter variety, but it's still too early to say. Thank you for your kindness.
Good to hear about those recoveries, Bill. Thank you. Ironic that an optometrist first told me the warning signs of a detached retina when I was in my early 30s. It can happen at any age, particularly if you're nearsightedness is extreme.
Thank you for the kindness, Donna. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
That sounds really scary and worse possibly for you being so far away and not able to help.
But as the other commentators have said detached retinas can be treated with a full recovery. I just hope it doesn't take too long.
Thanks, Caroline. There was some good news today.
Mark's been writing about it on his own blog, which should be up soon if it's not already there.
You know I'm all for "material," and both of you have already written so robustly about it, but I hate this for both of you.
Ah, thanks, Elizabeth. But Mark's the one to be concerned about here. (And to a lesser degree, Ned, who mustn't know what to make of that lowered head.)
So sorry to hear this. I had eye surgery (a corneal transplant) and I know the first week is miserable though by the second week you really do start to feel a little more normal. Praying for his healing and for grace for both of you. P.
Post a Comment