Good Vision, At Last Post-Transplant,
Continued


Feb. 14 - Sept. 8

At the time of publication of this webpage July 17, 2001, I had been in contact with more than two dozen people in the Fuchs' Friends group who had corneal transplants. Our experiences differed in some aspects, such as type of medications, activity restrictions, follow-up visits, number and type of stitches used, length of time to wear eyepatch, etc. This is the story of the continuing healing of my corneal transplant and is not meant to indicate that other methods or procedures are not equally effective.

Feb 14
I did an unscheduled appointment with my doctor. Last night I dropped my hand on my eye while sleeping (DON'T ASK!), and this morning I had not only a Fuchy old eye, but a wildly blurred transplanted eye, as well.

Good news. "No harm, no foul," my doctor said. I did not damage my transplant. However, my astigmatism has changed 90 degrees, but it has improved from 4.5 to 3.5. I will have a topographical map done Monday to see which stitches should come out next. Doctor said this is the time to do it, while the new cornea is still healing and molding.

My eye pressure was 27, up from the 12-18 I've had. Doctor thinks I may be a "responder," ie. the cortizone (Pred Forte) eyedrops may be causing the eye pressure to rise. I'm off the Pred Forte. In fact, all I am on now is liquid tears. And he said use a lot of them. He doesn't want the eye to dry out. My surgery was Nov. 14

Feb 16
I'm understanding the problem of the astigmatism during the healing of the transplant. I can see fine--3 and 4 of everything! I've heard it can take 6 months to 2 years for the vision to get settled down. I'm going to have a topographical map of my cornea done so my eye doctor can better see which stitches to remove next to lessen the astigmatism.

Feb 19
Today I had my eye mapped to help my doctor decide what stitches should come out next. The machine that took this photo looks like a "funnel of lighted rings." I was looking into the funnel, with many circles of light lining the funnel. I stared into the center of these many circles, kept my eye on the small center area, and the tech took a picture. Fascinating. There were no eyedrops, no pain or discomfort. The black and white shot that showed up on her monitor wasn't too clear to me (vision not so hot today), but a colorful version was next to it showing patches of green, red, blue, etc., like a weather map. The technician told me nothing except that she would send the map over to my eye doctor.

Feb 20
One of our Fuchs' Friends once said she went through four time frames during her transplant healing: months 1-4 optimism, 5-7 disappointment, 8-10 disillusionment and 11-present reality. From my experience, that is right on target. I can feel myself already sliding from optimism to disappointment. But that's only emotional. My brain is still holding onto the end result, only 9 (NINE???) months away. Thank God for my Fuchs' Friends support group. They keep me plugging away during this long healing. To keep things in perspective, the vision I have today, astigmatism and all, is better than the double-dose of constant fogs I had before.

Feb 21
It's been a long day. I had that "cinder in the eye" I've hear described by members of Fuchs' Friends. The artificial tears wouldn't budge it, so finally I just crawled on the bed (sitting up so as not to cloud over my Fuchy eye) and closed my eyes. Then it got better.

Feb 25
Good grief! It's been too long since I could "see" my clothes. I just went digging through my wardrobe, and things I have been wearing are a mess! I asked my husband, "How long have I been going off to work looking like this?" Actually, he had been checking me out before I went in public, but apparently not enough. My stuff was stained, nubbly, and just plain shabby. We went straight to the mall and replaced some jackets and slacks. And I realized that jewelry is going to be fun again.

Feb 26
I just had a call from my cornealogist (a term dreamed up by one of our Fuchs' Friends). Based on the topographical map of my cornea done last week, he wants me to come in Wed. for more stitch removal. My multiple visions lately have been too-o-o-o-o much! I could tell when I saw that colored map that something was "out of round." This corneal healing/stitch removal is both an art and a science!

