Medically things are fine as well. My cornea specialist continues to says that everything looks good. I am no longer taking any steroid drops. I still have most of my stitches in and I’m not sure if or when those will come out. I’ll continue to provide updates on my condition, but so far so good!

After a year, I still get questions from friends and family about the surgery and how my eyes are doing. I tell them that vision is better, but not as good as I hoped it would be. While it’s great to be able to see better, things are still not very sharp. While the distortion used to be a lot more, almost like a circular blob, the distortion that I see now with glasses is almost like a letter V. If I look at a point of light, like a stop light, I see a bunch of lights overlapped. My glasses bring these lights closer together, which allows me to see the object more clearly, but because they aren’t brought all the way together these object is still fuzzy.

Hopefully my vision continue to improve. I still have a difficult time driving at night and seeing things at a distance. But I can see many things more clearly. I can see the score of the game on TV without having to ask my wife. I can read close-up text better with my left eye than I can with my non-surgical eye. I haven’t had any problems with infection, rejection or broken stitches. I feel blessed to be able to see better!

My doctors reduced the number number of times I take the Lotemax drops. I’m now taking them once every two days. It takes time to get used to the decrease. I find my eyes to be a little dry and sticky toward the end of that second day. The glasses make such a difference. One of these days I might try contacts again, since I was told that this will probably be the only way to correct my vision more. I just don’t like the idea of putting things in my eyes again.

I also had a milestone this week – I was able to confirm that I have some depth perception. This past weekend my wife and I took the kids to see a short Halloween-themed 3-D movie. While I didn’t get the full experience, I was able to see many of the 3-D elements. Prior to my surgery, I was unable to perceive any of the 3-D effects when I watched a 3-D movie at the Detroit auto show. I’ll probably try this again after I get my glasses. So far so good though. Maybe one day I’ll be able to see what this 3-D craze is all about.

During my July appointment I was able to read the 20/60 line on the eye chart. Even though I’m still seeing the multiple images, which affects the sharpness of my vision, I have noticed things getting a little better. Something that amazes me some days is that I’m able to see depth, especially objects within a couple of feet. It’s a strange feeling that I’m still getting use to. I’m also able to see things close up (6-8 inches) very well, although things go out of focus after that. The funny thing is that, as I approach 40, the vision in my “good” eye is getting worse up close, so I find myself using my “bad” eye for reading small print and my “good” eye for seeing everything else. I guess this is better than asking my wife to read small type for me like I used to.

I have only had one problem so far… during my August appointment, my eye pressure was high. My doctor took me off of the Prednisolone Acetate drops and switched me to Lotemax drops, three times a day. He also had me take Travatan drops to lower the eye pressure. I returned a week later and the pressure was still high, so he cut the Lotemax to twice a day and also prescribed Combigan twice a day. These drops irritate my eyes a lot more, but hopefully they are lowering the eye pressure. I go back again on Friday, so hopefully I can get back to a regular routine.

So after seven months, with seven stitches removed, here I am. I’ll try to post something sooner.

I continue to use a couple of informal barometers to check my progress. My DirecTV box has a bright blue ring in the front, so I continue to check the spread pattern of my vision. I mocked up an example in my Week 9 post. The pattern is still round, just a little wider and softer. This explains why my vision is still blurry at distances. I can also see a pattern in my non-surgical eye, but the spread is less and more random. My glasses bring everything into focus, so I continue to be hopeful that the same can be done in my surgical eye. It is difficult to remember how bad my vision was prior to the surgery, but I do remember that I my vision was equally blurry  whether I was looking through my lens or not. I am also able to read close-up text through my surgical eye, such as the fine print found on the back of a credit card. This is something that I can’t even do with my non-surgical eye. I have also noticed a significant reduction is nighttime glare, which makes it easier to drive at night. Unfortunately, since neither eye has good vision at a distance, I still limit my night driving when I can.

