Day 0: I notice a sudden increase in floaters in my right eye – they are massed together and form a blurry patch that moves across my vision when I look from side to side or up and down. I google it and decide it is probably a PVD – a natural consequence of ageing (I’m fifty) and normally nothing to worry about. All good. Except a small number of people may develop a retinal tear. So I make an appointment with my optician to be on the safe side.
Day 5: The optician confirms I’ve had a PVD (or in the process of – it doesn’t necessarily happen all at once). She thinks I may have a retinal tear and refers me to the eye clinic at the hospital.
Day 6: The eye doctor detects a small tear and lasers it there and then – a circle of burns around it that form scar tissue and stop it spreading and leading to a RD. I feel chuffed that, for once, I’ve been proactive about a health issue and averted the worst (the eye gods snigger behind my back).
Day 14: I notice a subtle blind spot in my bottom right peripheral vision (lots of finger waggling in the affected area to see where it disappears). I am worried – is this the start of a RD? I manage to get an appointment at the clinic that afternoon. Doctor no. 2 examines and says nothing to worry about. Some fluid has gathered inside the lasered circle but it is holding. Phew! Big relief! (the eye gods are now rolling around the floor laughing).
Day 18: I have a scheduled follow-up (from the laser treatment) at the clinic. There is now a definite shadow in my far peripheral vision but I am strangely not worried – doctor no. 2’s reassurance lingers. Doctor no. 3 examines me and casually announces that a RD has started. I am annoyed – did doctor no. 2 drop the ball? (I will never know). I am scheduled for surgery the following morning – I am “macula-on” so get priority. It will be with a gas bubble I am told.
Day 19: When I wake up, very nearly half my field of vision is blocked by the dreaded black curtain so I think I am only just “macula-on”. I should be freaked out but I am not – I’m having surgery in a few hours time after all. The surgeon talks to me before the op. He says the gas bubble will be black (eh?) so I won’t have any vision in my eye to start with. I may have to practice “posturing” depending on where the bubble needs to be.
Surgery begins. From the chit-chat in the room I hear that the lasered tear did hold and the RD in fact started from a newer much larger tear. Half way through the surgeon announces he is going to use oil instead of gas. Oh dear – I haven’t researched the oil option so not sure what to expect.
Surgery all done and I go home. I still don’t know why oil was used – what was the complication? I will find out in my follow up next week. Will I have any usable vision with the oil or will it be a swirly, blurry mess? I have dressing over my eye so I spend the day pondering life with mono-vision and no depth perception. Will I be able to drive? I am not a happy bunny.
Day 20 (yesterday): Time to take off the dressing. I take some pre-emptive paracetamol. My eyelid is very swollen so difficult to actually open but… I am pleasantly surprised! Sure it’s as blurry as F but; colour is good, brightness is good, no obvious distortion. It is like being very short-sighted (at all distances including close-up). And most importantly I have a “sense” of a coherent visual field and some depth perception. I will be able to drive!
Today: I’m still feeling up. This is my first bit of screen work and it’s a bit of a chore but I will get used to it. I don’t know how long the oil will have to stay in and what complications await but they are bridges to be crossed when the time comes. My main worry for the future is my good left eye. I will probably suffer a PVD in that eye sooner rather than later and then what…???