Feb 28
Using the cornea topography map (looks like a weather map with rainstorms coming in!), my doctor clipped four holding stitches. The map he showed me had a code, a bar of ranging colors along the right side, showing that the dark blue indicates that part of the cornea to be flat, and the more the color goes to red, the steeper is that part of the cornea. My map showed the red and orange going horizontal and flared (like a bow on a package), so the 4 stitches clipped were on both sides. Two of the stitches he was able to remove entirely, but the other 2 were stubborn and wouldn't come out, so he just snipped them. They will dissolve in time. He is not messing with the running stitch at all. I'm back on Pred Forte and Ocuflox (anti-inflammatory and antibiotic) for two days. The really good news is my vision in the transplanted eye checked in (uncorrected, through the pinhole thingy) at 20/40 minus 2! A great improvement. And my eye pressure which had jumped to 27 because of the Pred Forte (I am a "responder" to cortizone) is back to 16. So my new anti-inflammatory will be Lotemax. Doctor said I should be seeing much much better from the transplanted eye in just a day or so. Wow!

I'll try to get a copy of my topographical map to post here.

Mar 2
My itchies from the stitch removal are cleared up, and I am astounded to see so well. My co-founder Bob says I don't even sound like the same person! I am raring to go get out there and sell a house!! I was ready to give up my work before I got this transplant!

March 14
Last year one of our members said she suddenly noticed after having the transplant that instead of aging gracefully with a nice gentle haze as she thought she was doing, now she had wrinkles popping out all over the place! I had that experience this week. Not to mention freckles or liverspots or whatever it is that we "mature people" have earned. E-e-e-kk! And I'm not even gonna tell ya about the "discoveries" I am making in my kitchen! Yuk!

I am relying almost entirely on my transplanted eye now, just four months out from the transplant. This week, especially, with a cold and lots of coughing, the Fuchy eye is almost useless. But the transplanted eye is able to READ (using cheapie drugstore half- glasses). I'm getting caught up on all the trade journals piled up in my bin for so many months. It still astounds me to close one eye and then the other and see how terribly bad my vision is in my Fuchy eye compared to the transplanted one.

March 17
I've been sick almost a week with a cold and cough. My eye is tired. But my vision is so good in the transplanted eye that I drove by myself to the supermarket to pick up the corned beef and cabbage for tonight's St. Patrick's day dinner. I have not driven myself out on that busy street for almost two years! It felt new and strange, like I was out on my learner's permit. But I got into the routine quickly. It's like a miracle. I will be able to go back to work on my own now!

March 19
I AM DRIVING MYSELF EVERYWHERE!

Well, I haven't tried the freeway yet, but that's only because I feel a little weird behind the wheel after almost two years

It was the 4 stitches taken out, based on the topographical map, that improved my vision. I don't know my visual acuity (eg 20/40 or ?), but I know I can drive once again. Alleluia!

March 28
Here is my corneal topographical map. It may not look like much to you, but I have labeled it Dorothy's Miracle Map.

From that map my eye doctor could tell where he should remove stitches. Today my vision checked in at 20/40 uncorrected and with only one-third of a diopter of astigmatism. We will hold off on the glasses for now, because I'm doing fine with nothing but cheapie drugstore half-glasses for reading. We will not touch any more stitches for now. I will have follow-up apptmt in two months. Doctor mentioned that 10 or 20 years ago, the eye surgeons were told to get all the stitches out, but he said that often created wild astigmatism. He and I are content to leave things alone. It ain't broke, so no sense fixing it.

My doctor told me that he told the story about my eye pressure going so high during the transplant, and that he had to do a vitrectomy. He said the other doctors and professors never heard of that, and were glad it never happened to them. I was thanking my lucky stars to have an eye surgeon who was familiar with retinal surgery and knew how to do a vitrectomy (taking some of the gel out of the eye ball). I was also glad I didn't realize what he was doing!! My doctor thinks it was the local anesthesia that caused the wild eye pressure during the surgery. We've agreed that on the other eye, I will have a general. Now that I've told you all chapter and verse about my first eye surgery, I can sleep through the next one. LOL!