So that’s about it for now. Hopefully I can continue to be healthy and more toward better vision. I’m down to three drops of the OmniPred per day, and I only take Vigamox for two days immediately after stitches are removed. Oh yeah, stitches being removed… The first set of stitches that I had removed was pain free. I felt pretty good the day-of, but the next day I had some redness, light-sensitivity and a little bit of pain. I had a little bit of pain while the second set of stitches were removed, and had the same pain the next day. I had the same pain following removal of the third set, so know I think I know what to expect… typically about 24 hours of discomfort and redness. After that it’s back to normal.

If I’ll try to post updates more frequently if something changes. Otherwise, no news is good news.

Immediately after my appointment I didn’t notice any change (positive or negative) in my vision. As the days progressed, it actually seemed to be worse. My vision is still blurry, with the multiple images, but I did notice a change in the pattern. Before the stitches were removed, the blurriness was very random. When I looked at a bright light source, the pattern was shaped kind of like Idaho… there was a narrow cluster near the top and a wider cluster around the bottom. After the stitches were removed, the cluster was more round and symmetrical. Although my vision seems worse, it’s important to realize that I’m still looking out of my old lens. That prescription distorts my vision a lot, so I really don’t know if my vision is better or worse.

My next appointment is in a month. Hopefully I can get the OK to start golfing. The weather has been terrific and I’m ready to get out there!

My vision is still very blurry, but I can see things that I couldn’t see before. My vision still changes from day to day, so some days I can barely read text on my computer screen, and other days it’s just a blur. One point of reference that I use to test my vision us reading the address on envelopes. I few weeks ago I could read the address from about 3 inches way. Now I can read the address from about 14 inches away.

My next appointment is in about 10 days when I’m supposed to start getting stitches removed. That should be interesting…,

Even with the double-double-double vision, I’ve noticed many positive improvements in my overall vision. While at work today, I was sitting with a colleague at her computer. Before the surgery, I was unable to read screen text from more than standard reading distance. I would always have to lean in closely toward the monitor to see something over someone’s shoulder. Today I was sitting behind her about about 5-6 feet away and was able to read text in an Excel spreadsheet. I also noticed that I’m able to read larger text with my “bad” eye from a distance, and I am able to read close-up text (3-4 inches away), which is something that I can’t even do with my “good” eye. Night driving is still bad, but a little better.

I still have no pain in my eye. I just go through moments of dryness when I need to use artificial tears. I’ve also noticed that I have light sensitivity for a short time after taking my drops. I am very glad that I had this procedure done in the winter, when the days are mostly overcast. We’ve had a couple of sunny mornings, and taking my drops before I left for work made the commute extremely uncomfortable. Today I took my drops after I arrived and I had no problems with light sensitivity. Learning the order of things has been interesting.

I’ve been trying to work computer use back into my schedule, since I will be returning to work in a week. I found that I need to pace myself, since my eyes get tired after a couple hours of on-and-off use.  I also ventured outside today to test my reaction to natural sunlight. If you’ve seen a movie that has a nuclear blast scene… where the sky turns a blinding white… it felt kind of like that. I understand why I’m not supposed to drive! My life as a hermit, with the shades drawn and the lights dimmed, will continue.

My one-week appointment is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

I still spent most of the day resting and relaxing my eye. I was also able to spend a little bit of time on the computer checking e-mail and writing this blog. I will be off work for two weeks, and seeing how I feel after using the computer in 30-minute intervals I know that I’ll need those full two weeks. I’m a web developer, so I need my eyes!

Things are feeling a lot better today, but I’m still waiting for the eyelid swelling to go down. Thanks to all of my friends and family who continue to call. I even got a fruit basket from work!

After the appointment, I went home. It was overcast at first, but when the sun came out I could tell that my eyes were very light-sensitive. Even with my eye closed the sun caused my eye to hurt. I went home and my eyes were very irritated. The swollen eye would press against my cornea every time I blinked, so I wasn’t feeling very good. I didn’t feel very good the rest of the day, so I spent most of the time sleeping or lying with my eyes closed. I noticed some cloudiness around my eye near the stitches, but the doctor said that this, allowing with the irritation and swelling, was normal.

