LETTERS FROM FRIENDS (page 6)
We get a lot of letters from folks, but
these are a few letters
which may help you understand what people go through.
Jay -
Found your website while surfing the internet -- thanks for your good work!
I lost eyesight in my left eye while undergoing a procedure to repair a vitreous detachment -- without warning the sclera wall tore, flooding the eye with blood.
Two surgeries (0ne of which was an emergency surgery) were unable to restore my vision. A subsequent journey to Rush hospital in Chicago convinced to continue my life with my remaining eye.
I drove for the first time on Nov. 15 - not too traumatic, but will require some additional practice to restore my confidence. Being left-handed and having a smallish nose have come in handy!
Eleven years of experience (with many in-service sessions) as a Lutheran Nursing Chaplain and as Nursing Home Administrator certainly are taking on a greater meaning now.
If you know of others who have had a similar experience to mine, please inform me.
Thanks,
Fred
Jay --
Three individuals have particular helpful during my journey of reflection
and renewal: all older adults: one person - born with one eye and lived to
age 89; a second person - blind in one eye for 20 years; and, a third person
- a woman in her late 70s who lost an eye in a car accident when she was 7
years old.
Many people have offered: prayers, cards and other words of encouragement, rides to doctor's appointments and restaurants; and, have observed and commented on my "can do"/positive attitude of acceptance. Most are convinced that a brand new door in serving others will open in the near future. I look forward to that day!
Fred
At thirteen years of age my left eye was severely damaged by a home made explosive device, the surgeons patched it up, but it never regained sight. Having sight in one eye has never been a problem I managed to become a relatively successful racing cyclist and I reverse a truck through a gap just a whisker wider than itself.
The left eye however grew uglier, misshapen, bulging and cloudy with intermittent periods of extreme discomfort. I thought that I would rather soldier on rather than have part of my body removed and thrown away. The unknown was pretty scary, but once that I had discovered your web site I knew that my life would be improved if I could just be brave enough to let go. On 28th March 2001 I had the eye removed, it is all behind me now, I have no discomfort at all and for the first time in twenty years look normal again. I have three small children, and they have not been troubled at all by me having an artificial eye.
Andrew (Bath, England)
Hi Jay,
I've just been told I have eye cancer in my left eye and are waiting for an app. down in Christchurch hospital to have the radiation treatment. Hopefully the tumor won't be too large. They have measured it at 11 so isn't very small. I had never heard of this cancer before last week and find it quite a scary thing, especially when it involves your eyes. Is the radiation very painful and what is it like to have only one good eye. I love the outdoors and have a small farmlet with donkeys on it. I was wondering if you could tell me about your experience and might help me put my mind rest a little. My eye at the moment has blurry vision, is hot for a while and have constant headaches. I'm getting real tired and trying to lay down at least once a day to rest my eyes a little. Look forward to hearing from you.
Glenice from New Zealand.
Hi Jay,
Well here I am nearly a week after they operated and took out my eye. I must say I have had a few bad days with how I am feeling in myself but guess that will get better as time goes on. To make matters worst I have a hip replacement and had to have all my teeth out a year ago because of my health so am feeling like a broken down bit of machinery at the moment. This has been the hardest thing to get my head around I have to admit. My question at the moment is - when I am looking at things or trying to read what I can see thru my good eye is a haze (like on a hot summers day when you can see the heat in the air) I can only read 1-2 pages of large print before the words start to swim - is this normal to start with? My other eye has been quite sore over the last few days but guess I can't expect much else. We have an appointment with the specialist tomorrow so will ask him about this but feel you can't get a better answer than asking someone who has been thru it. They took some tissues from behind the eye socket last week so will know the results of those tomorrow and will ask about the scans. They said last week that the chances of it traveling from the eye socket are slim but when they tell you that the eye cancer is rare then slim doesn't really come into it and will feel more assured when I hear a clear result tomorrow. By the way here is a little about myself - I am 48 years of age, live with my husband on a farmlet with donkeys and numerous other animals, have three teenage children and we have just sold our house (two weeks prior to finding this out) and are moving on the 22nd Feb. up North to a town called Tauranga. It is 6-7 hours drive and as I aren't allowed to drive for three months will be a passenger on that day instead of a driver. How long ago did you have your operation and how are you getting on? Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards
Glenice
Hi Jay, all is well, got my eye about 3 or 4 weeks ago. The fit is good, just needed a few minor adjustments. It moves well also, just not to good when I look to the left (left eye removed).I am learning to blink and point my nose when I turn my head to the left. Please send me your snail mail address and I will send you my thoughts on the last few months. I finally got them finished. They are most likely to long and boring for the web site so please feel free to edit them as you see fit. Thanks again for your help and for maintaining the web site, it really was very helpful and encouraging at a time when I needed it. I'll be out of town for about a week and forward my notes when I get back.
Thanks again ,
Tom
Hi Jay;
Just read your website with interest. Am currently in the process of doing a study on the psychological impact of enucleation (am a PHD psychology student affiliated with occuloplastic surgeons in Toronto) . Haven't really found much literature in this area in the medical/psychological journals. Was hoping that you could provide me with some information in this area. Is there any way that you could put a posting on your web site if I gave you a contact e-mail address (i.e. something to the effect of "study on psychological impact of enucleation. interested people can send a general e-mail about the psychological effects that they have experienced to..."). If this is not possible, could you give me some information on the general psychological issues that have surfaced on your website, so I have some direction in this research. I really want to do a study that highlights some of the important psychological issues surrounding enucleation from ! the patients perspective (i.e. want to get opinions of people who have been through this rather than making inferences based on a traditional medical/psychological model). I feel that if I focus on people's experiences that it will make my research more empowering for them and more meaningful. Thanks for your time and hope to hear from you soon. Good luck with the website. It appears to be a resounding success:)!
Surbhi Bhanot surbhibhanot@hotmail.com.
