Opal Reflections
Perspectives through Prose, Poetry and Photography
Beyond The Bubble
Globule jiggling
Reflections wriggling
Within black-rimmed sphere.Kaleidoscopic shimmer
as images glimmer
through the bubble.Horizon dipping lower,
Rim receding, slower
and lower still.Vision quest paced
As floaters erased:
My eye-view mending.
Notes: Beyond The Bubble.
Though retina surgery is not something I would normally opt for, It was with relief that I listened to the diagnosis: “Stage four macular hole.” To the uninitiated, this sounds dreadful. But I was relieved, because my earlier self-diagnosis (macular degeneration, an incurable, progressive condition) was wrong!Vitrectomy, the remedial procedure for a macular hole, involves removing the vitreous, clearing macular debris, and replacing the vitreous fluid with a gas bubble; followed by 8 days of face-down positioning and three months of recuperation. The pressure of the gas bubble against the macula forces the hole to close.
Today, two weeks post-op, I am dealing with the minor inconvenience of seeing life through a gas bubble, that will dissipate slowly over the next three months; during which I must avoid flying, swimming, and working out. I take two sets of eyedrops three times a day, and must wear a bright green wristband, warning of the presence of the bubble.
Each day the bubble grows visibly smaller and each day I can see a little more over the diminishing rim of the jiggling sphere. As I peer over the pseudo-horizon of this fluid prism, I realize that I am truly the girl with a kaleidoscope eye – a small price to pay for repaired vision!
3 Comments on “Beyond The Bubble”
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Lighthouse in the Mist, Cape May, NJ
Bandit
Festive View from the Pub, Peddler’s Village – Lahaska, PA.
Home Sweet Home
Opal Reflections 
I can barely put drops in my eye..so I give you all the credit in the world for being so brave!
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When I was in high school, my mom had retinal repair surgery. I imagine the advances in medical techniques have vastly improved since then.
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I’m not sure…my husband had detached retina two years ago, then because of scar tissue, he needed four surgeries in four months. Today his eyesight is gone in that eye, but retina is attached! So what I went through is small potatoes to what he went through. I hope your mom’s surgery had a positive outcome. Thanks, Tara.
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