Monday, August 8, 2011

Amblyopia Surgery

 RIGHT EYE TURNED OUT
 LEFT EYE TURN OUT

A few days after the surgery

After the surgery drinking some water


My hospital bands


I grew up ripping off non-colorful, bland eye patches that were extremely sticky and uncool. I should have thought of Left Eye from TLC and kept the patch on but as a little girl looking like a pirate and saying ARRRG!!! was not appeasing. My mother would make me wear it and I would rip it off, ball it up and throw it on the floor; it was absolutely annoying. But that was apart of being the $100,000 baby with a long medical history. That is Precious. I never understood what the patch was for nor did I care to ask. All I knew was that it interrupted me. So fast-forward twenty years later after broken eye glasses and ripped up patches here I am getting ready for tomorrows 8a.m. surgery at the Children's Surgery Center in Maitland, FL. I have scheduled this surgery three times prior; once when I was a few months old, then when I was in middle school and when I was sixteen  in high school. As a baby, I think my mom was not fond of it and in middle school there was an incident with a patient at the Valhalla hospital. There was an accident with the surgery equipment; a metal product hit the equipment and it caused the equipment to malfunction. At the age of sixteen the doctor informed me that I would have a black eye and I truthfully didn't feel like it was necessary to have the surgery. Now, at the age of twenty I am tired of taking sideways pictures, people asking am I really looking at them, or their confused facial expressions wondering what am i looking at and the infamous eye switching. It used to be only the left eye turning out but as I grew older the eyes would alternate in being turned out. I can actually flip it on and off but placing my hand on the so called "good eye" or straight eye. But when it flips and you can't see binocular vision and when it's hard to focus because you're peripheral is wider than the norm, it's a problem. So, it's not all about cosmetics for me, it;s about making my life a little bit easier down the road. There will be swelling but I have pollen allergies so I can take it. So wish me luck this is my first surgery ever; I'm a little frightened but I'll be fine.


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2 comments:

  1. Hello,

    My name is Kris and I too have Amblyopia. I have a weak left eye and I know how it is to have a mother who kept hassling to use the eye patch and not know what it was for. To this day, I've substitued my glasses for contacts and my left eye seems to be ok...for now. I'm not sure if my eye sight will get worse as the days go by. I'm 32 years old and I worry about that alot not knowing if there will be corrective surgery for adults who have Amblyopia. You are the first person I've heard of having surgery done for it. I had no idea there was surgery.

    We also have something else in common...I recently did a Big Chop and started my Natural Hair Journey. I've been natural since June 10th of this year....Yayyyy me.

    Anyhoo, please keep posting your journey on your hair and your eye. Both fingers are crossed and I pray that your surgery is a success. You never know, you may open doors and give hope to the Older crowd with Amblyopia....

    Good Luck and God Speed!

    Kris
    (NaturalisticDiva - YouTube)

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  2. Hey Kris,

    Thanks for commenting! I have been so busy with school that I have not been able to post an update. I have read that your eye sight does get worse as you get older but I'm not sure how true that is and I'm nearsighted but I hate glasses. I wanted to try contacts but I just never got around it. I've heard about the surgery when I was 12 years old but I was very scared about the anesthesia and wondering what happens if I don't wake up. At 16 I discussed the surgery again but I was not comfortable. At twenty while I was driving my eye kept turning outward and it kept switching from my left eye to the right. So, I decided that I needed to get the surgery and I always took pictures sideways and people always questioned if I was looking at them or something else. My surgery was a success. It is still healing; it just a little red dot on my eye know and no more swelling. But my doctor did inform me that people usually get the surgery when they are little kids. My doctor was actually a surgery for kids. The doctor also said that some patients eyes revert back. What's you're email I would definitely love to continue this conversation.

    And yay! Big Chop! I actually transitioned and I didn't even know there was a name for it. The Natural Hair Community is so big now; it's beautiful.

    Thanks again! I'll subscribe to your channel!

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