Things were moving along pretty quickly, and I was told that my surgery was being moved up about an hour; I was originally supposed to be the second patient. The anesthesiologist told me that I need to be given two shots behind my eye, but that I was be put asleep for that procedure. A few minutes later I was told that I was getting the anesthetic. I was looking up at the ceiling at the time, trying to feel when it would kick in. It seemed like a few minutes later when I noticed that I couldn’t see out of my left eye. At that point I was getting ready to be taken to the operating room. I didn’t feel a thing. Anesthesia is a trip!

I was taken to the O.R. where the doctor and his intern were present. I thought that my eye had been paralyzed, but it had just been covered. I guess when I was “under” they had propped open my eye and covered it up. I could see a little bit, but since the vision in my uncorrected eye is horrible and I had not active muscles to focus, there wasn’t much to be seen. My other eye was covered with a patch. I could still see light through the bandage or gauze, but nothing else. I could see the doctor poking and prodding at my eye, I received more drops.

A little bit later I could see the doctor place the trephine (a circular cutting device) over my eye. It just looked like I was looking through a small metal tube. He gave it a few twists, then I could see him pull out my old cornea. I saw the new cornea put in place. It seemed cloudier than my old cornea, so I couldn’t really see anything after that point. He started the stitching. After a few stitches were applied, I heard him mention that he was starting the running stitch; this is the one around the perimeter of the cornea. He was explaining to the intern what he was doing and what to look out for with regards to the tightness of the stitches. I also heard them talking about the football game. I’m just glad I didn’t hear him say “now you give it a try…”

The stitching took about 15 minutes, and after the doctor was finished he rinsed out my eye and bandaged it up. I remarked to him about the fact that there was no pain. I just hoped that would continue. I was taken back to an examining room, and my wife and mom stopped back to see me. I was still in no pain. Fantastic.

After about 30 minutes I was released from the hospital and went home. I was able to call and text some friends and family to let me know that the surgery was finished. I was still in very good spirits and experienced no pain, just a little discomfort. I felt something under the bottom of my eye, almost like I had an eyelash in my eye. Other than that, just numbness from the top of head around to my left cheek.

I was able to eat (finally), and my children, parents and in-laws stopped by to check on me. Right after they left I went to sleep… and slept for about 7 hours. I took some preemptive Tylenol before my nap. I only felt a tiny bit of discomfort while I was sleeping, but still no pain. I was expecting the anesthetic to wear off and experience sharp pain, but that hasn’t been the case. I still feel fine, thank God!

I was never able to fall back asleep, so I’ve been up all night watching one-eyed television and typing this blog post. My follow-up appointment is at 9:10 am. This is when I will get the eye shield removed and get the first glimpse from my new eye. I’m excited.

Today has been a great day so far.

I never had a problem getting prescriptions for glasses until the mid 90’s. I remember going to get an eye exam. My right eye was fine, but when my left eye was checked they could not find a setting to correct my vision. I remember going through the test – “Which is better… 1 or 2? 3 or 4?” It reached a point where all of the settings were out of focus and none of them corrected my vision. I was referred to an ophthalmologist.

My grandfather had been seeing an ophthalmologist named Dr. Bogorad at Henry Ford Hospital. I became his patient, and he was the one who diagnosed the problem – Keratoconus. I found out that Keratoconus is a very rare disease of the cornea. It is typically diagnosed in patients in their mid-twenties. Thinning of the cornea causes it to take on a cone-like shape that distorts vision. Vision becomes progressively worse, but it does not result in total blindness, and the vision changes slow down over time. It typically only affects one eye. The first course of treatment is rigid gas permeable contact lenses. The last course of treatment is a cornea transplant. There are other treatments available, some of which are still experimental.

When I told my parents, of course they were worried. Was I going to go blind? How did I get it? Is it painful? What options are available? Can I get LASIK? I tried to explain that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it, and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. For me, it has always been an annoyance, but it isn’t painful. It just affected my night vision at that time. I have friends that have gotten LASIK, and I wish that was an option. Unfortunately it’s not recommended when the cornea is thin.

