More Info

No pics this time.  It's looking better though.


Anyway, looking over what I've already written, it looks like some more details of what's been done and what's to come are in order.  


As of right now, I've got a plastic ball in my socket where the eyeball used to be.  When my stitches came out, and my dr. had me move my eye around, he said "Look at that, it's moving really well."  He then told me that he'd been talking to the people at the joint where they make the prosthetic eye, and told them he doesn't really see the point in using the expensive hi tech plastic ball that the muscles (supposedly) attach to better, the cheap one works just as well.  My wallet agrees.


If I had Mary's artistic skill, I could draw some pics to illustrate what I'm gonna try to describe, but I don't. So bear with me here.  


So they took out my eyeball, and put this plastic ball in.  Then they put this thing called a 'conformer' in, I guess it's there to keep the opening of my eye in the right shape, so it'll stay open maybe?  Anyway, I can see it now, it's kinda shiny and pink.  


As I healed when the stitches were in, I made new cells that sealed off the plastic ball.  This is important, because the conformer comes out in early Dec.  The eye prosthetic place will put a new 'more comfortable' one in.  I don't know, this one isn't uncomfortable.  Before they put the new conformer in, they'll take an impression of my 'eye' (you know, the new cells/'skin?'/part of me covering the plastic ball) so they'll have the exact shape.  They'll send off to some lab in Hong Kong or something to make a piece of the prosthetic eye that will stay in contact with me.  When that arrives, I'll go back in.  By then I'll be healed up 100%, and they'll be ready to finish.  They'll attach the back part, the part that's in contact with my 'eye', to the front part, the part they paint to match my other eye.  


I know this kinda sounds disjointed.  Some of it's because I'm not sure if I've got all the details right.  Some of it's because there was so much of the 'We'll do this...No, wait, let's do this...Hmm, guess we can't, so we'll have to do this other thing."  And some of it is because I suck.  Oh well.


Anyway, that's the next step or two.  If anything doesn't make sense, ask in comments and I'll try to answer.  Or look it up on youtube, I guess there are plenty of vids of people getting this done, if you're so inclined.  I'm not, so there you go.  

Stitches are out

Finally.  They were starting to be a pain.  Not just the little hard blocks of cotton, but it always felt like my eye was full of goop, and I couldn't get it out.


Here's some pics of what it looked like on Wed., just before they took them out...

See that dark place on the lower left?  That's the one that looked worst.


The two top ones with the stitches sticking out were poking me, but not as bad; the swelling was gong down.

The bruising's gone down a lot.




























Now, here's some pics from AFTER...

With glasses...I still kinda have that "Mommy, what's wrong with that man's eye" look going on, but boy it looks a lot better than the first pics I posted.

Without glasses...


























Up close

You can see the bruising's almost gone.  I thought at first I'd lost a bunch of eyelashes, but i guess not, it just looked like it.  


The eye is slowly opening up on it;s own.  At first, when i tried to open it, it was like lifting weights with my eyelid...guess the muscles were weak after not being used for a couple of weeks.


Anyway, looking better and better.  Will post more soon.