I also gave Dr. Rundle a thank you letter to forward to the eye bank for my donor's family. He said he thought the family would be glad to get that, and how hard it must have been for them to make a decision to allow the cornea to be donated when they were under so much grief and stress.

April 15
My vision has continued to be wonderful in my transplanted eye until today. We had a death in the family nine days ago, accompanied by unbelievable amounts of anguish, exhaustion, and stress. I didn't always have the chance to put in the Liquid Tears, either. Today I began to have trouble focusing, but no pain. We still have two days to go before the Memorial Service, so times are not easy yet.

April 18
Yesterday was very difficult, and we didn't get home until midnight. But after getting a decent night's sleep, I noticed that my distance focus has improved. I actually drove the car alone about 8 miles. So I think part of my vision problem was my tired brain being unable to pull together the input from my transplanted eye and my Fuchy eye. Or perhaps it was somehow stress related. Either way, I'm relieved that the transplanted eye is happy again.

April 19
Although my transplanted eye is back to more double vision today, I DID have one more step of progress. Without glasses I was able to pick through the various bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the shower, find my favorite ones, and just luxuriate my hair! I had been using only one bottle, the one with the white cap, because I couldn't read what was on the other ones. I sure hated the stuff with the white cap. It smelled like old cigarette smoke, I found it in a close-out bin, but the cap was a color I could SEE. How subtle are the miseries Fuchs' puts upon us.

May 1
Sometimes when I'm out in public, I catch myself closing one eye, and then the other to compare the vision, and wonder if other people might be thinking I'm winking at them! One of my favorite ways to "nail down" what my transplanted eye is seeing is to look at the little green light on my computer monitor, the one that shows it is "on." Right now I'm seeing triple, a ghost image to the left and another below. Almost eight months out, and still vision shifting a bit, but constantly getting better. I'm happy.

May 19
My transplanted eye is doing great. In fact, it is doing all the work now as my Fuchy eye has had a bad month with the stress level as we try to settle an estate in our family. Yesterday I only took artificial tears 3 times the whole day long, and my new eye didn't even complain. I'm 6 months out from the transplant, and I LOVE MY NEW EYE!

May 30
I had a routine checkup today, 6 1/2 months out from the surgery. I had no complaints, my pressure was 19, and I was so casual about the whole thing that I forgot to ask how my visual acuity checked out. Doctor said two of my stitches are becoming superficial, which he said means they are coming to the surface. My next appointment is in 60 days, when he will remove them. He did remind me to call him immediately if I had any of the RSVP symptoms of rejection (redness, sensitivity to light, vision change, or pain). He said he could give me an eyeglass prescription, but I said I could wait until the next time. My transplanted eye sees distance very well, and for reading I wear cheapie drugstore half-glasses. Glasses are useless for the Fuchy eye. The only reason I can think of to get the glasses now is that my hubby says I don't look like myself without glasses!

I am on only 1 drop of Lotemax a day (except for artificial tears). Lotemax, is a substitute for the cortizone that was increasing my eye pressure. I just realized that my hubby takes several drops a day to control his glaucoma. One drop a day is duck soup. I can live with that.

Jun 9
We just finished painting and recarpeting our house. I wonder if my donor eye is saying, "You didn't tell me I'd be moving furniture and schlepping boxes of files only 7 months after the transplant!" I was somewhat concerned about the fumes from new paint and carpet, and there was a little "dryness" (similar to when I am around people who are smoking). But the one thing I didn't ever lose in the moving around of everything was my Tears Naturelle. They saved the day!

June 14
I am exactly 7 months out from the transplant, and yes it was a nuisance with the eyedrops and special attention I had to pay to my new cornea. But the trade-off is MORE than worth it. I got back all the things I lost, the driving, the ability to work, the gardening, the miniatures, and even things I hadn't realized I had lost, like the color of blue in the sky and the way red really looks. I am thrilled with the ability to see again, and when it's time for the other eye, I will more than happily do all those pesky drops again.