I tried the hard lenses in the late nineties. They corrected my vision better than the glasses, but the discomfort did not justify the benefit. I found that having vision that was slightly out of focus was more tolerable than the contact lenses. My glasses corrected my vision, but I started noticing distortions in my left eye. I was getting new glasses every two years or so, and when I had my prescription filled in late 90’s, I noticed that objects were skewed. When I held up a piece of paper, it didn’t look rectangular, it looked like this. I had the prescription tweaked a bit, but objects were still skewed. Eventually, from what I’ve been told, my brain began to process the signal differently and objects seemed to straighten out. I imagine that was when my right eye became the dominant eye.

Something else that I began to notice was that I saw multiple copies of objects. It was most noticeable in bright objects, like lights. I would see 4 or 5 instances of the objects, with motion trails, always with lots of glare. During the day I really didn’t notice it, but at night, taillights, headlights and streetlights all had that effect. Around the same time, I started to notice that I was having trouble with my night vision. I was staring to have a hard time reading street signs at night, and the glare from oncoming headlights was blinding. I couldn’t see street addresses from my car, which made it difficult to find houses and businesses. I remember being really late once picking up wedding photos with my wife because I couldn’t see the streets or addresses and went WAY out of the way.

My left eye was getting progressively worse and finally reached a point where the vision out of that eye was completely out of focus and uncorrectable. My right eye was compensating, so I could see during the day relatively well, but I no longer had any depth perception. This made some everyday things very difficult… try threading a needle with one eye! By the mid-2000’s, I was just dealing with it. My wife started doing most of the night driving.

I noticed my overall vision getting progressively worse. I started having difficulty with everyday things. For example, while watching football games on a 32” TV from about 10 feet away, I couldn’t see the score displayed on the television. That gave me an excuse to get an HDTV. I could still read standard sized print in books, but I had difficulty reading small type. To this day I still have to ask my wife to read small type.

I’ve noticed my right eye getting worse, although it is still correctable to 20/30 with glasses. The left eye is correctable to 20/1000 with glasses. I’ve noticed some of the things that I initially noticed in my left eye, such as ghosting and glare off of bright objects. It is difficult to explain to people what I see, especially people like my wife who are blessed with 20/20 vision. The best way to explain the night vision is that it’s like driving in a rain storm. You can still make out what is there, but things are distorted, and you can only see for a short distance. I also created a few pictures to try to illustrate what I see:

About 4 years ago I heard about a new alternative to cornea transplants called Intacs. It involves implanting a plastic ring in the cornea to correct the vision. I found a local cornea specialist who performs the surgery and scheduled a consultation. I found out immediately that my cornea had thinned too much and I was not a candidate. I started to think more seriously about having a cornea transplant. Before going that route, I wanted try contact lenses again. I was fitted for hard lenses, but they only corrected my vision to 20/70. Because they were still very uncomfortable and they still didn’t clear up the issues with night vision, I decided to continue using glasses.

Over the past few years, my overall vision has greatly diminished. My vision is good in outdoor sunlight, but as conditions darken my vision becomes exponentially worse. I am at the point where in an indoor setting it is difficult to recognize faces that are more than 30 feet away. It’s difficult when you can’t recognize people across the room, or when someone waves and you can’t tell who they are. Before this time, my life was only impacted at night. I am now at the point where my overall quality of life is affected.

In the fall of 2008, after trying contact lenses again and talking with my ophthalmologist, my physician and my optometrist, I scheduled a cornea transplant with my ophthalmologist. I have been seeing him for 4 years and he will be performing my surgery on January 26, 2009. I’ve talked with him about the surgery, and I’ve visited tons of web sites to find out more about the procedure. Some days I feel really good about it, and other days I don’t. I realize that this could be the best thing or the worst thing that I’ve ever done. This is a procedure where, once it’s done, there’s no going back. There is a long recovery time, and some risk. It could go very well, and I can have clear vision restored in my left eye, or it could be a procedure that I regret for the rest of my life. I could go on the way that things are, but I would love to be able to see the world with both eyes again.

My pre-operative visit is scheduled for this afternoon. I still have a bunch of questions:

1. Will I be able to play golf in the spring?
2. When will I be able to pick up my kids again?
3. What happens with the prescription in my glasses during my recovery time?
4. How much work do I need to miss?

I am looking forward to the surgery, which is now less than 2 weeks away. I will try to document my experience to help explain it to family and friends what is happening and how things are going.