Today I had a follow-up appointment with the retina specialist. Going into the appointment, I was hoping for good news, and thankfully, that's exactly what I got.
Well, mostly. There was one little surprise along the way.
The good news first!
The doctor checked my left eye, and the retina looks good. The swelling is looking good, too, and there's no need for an injection to maintain the vision I currently have.
YAY!
After everything I've been through with my eyes, I'll take that kind of news any day.
My eyes were dilated, so I had the usual blurry vision and some pressure in my head afterward. I assume that's par for the course when someone has been poking around examining your eyes.
I was feeling pretty good about the appointment.
Then came the sentence I wasn't expecting.
"Let's remove the stitch in your eye."
Wait. What?
There's STILL a stitch in my eye?
Apparently, there was still a stitch in there.
My immediate questions were:
Why is it still there?
Why wasn't it taken out before?
And you're going to remove it NOW?
I didn't exactly have that on my appointment bingo card.
The next thing I knew, the instruments were coming out. I got an antibiotic flush, followed by more numbing drops. Then came a device to hold my eye open.
Think of something similar to the device a dentist might use to keep your mouth open during a procedure. Except this time, it was my eye.
My chin was positioned on the big scope device so the doctor could get a good look at the stitch.
Then came a little poke with one instrument, followed by what looked like tweezers.
And just like that, out came the stitch.
The aftermath
You would think that once the stitch was out, I'd be ready to head out and enjoy the rest of my day.
Not quite.
After the procedure, seeing in bright sunlight was incredibly difficult. My eye was sore, and between the dilation and the work that had just been done, I wasn't exactly comfortable.
I headed to a meeting afterward, and I refused to close the top on the car.
That's right. The convertible top stayed down.
The sunlight was bothering my eye, but apparently I was determined to enjoy the ride anyway. Sometimes you make questionable decisions about comfort and convenience!
My eye was definitely letting me know it had been through something.
I'll take the good news
Despite the unexpected stitch removal and the soreness afterward, I'm walking away with some encouraging news.
My retina looks good.
The swelling is looking good.
No injection is needed to maintain my current vision.
And that lingering stitch is finally gone.
Considering the journey I've had with my eyes, I'll consider that a successful appointment.
Of course, I'll follow the doctor's instructions and keep an eye on how things feel. If the soreness or vision problems become concerning, I'll be contacting the eye doctor rather than trying to tough it out.
I've had enough adventures with my eyes. I don't need to invent any new ones.
For now, I'm celebrating the good retina report and saying goodbye to a stitch I didn't even realize was still there.
One appointment, good news, one unexpected procedure, and one less stitch. I'll take it!
