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!