July 16
For the past three weeks I have again developed a slight astigmatism, which I can pin down by looking at the small green light on my computer monitor. I have a slight "shadow vision" image to the left and another one just below the real object. It doesn't bother me too much, but I'm looking forward to getting a prescription for glasses in two weeks. To sum up the healing process, I would say it is not a straight line from bad vision to good vision. It's more of a meandering line.

August 1
Today I was minding my own business when the handyman said to me, "Dorothy, what is wrong with your eye. It's all red." I said, in a not-quite-hysterical tone, "WHICH eye?" Sure nuf, it was the transplanted eye, all bloodshot in the corner. I called the eye doc who said to come in NOW. We dropped everything and went. I could feel my heart in my throat in the waiting room, reviewing my activities--was it the painting I did yesterday, was it too much computer today, was it something I did wrong? I recalled the Fuchs' Friends members who had gone through rejection episodes and told myself my doctor will be able to handle it. What a relief when the doctor said it was just a capillary that had burst, the transplant was fine, and I didn't have to come back until Nov. 14--the one year anniversary of my transplant.

About the question of whether the Fuchie eye gets worse after the transplant, I asked the doctor what was my uncorrected vision today in my transplanted eye (20/40) and what in my Fuchie eye (20/80). Now I know for sure my Fuchie eye has gotten worse, because last Autumn that was my "good" eye and was seeing 20/50. I told my hubby I was 20/80 because today was humid, but he said today was not humid. I think I am making excuses for my Fuchie eye.

Sometimes people write to me asking for an update on my transplant, and then I realize it's been awhile since I did one. The reason for that is now that I can see, I'm out there busily living my life again....and loving it!

Aug 29
I went to my eye doc for my first refraction since the transplant. My eye is doing so well that I almost forget to give it a drop of liquid tears once in a while! I tested 20/30 on my T eye uncorrected, and with correction it will still be 20/30, but with the astigmatism improved. My Fuchey eye has dropped from 20/50 to 20/70 but can be corrected to 20/40 unless it's a humid day. (and then forget it, 'cause NOTHING will help!) The T eye doesn't need glasses at all except for correcting the astigmatism, so I'm a pretty happy camper. I'm back to work at break-neck speed. Things are going just great.

Sept. 7
Today I picked up my first pair of glasses, 10 months post-op. My transplanted eye is around 20/30, and about the same with correction. But the astigmatism is much improved with the glasses. I used a pair of my old frames, but I had both lenses done without tint and without anti-reflective coating, and in bifocals instead of trifocals. So far they seem to be working pretty well. I like having my glasses back. I was getting sick and tired of having reading glasses hanging around my neck all the time. Look, Ma. No strings!!!

Sept. 8
A miracle day with my new glasses. Yesterday I was a little discombobulated with the good eye and the bad eye trying to work together (got a headache out of it), but today my eye adjusted to the glasses, and I can see better than I have for 20 years! The Fuchie eye is somewhat clear, and that side of the glasses is working for me. The transplanted eye is just GREAT! I was walking through the grocery store today reading all the signs way down the aisle, and I swear to you, it made me feel 10 years younger to be able to skip around in there.

Sept. 8
Today I was able to read through a contract of fine print with absolutely no problem. My new prescription glasses work way better than my cheapie drugstore halfglasses did (although they served their purpose and were lifesavers for me all these months). I was so busy "doing things" all day today that I forgot to use liquid tears from noon until 7 pm. Didn't notice the need for them. Of course, I still do take one drop of Lotemax at bedtime, and of course Muro ointment in my Fuchie eye.

I won't be updating this story. I'll be too busy getting back to work and living my life. I know I must always watch for the symptoms of rejection. When I'm able to get the other eye transplanted, I will do it. If the transplant ever fails, I'll just go ahead and get it done over again. Until you've walked down this road, you cannot appreciate what it means to have lost your vision and what a miracle it is to get it back again--to get your entire life back again. Thank you to all the wonderful donors out there, and to their families who in their time of grief are so generous as to allow part of their loved one to live on and give back life to someone else.

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