Discussion Board

Thanks for praying for me in regard to the surgery on my left eye today.

If you have had this surgery, perhaps you can add your impressions and insights to what I will write.

I understand that about half of the people in the world have cataracts by age 60 and that lens replacement surgery is the most common operation in the world.

An optometrist told me that I had cataracts about five years ago--before I had noticed any changes in my vision related to them. He encouraged me by saying that I would have the surgery and then have perfect vision. I thought little about this for about three years and then began noticing an increase in blurriness, especially early in the AM and late at night. It would often clear with a few eye blinks.

As this very gradually grew worse over the last two years, I decided that I should get regular eye exams every six months until a surgeon told me it was time for the lenses to be replaced. I had the first exam in December, 2009 and the ophthalmologist said it was too early to replace the lenses. This month I was a bit surprised when the eye doctor said he could replace them since my vision seemed about the same as it was in December. However, gradual changes are often unnoticed.

The nice people at the eye hospital in Wuhan performed many tests on my eyes and a few other tests about two weeks ago. My wife began placing an antibiotic drop in my eye 4x/day Friday. This morning I returned to the hospital for the surgery.

We saw the very pleasant young nurse we had seen there before. She assessed my vital signs and began dilating my eye. She advised me to eat lots of vegetables! She placed several drops in my eye over the next 30-45 minutes and then led us to the surgery suite on the second floor. By this time the vision is my left eye was quite poor--something you have probably experienced if your eyes have been dilated.

At the surgery suite she placed a gown and cap on me and placed shoe covers over my shoes. She then entrusted me to the nurses in the preparation room. One bathed my eye. The difficult part about this is keeping an eye open when someone is washing it. It was unpleasant but did not last very long. Then they thoroughly cleaned the area around my eye and and the left half of my face. They placed more drops in my eye.

Then a nurse led me to the operating room. It was a big room with several tables and I think several patients and doctors were there. (I was not seeing much with my glasses off and one eye dilated.) She and a surgeon helped me to lie in the proper position on the table. Someone washed the outside of my eye and face again. Then someone piled towels over my head, arms and chest. My breathing seemed to be OK but this felt very strange. Only my left eye was exposed.

Then someone taped (I think) my left eye open and washed it. Then the doctor shined a light into my eye about as bright as the sun. He asked if I could see it and I suppose if I had said no (bu shi), he would have known he had a major problem. He began doing something to my eye but I could not detect what he was doing. I could see the bright light and a lot of things moving on/in my eye.

Then I had one of the worst experiences of my life. My body told me to get off of the table, to get up, to walk. I felt I was not getting enough air. I told myself I must remain still. I prayed. I took some deep breaths and moaned a bit. I moved my legs a bit. I wanted the doctor to know I was in distress. He said he was almost through...and he was. I think the total time for the surgery on the eye took only about three minutes. They removed the towels, cleaned my eye and face and applied a dressing. Then a nurse escorted me to the post-op room. Another nurse placed a plastic guard and a dressing over the first dressing. A nurse removed my cap, gown and shoe covers. She led me out to my wife.

I could see the lens card in my hand and knew it had been made in TX. So you know the Chinese are buying some things made in the USA.

We sat there for a few minutes and then very carefully left the hospital and returned to our apartment. We are to return to the hospital tomorrow for the removal of the dressing and I look forward to that!

As I reflect on this now I think about that very difficult battle between my body and my mind. It was terrible. Maybe it was a panic attack. Maybe it was caused by an epinephrine injection (often used with local anesthetics). I do not know what caused it but I was so grateful it did not last very long.

What kind of body-mind battles have you had?

Can you imagine fasting for 40 days? Jesus did that. Can you imagine facing a group of policemen when you knew they were coming to take you away and that you would be crucified the next day? Imagine facing them and saying, "I am he." Can you imagine not resisting when your were nailed to a cross? Can you imagine hanging there for six hours as you suffocated and bled and the life drained from your body?

I can read about it but I do not think I will ever (on earth) fully appreciate what Jesus did. Love kept Him on the cross. The battle between His mind/will and His body must have been the greatest that anyone has every faced. Because He did this, we have good news about the One who loves us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2.20).

So my two minutes of "intense suffering" remind me of Someone who did the greatest thing anyone has ever done.

Whenever you are having a body-mind battle, think about the One who won the greatest body-mind battle every. Look up. Let us be thankful!

Pinkrose,

Thank the Lord that your surgery is over and things went well.

I understand about your mind/body battle and appreciated reading how you spoke to yourself during that time to overcome the urge to flee.

In the same way, we are to speak to our own souls. If you remember both in Ps. 42 and Ps. 43 David spoke to his soul "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." I think that is a good example of the idea of enouraging yourself in the Lord, similar to what we read about in Judges 20:22 "And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day." And also in 1 Sam. 30:6 "...but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God."

May we be encouraging ourselves and one another in the Lord this day as we face our own battles, both with food temptations and other non-food temptations and trials.

Blessings to you Pinkrose, and all,
Jubilee

I have not had the surgery, but have been reading extensively about it. My brother, 70 yo, had the first of two cataract surgeries this month, and scheduled for the second in July. So far, so good. In his words, he "chickened out" last year when scheduled for the surgeries, and cancelled the appointments. He is enrolled in college working toward a 2nd Bachelor's Degree, and his inability to read assignments pushed him into trying again.

