It has been six months since I had a procedure to peel back part of a scar tissue membrane behind the artificial cornea on my right eye. The membrane was blocking all light from getting into the eye, and the hope has been that by peeling part of it back I might be able to get some access to the back of the eye and have some use of whatever vision remains. I have not posted an update in a while, so I thought that perhaps one is in order.
I have had several surgeries in the past to repair various types of damage to my eye, and it has always been difficult to keep the eye stable after surgery. So I did not have high expectations this time–I have been taking things one day at a time. I am pleased to say that so far things are going well. I am able to see several variations in color, which means I have some preferences as to things I like and things I don’t. I am not able to match colors to names reliably; but the colors I tend to like seem to be consistent. Occasionally I will recognize a familiar color.
I can occasionally see something about a person’s face if I am standing nearby; but I am not able to recognize people. I can see a few forms that allow me to navigate around in familiar places, tell if I’m dropped off at a different place from what I expect, etc. I am learning that it might make sense to use my eyes when I’m not finding something I’m looking for–it has been several years since I’ve been able to look for something with my eyes and expect to find it.
I am not able to see pictures, read text., or see designs on clothing. That is ok with me–I didn’t really expect to do any of these things. It is nice to have the stability.
