Lesson Learned Too Late - Wear Eye Protection!

[steelbluesleepR]

man, I learned my lesson after some metal fill in my eye while working on my car and started to rust. I can't imagine going though something like this, especially since I make my living off of my eyesight (photography).

Best of luck to you, I hope everything comes out ok. Is workman's comp covering all of this, or are they going to try to screw you because you weren't wearing safety gear?

[Fleetw00d]

remember, a picture is worth a thousand words and in this instance 10,000 words

You asked for it.

Eye Damage by Paul Kemme, on Flickr

[AAPOQ]

Oh dear Gawd! ahh

[toycar]

Eeeeek

[Accrdwgnguy]

That sucks! That is so much worse than the metal splinter that got in my eye, and that hurt like hell.

[PakaloloHonda]

that image doesn't look as bad as I thought.

This happened to me once, and trust me, it may take about 3 months for the blood to clear.
But you WILL be 100% once it does, and the doc does his repair work.

I'm also a photographer, and can see fine again. But it DID take awhile!
(my case was a blast of SAND) and it looked worse then your image.
Stay strong and have faith! My thoughts are with you buddy!

[Fleetw00d]

I agree, it could have been a lot worse. If they don't see significant improvement by Saturday, they'll be going in on Monday to remove the bloody vitreous fluid and assess the retina. If they weren't concerned about having to repair the retina, I think they'd let it go to clear on its own, but if retinal repair is necessary, it needs to be done sooner than later.

Update Wednesday, Nov. 27, 6:39 PM

Just got back from the doctor's office (primary surgeon from Saturday evening). The blood in the eye is more evenly dispersed (which makes the vision even worse) and makes it even more difficult to see the retina. Based on the ultrasound today, he doesn't believe there is any retinal detachment and that what he sees at the back of the eye is blood. Because it could take 6 weeks or more for the blood to dissipate on its own, unless there is dramatic clearing between now and Sunday, they will go ahead with the surgery on Monday to remove the bloody fluid and replace it. If any retinal repairs are needed, they will do them at that time. They may or may not do anything with the damaged lens.

Update Sunday, Dec. 1, 1:42 PM

The redness on the outside of the eye appears to be diminishing, but my vision hasn't improved. In the morning I can tell when I am waving my arm in front of me (very blurry), but as soon as I'm up and moving, it completely blurrs out. Surgery tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM.

Update Tuesday, Dec. 3

Surgery #2 yesterday. The blood in the eye and vitreous (eye) fluid was evacuated from the eye. It was discovered that there was "a giant tear in the superior retina" even though the central retina was healthy as well as the macula and optic nerve. This significant retinal tear was repaired with laser. The lens was also "loose and floppy" including its encapsulating pocket both of which had to be removed in order to do the rest of the above work. The lens cannot be replaced for 3-6 months. The eye was filled with a silicone oil, yes, silicone oil. It will regenerate its own saline solution over time at which point the silicone oil will be removed.

For 24 hrs I had to be face down except for eating and restroom breaks and then he is to keep his head down toward his plate or his feet. Pain has been controlled with Ibuprofren so far. Narcotics are available if needed but we don't want to take any chances with them making him nauseous and vomiting thereby increasing the pressure in the eye and disrupting the repairs and healing.

I saw the doctor again today, prognosis is still "unknown" at this time and scar tissue could develop complicating and/or interfering with progress and/or any returning vision, and require even more surgery possibly.

Be careful out there!

[Fleetw00d]

I saw the doctor again Tuesday (12/10). He was pleased with the progress of the healing and the size of letters I could make out using a pinhole board. At the moment (depending on lighting), in some ways I can see more detail with my left eye than with my right eye without my contact lens. Unfortunately, there is a slightly shifted second image and neither of those lines up with the image from the right eye, so it is a bit busy with both open. With the left iris cut, it also tends to be brighter, so I wear an eye patch (yes, aaaarrrgghhh!) so that I can function with the right eye. I'm still supposed to keep my head down (not necessarily face down) for 12 hours a day. I did return to work (had to pack for a move of my office) and started driving again this week (taking it easy!).

The prognosis is good, but the timeline remains 3 - 6 months of healing and monitoring the retina in particular for scar tissue before they will go back in and replace the silicone oil with saline, then another month before they would install a new lens and repair the iris to a fixed pupil diameter.

Thank you for your prayers; they work!

[deevergote]

Glad to hear things are looking good! It's amazing what doctors can do these days. Years ago, you probably would've lost the eye!

How's your vision and depth perception now? Functional, at least?

[reklipz]

Hang in there captain! Glad to hear things are progressing, though I'm sure it's no fun to hear the timeframe has been extended as far as it has.

What does "head down" mean if not "face down"? Having your head below your feet really means nothing in the physical world, except the implication that your head is now upside down. I suppose it does change blood flow/pressure having all things level; is that the reason?

[steelbluesleepR]

this whole thread is making my eyes water, I can't handle stories about eyes haha

[Fleetw00d]

How's your vision and depth perception now? Functional, at least?

It is remarkable what I can see with it considering there is no natural lens in it, but because of the double image, blurriness, and brightness, I wear a black patch over it so all that visual noise doesn't overpower what I can see with the right eye. So with one eye there is no real depth perception, it is all based on the relative size of vehicles and timing. I have been experimenting in lower light conditions (dawn and dusk) without the patch to see if my brain can learn to better interpret what I do see. Night time pretty much requires the patch; the left eye again gets all sorts of distorted images, blurry lights, etc. that are really distracting.

What does "head down" mean if not "face down"? Having your head below your feet really means nothing in the physical world, except the implication that your head is now upside down. I suppose it does change blood flow/pressure having all things level; is that the reason?

Just means I should be lying down with my head to one side or the other (horizontal vs. vertical, not "down" below my body); I'm not supposed to lie down with my face looking up. I think the reason is to reduce the amount of time that gravity is trying to undo the laser repairs to the upper areas of the retina.

[Accord problems]

dam bro sorry that to happen to you . get well soon buddy.

[Fleetw00d]

Saw the doctor again yesterday. Healing is progressing well; no evidence of scar tissue in the retina.

I'm wearing the patch less (mostly just when driving at night); my brain seems to be doing a better job making the right eye primary and using what it can from the left eye. Bright sunlight is a bit of a problem becaue the iris is wide open.

Doc says in three weeks if all looks good, my optometrist can make a contact lens for my left eye until about March when they can consider installing a permanent lens in my eye.

[Accord problems]

happy to hear you're getting better .