It started 9 years ago on the morning of the second day of Rosh HaShannah. I woke up with a pain in my left eye like something was stuck in it. I couldn't make the pain ago away. I was given a Clonex that knocked me out for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon, I went to the Arab doctor who gave me a prescription for something. Of course it was Yom Tov, so I couldn't get it filled.
The next day I found an optometrist. My cornea had blown out. It took medicine and a few days to heal. That has been the pattern ever since. I would put ointment in my eye whenever I went to sleep. I had eye gel that I could use, if my eye was irritated during the day. From time to time my cornea would blow out. I would find a way to see my optometrist same day and begin the treatment cycle again. The day I was preparing for my wife's funeral, I went to see my ophthalmologist. We came up with a plan avoid a blowout during shiva that included trying to avoid crying with tears.
When we moved north, I found someone able to follow the same patterns of monitoring and treatment. That also included finding alternatives when the ointment was discontinued and finding a way to fill scripts properly for an alternative that was added to the health basket, imported from Canada.
Earlier this year, the cornea blowouts started happening in my second eye as well. A few days before Rosh HaShannah my cornea blew out again. For the first time, I had a second blow out before the healing process had been completed. My ophthalmologist suggested that I see a Cornea Specialist, with the intention of having laser surgery.
About a month later, my eye blew out again. For the first time in 9 years, my ophthalmologist was not available to take care of it. Maccabi found us a doctor who works out of a hotel in Haifa. He said that he had been examining eyes since before I was born. I believe that it was true and that did not offer me any comfort. He told me that the pain I was experiencing was the worst possible type of pain. He also said that I didn't need any pain relief or treatment. Let everything heal on it's own.
The next day I was still in agony. I went to my ophthalmologist who treated it and put in a contact lens. She didn't want to do too much, because the appointment with the cornea specialist was that evening. The lens didn't hold very well but made it until that evening. The specialist replaced the lens with a therapeutic lens and said it would not come out until I had surgery. I asked how long that would be. He answered 'tomorrow.' He made a phone call and had a slot for me at Assuta Hospital in Tel Aviv for PKT surgery.
I was in so much pain in the morning, I insisted on leaving more than 2 hours earlier than planned. As the surgeon doesn't show up before a certain time, arriving early didn't help. They tried to take the pictures needed for the surgery shortly after arriving. Unfortunately, my eye was not in good enough shape to be able to take the pictures. We then had the regular waiting time plus an additional two hours.
The surgeon finally arrived. He had a very calming bedside manner and easily gained my trust and confidence. He agreed that I should have the surgery but not on that day. I needed my eyes to be healthy for a period of 2 weeks before the surgery. He also recommended that they do a PRK at the same time. There was no additional risk and it would correct my vision to the point of not needing glasses. We made an appointment for 3 weeks later. We also made sure that he would be the surgeon performing the surgery.
My eye healed and I was given approval for the surgery. During the 3 weeks, I was afraid my eye would blow out again and paranoid that I could be stuck in bidud (quarantine). The day of the surgery arrived without any need for delays.
First up were the pictures. I still had trouble opening my eyes wide enough, but they were able to get the images they needed. Next up was the optometrist. It was a fairly rigorous exam, as they needed to make sure they got everything just right. At one point I was asked "Do you see 5 or 6 objects?' I answered 'I see 4 objects.' I proceeded to name identify them all to make sure everything was correct.
After all the preliminary exams, it was time to see the surgeon. He was happy with all the results and approved the surgery. I wasn't worried but it was still a moment of relief. I signed the waiver and was ready to go. They even made sure that we would get a English copy of the waiver.
We then went to pay the bill and get the detailed instructions for post-op, including lots of eye drops, activity restrictions, follow up appointments and the need to wear sunglasses for 6 months whenever in the sun. We were than directed to a corner in the clinic, to pick up a pair of sunglasses before heading to the pharmacy, followed by the waiting room for the actual surgery.
At the beginning, I said I wanted to buy myself a pair of sunglasses without a prescription. In the corner there were 4 shelves filled with all kinds of different styles of sunglasses. I would say there were between 60 - 80 in total. As they are now the most expensive sunglasses I will ever own, it will be a while before I buy another pair.
I am not going to describe the surgery. Suffice it to say that the doctor did a great job, guiding me through the procedure. It was just after he told me that he had finished the first section on my first eye that I realized, that I probably should have had my SOS anti-anxiety medication on board. When I walked out of surgery, I could see perfectly for about 60% of the field in front of me. About half an hour later the blurriness set in, as the healing process began.
I am now 10 days post-op. The recovery time is a lot slower and challenging than than I originally expected. I am making progress and learning to return to regular life step by step. I no longer have to put ointment in my eyes in order to sleep or fear that my eye is going to blow out at anytime. There are a lot of things I am looking forward to doing without glasses, including playing hockey. There are a lot more things to look forward to.