Have you ever come across information about Meir Schneider? If not, I thought you might enjoy reading a bit about his unusual history and what evolved. Quite a story.:
Meir Schneider
http://www.self-healing.org/navigation/ ... schneider/

Greetings Pinkrose,

I'm so glad that you are done and home! Thank you for writing up such a detailed account of what happened. And thank you for reminding me of just how much my Lord suffered for me on the cross WILLINGLY.

I can't add anything because Jubilee said it so well.
Take good care and I'm sure, because you are so healthy, your recovery time is going to be much quicker than most people.

Wow! Thanks for sharing the link, Clary! Meir is now one of my heroes!

Also, thanks to Jubilee and Luv for your kind encouraging words!

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me in regard to the surgery on my right eye today! We are grateful to be back at home and I think the eye is OK. We will know more when the dressings are removed tomorrow.

I told the nurses and the surgeon about my experience last week and they did not cover my mouth and nose. I had no breathing problems and no panic attack. I am grateful!

One of the ways I coped with the surgery today was by silently quoting Psalm 23. I think I was on the eighth repetition of this when it was over. You may have other favorite passages that support you when you are being tested. Use your Sword!

"10 Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." (Ephesians 6, NIV)

I hope to be seeing well with both eyes in a few weeks!

Let us look up and be thankful!

I'm glad everything went well with your operations. It sounds like they do things a bit differently in China than in the US. In the US, people get an IV and some sedation...maybe so that they do not feel panicked by having the drapes covering their nose and mouth. For one eye, my father had minimal sedation and did fine; for the other eye, he was really knocked out and it took him hours to wake up.

Your story makes me wonder if sedation is necessary at all.

Thanks for your interesting comments!

After almost five years in China and 53 years in the USA with about 18 years working in health care, I can tell you that the differences in heath care are very great. Maybe I will never know what caused my panic attack but I think it was triggered by inadequate oxygen combined with the intense noxious stimuli of eye surgery (especially the bright light since I seem to be more sensitive to light than most people). With no problems related to breathing and no sense of panic yesterday, I would still NOT recommend that people endure such a procedure without sedation. I think that many here would probably argue that since the procedure is brief, the sedation is not worth the costs or risks. However, after my experience, I am concerned that some may experience dangerously high blood pressure without the sedation...but I am only a patient/layman in regard to this.

Otherwise, in regard to health care in China, you have many choices here that you would not have in the USA. For example, if you are having back pain, you could be treated with deep tissue massage (somewhat painful) for an hour for about $5. For a bit more you could also receive acupuncture and electric muscle stimulation. If you want to go to a western style hospital (and there are many here), you could receive western treatments that would probably be much more expensive and not necessarily as effective IMHO.

The biggest problem that I think many westerners would have with the health care system here is that much of it seems to be unscientific. We think that traditions should bow to science. However, I am glad to see that many here are aware that poor eating habits are afflicting millions here with diabetes mellitus, hypertension and other deadly diseases. I hope that the health care leaders here will be wise and scientific as they try to manage these huge challenges to the health of the Chinese. We need a few million Dr. McDougalls here!

If you visit China, somnolent, I think you will find it fascinating. Please visit us if you come to China! We are only a bit west of California! :-D

Thanks for your very kind words and blessings, Luv! After that surgery, I have a new appreciation for the word "relief"! Ha ha!

Thank you!

It's nice to read that all went well and you are home!

UPDATE
Hi pinkrose,
I received a long email from my brother in OK yesterday.
Excerpts:
My second cataract surgery was rescheduled---but not by me. The surgeon had some scheduling conflicts and ask me to give up my original spot to someone who needed it more than I did. I was moved to August 10th. [Note from Clary: THAT is a whole other subject!!! --about what may be ahead for us in Health Care!]
...Other than the inconvenience, its not too bad. [On the first one] they used only a local anesthetic to numb the eye and I was fine to resume normal activities within one day. There was some "itching" and minor soreness for several weeks and I needed to use several types of eye drops for about a month after the surgery... and needed to follow up with several office visit checkups during the healing process. The vision in my treated eye has gone from 20/200+ to 20/20 and everything is much brighter (instead of yellowish).

...I am going to try to take another class at OU this coming Fall Semester. I think I need about nine more classes to get a second Bachelors Degree, but at the rate I am going it will take me at least five or more years to get it! [Note from Clary: My brother started college for the first time after retirement in his 60's. --obtained his first Bachelor's degree in his late 60's. He will be 72 YO in November.)
---------------------------------
Wanted you to know also that my Meir Schneider's "The Natural Vision Improvement Kit" arrived in this morning's mail. I haven't opened it yet. I was able to obtain a new set, still in shrink wrap, from half.com for about $11. In the same order I updated my yellowed-paged, 60's version of the book The Bates Method for Better Eyesight Without Glasses, for a shiny new copy, including the eye-chart, for under $4.00.
Hoping all is going just peachy for you!

Clary, you rock. Love your tag line!