Possibly going dark for a while

[carbonel]

I mentioned this already, but minnehahaK encouraged me to post closer to the time, so here it is.

Tomorrow I take the train to Chicago, and Tuesday I'm having a vitrectomy done on my left eye. This is a procedure where the vitreous humor is removed from the eye, the hole in the retina is repaired, and a bubble of nitrous oxide is put in the eye to hold the repair in place.

I then get to spend a week face-down to keep said bubble in place, and can't fly for a couple of months, until the bubble is completely gone.

If I can read, I'm in great shape to keep myself amused: Jhegaala, Victory of Eagles (the new Temeraire novel), and Kushiel's Mercy. Plus the rest of a bag of assorted stuff that I bought at my latest trip to DreamHaven, of which I just finished The Green Glass Sea, and am looking forward to reading the Sarah Tolerance novels when I can deal with smallish print.

If not, I've got audiobooks loaded on my iPod. The most frustrating thing I envision is that I won't be able to do any handwork -- I'm used to knitting or spinning while I watch TV or listen to audiobooks. I didn't manage to acquire guppiecat's DVD of old SF radio shows, but maybe that will happen later.

With luck, my vision will come back to 100% over the next year or two, except that there's a large likelihood (one retinologist says 75%, the other 99%) that I'll develop a cataract in the left eye from the mucking about.

Assuming everything goes according to plan, I'll return from Chicago a week from Thursday.

I'm trying not to think about all the things that can go wrong -- or the fact that someone is going to be poking sharp objects into my eye on purpose, with my permission.

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Good luck! I hope everything goes well and your vision is back at 100% soonest possible. (I'm excited about Victory of Eagles, too.)

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Best of luck! Hang in there.

[sethb.livejournal.com]

Good luck, and I hope all goes well.

I'll see you soon, and I hope you can see me back.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

Warm vitreous fuzzies sent your way.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Safe journey! May the surgery be a resounding success and the face-down week pass swiftly by.

That's a great reading list. Yum. Good back-up plan, too.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Best wishes to you. That sounds scary.

Having had eye surgery myself, I wouldn't plan on being able to read with your good eye. Injury to one eye tends to affect both. The audiobooks should be good, though.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I wish you the best possible result!

[sraun]

Good luck!

[pameladean]

Good luck. I hope you're one of the twenty-five percent, or the one percent, or whatever it needs to be.

Eric and I are hoping to get together with you once you're home and recovered.

P.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

We'll be thinking of you and hoping for the very best possible outcome. Which can't help but involve Jhegaala sooner rather than later, I should think.

Good luck!

[davidschroth.livejournal.com]

Here's hoping for the best possible outcome.

[rvrjoe775.livejournal.com]

I wish steady hands for your medic, and for you a speedy and comfortable recovery.

Good luck!

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

And a speedy recovery.

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

Good luck and swift recovery!

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Good luck.

B

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

I hope it all goes well!

At least cataracts are fairly easy to fix, these days.

[daedala.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[cowfan.livejournal.com]

I hope all goes well and that you end up with 100% vision in that eye. If you do need cataract surgery, it's not bad, and they can give you better vision with the new lens they put in. It sounds like you have good plans in place to keep occupied. I didn't have trouble reading with my other eye after my retinal surgeries.

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

I hope this all turns out great. Most people can read with only one eye so here's hoping.

If you get really bored call and we'll send Nico.;)

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Good luck! I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible, and that you are able to read, and you experience the best possible outcome. Take care of yourself.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

Good luck! A friend of mine had a similar surgery (vitreous replaced with aqueous, or something like that, rather than nitrous oxide) and has enjoyed good results for 20 years so far.

[haniaw.livejournal.com]

Best wishes during this stressful time. I hope everything goes as well as it possibly could.

[webbob.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for a quick and complete recovery, including the original problem being fixed.

A local non-fan friend had a similar problem, similar treatment, and an extremely successful outcome. Having helpful friends and holding yourself back from trying too hard seems to be a key part of the good outcome.

Oh, and if you have friends who will actually read to you from the books you're interested in, you might even have social as well as health benefits from the experience!

[clindau.livejournal.com]

Best wishes and good luck.