This surgery has been a long time coming. I know that is a popular phrase, but in this scenario it is far too true. But before I go into that story, let me start with the basics.
What is this surgery exactly? It is IOL implant surgery. Let me break that down a little more. IOL stands for Intraocular Lens. For those of you still smiling and nodding because this still means nothing to you; it is basically a contact lens that will be implanted inside my eye. This surgery has been out for quite awhile. For a normal person, the eye is cut, the lens is placed and fitted in muscular supports left in from the original lens, then the eye is closed. It is a fairly simple surgery with minimal recovery time. However, as we all know, I am anything but normal. Twenty six years ago, the technology was drastically different than it is now and which was far improved from the years of my father's surgery. Back in the early 50's, the technology for this type of surgery was, for lack of a better term, crude. At that time scar tissue was a big concern and common occurrence. To help alleviate this after affect, the muscular supports were also completely removed along with the lens. This means that there is nothing to hold the new lens in place; thus begins the dilemma.
This was the puzzle I placed in front of my ophthalmologist. He told me of this new lens that could be used for my eyes, but it "would just take a couple years" to finish the development process. I was assured I would have it by the time I was in high school. I checked back in and it was "closer but still needs a couple more years." It was now going to be by graduation or before I go away to college. Senior year I checked in, very hopeful, and was once again disappointed. BUT this time they explained that the technology existed and they were only waiting for the FDA to approve it, so obviously it would only be "a couple more years". You keep using this phrase, I don't think it means what you think it means. At this point i was losing hope, but I held on to that dim flame as hard as I could. Through the frustrations and difficulty of college, including 1 am fire drills being executed blind because glasses are slippery buggers that end up under your bed when you are startled, I held onto hope. I began emailing my doctor every year, and every year I received very familiar responses:
"The intraocular lens that we planned on using for you is in clinical
trials finally and hopefully we will be able to fix you up within the
next two years."
"Still in Phase 3 trials. I'd estimate about a year".
This was the point that I had given up hope for this surgery. It had been 10 years of reassuring, disappointment, hope, frustration that had pushed me to accept what I had to deal with. I kept in touch, just in case something changed. It wasn't until October 2013 that I received one email that was the emotional Wild Eagle. I was told it was possible. ..... Possible... POSSIBLE.
That one word continued to ring through my head, yes, no, maybe. I couldn't let myself get excited incase it wasn't able to happen. My stomach was in knots and my lungs spasaming like a fish on a bank. He started talking about the surgery and my recovery time when I stopped him dead: "you mean this surgery can actually happen? It is going to happen?" Then I heard the three words that brought tears to my eyes...
"yes, of course!"
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