DECEMBER, 1999

December 1, 1999: Had the 6-week checkup with Dr. Everett and I was caught off-guard in several ways. First, He didn't think my eye was too dry. I guess the extra refresh-plus drops I'd been taking paid off. Next, he didn't take me off Pred-Forte like he'd hinted at last time. He told me to keep up the 4-drops-a-day routine through the 20th, then go to 3-a-day until January 20th, 2-a-day until February 20th, one-a-day until March 20, one every other day until April 20, then I'm done with it. He stuck with the Pred-Forte because my pressure had gone way down, from 23 to 19. I remembered to ask his nurse while she was taking it what the unit of measurement was: it's millimeters of mercury, like on a barometer. Falling pressure? Hmmm....looks like rain in my eye, then. Anyway, the next surprise was that he thought it was time to get a new eyeglass lens for my right eye. He stressed it would be temporary, and that my vision was still unstable (despite the fact that my astigmatism hasn't returned). The last surprise (and the biggie) was that he didn't think I needed to see him anymore. He told me Dr. Smick, (my old optometrist, who referred me to him) could handle things from here on out. Since Dr. Everett specializes in pre-op and post-op care, I knew he'd be referring me back to Dr. Smick eventually, but I didn't think it would be this soon. Anyway, I'm seeing Dr. Smick tomorrow for a fun round of "What's better....one....or two? One....or two?" The bummer thing is, though, is that I'll have to go back to the single contact over the weekend, since Dr. Smick's lab usually takes 2-3 days. Or, I could wear my old glasses that I sat on while tying my shoes back in February. They're still hanging together, but barely.
After the doctor's office, I stopped by to see my Mom, and we went looking for new ski goggles. In the wind, my eyes water something fierce, so just sunglasses won't do. Before KC, I could get away with skiing without correction. After KC, I had to wear my contacts anyway, so I kept wearing the same goggles as before (Damn! Are my goggles that old? Yeah, I guess so) . Now though, I need to find goggles that fit over my glasses. I found a pair I liked and was going to buy them, but Mom suggested I hold off and see what Santa brings (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say-no-more). My Mom is cool.

December 2,1999: Went to see Dr. Smick, and he's reluctant to prescribe a new lens for my right eye. Not because he thinks my vision may change soon, but because it turns out my right eye was far, far more nearsighted than they thought before the surgery. He's concerned that there's too much disparity between the two lenses. He calls Dr. Everett to see if it's too early for a soft contact. Dr. Everett says to wait until this spring when I'm off the Pred-Forte. We try the funky add-a-lens glasses to see what the difference between the two lenses will be like. he has me step into the hallway, and he asks me how it is. Unsure of what problems he's looking for, I say that it's fine. He says he was looking to see if I got a headache from the size disparity of images. In the 3 or 4 minutes I wore them, I felt fine. I was a little disoriented as I looked at the floor, but that was because he had something like 3 or 4 lenses stacked up in those frames. So, they take my good glasses from me, and I go back to my old ones that are about to fall apart. The new ones should be ready around Tuesday.
I edited and posted another 3 clips of video. One is of the old cornea being cut away with scissors. Another is of the donor cornea being laid in position. The last is of the running stitch being sewn. Each clip is between 20-25 seconds.

December 10, 1999: Finally picked up my glasses. I tried to pick them up on Tuesday like they said, but they weren't ready. They told me to try back the next day. I did, they still weren't ready. On Thursday, they were ready, but I got stuck working late so that I couldn't pick them up. Finally, I was able to pick them up Friday afternoon. After wearing my old, weak circa-1995 glasses for a week, the new ones knocked me flat on my ass. I was dizzy as soon as I put them on. The doctor told me it might take a couple of days to adjust to them. So, I hopped right in my car and drove 75 miles to a college advisor's retirement party. Driving was surprisingly OK, because there wasn't much change of distance back and forth. The party was a good time, but I was nauseous, dizzy and had a headache most of the evening. By the time I got home, though, I felt fine. What amazed me most was that I could close my good eye and read the numbers on the dashboard and road signs. Taking them off at the end of the day gave me the same initial disorientation I'd felt when I put them on.

December 11, 1999: When I woke up this morning, I put on my glasses before I switched on the lights, and I didn't feel disoriented at all by the new glasses. I rented a couple of movies and was able to focus fine watching my TV in the living room, as well as watching a DVD (Hitchcock's Psycho) from my computer desk.

December 21, 1999: Today is my first day at 3-drops-a-day for the Pred-Forte. I'm glad to be cutting back on it, because I have this paranoid fear of the pressure in my eyeball causing the stitches to be torn asunder so that the transplant goes shooting across the room. Then my rational mind kicks in and says, "relax, you'd go blind from glaucoma first." Sometimes my rational mind isn't much comfort. All the same, my vision is fine and if that changes, I'll see the doctor. The glasses have been working great, and I noticed this morning, when looking in my bathroom mirror, that my left eye isn't nearly as dominant as it used to be. If you haven't tried this, it's kind of cool: Place two mirrors perpendicular to each other and look at the intersection. If your eyes are equally strong, the intersection will be along your nose. If one eye is dominant, the intersection will be closer to that eye. For me, it used to be that it was directly over the middle of my left eye, almost completely dominant. Now, with my glasses, it's just barely to the left of my nose. 
I got an email the other day from someone at an eye bank who'd read this page. She mentioned that the entry for 12/11 seemed like a cliffhanger ending, and she wanted to know what happened after "Psycho." I don't want to give anything away, but it has something to do with Norman's Mother.

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