Hey everyone!!! I know it has been awhile since my last post but there has not been a lot to report about. The last surgery went well and the fat took, which is great news. However that darn scar tissue started to fuse to the fat which causes yet another setback. Dr Murphy believes in letting things settle for six months after each surgery before doing the next procedure. Well its been six months and the time has come for my next surgery. This Thursday September 29 the doctor will be going in and lining the socket with an amniotic membrane. All this will be done in hopes that it will prevent the scar tissue from fusing to the fat so then we can go back to focus on filling the orbit with more volume so that a prosthetic will fit appropriately.
The doctor is saying that this is a very important surgery and for the first time I am getting a little nervous about it. If all goes well then they will be able to continue forward progress towards providing me with a fake eye. However, if it does not work then they really cant move forward anymore and I may never get a prosthetic. To be honest I am getting tired of wearing this patch and I just want to be able to move on with life and not have to worry about paying for more and more surgeries but I guess its not really up to me. I know many of you have been praying for me over the last year and I am asking you to continue to do this. Thursday is going to be a big day and I am just going to have to leave it in hands of the skilled surgeons and ask God to guide those hands through a successful procedure.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
A World of Difference
Dr. Murphy
On Thursday April 14, 2011 (after fixing my flat tire on the side of I-20) I drove to the Oculous Plastic surgery center in Atlanta, this time with my mother! I already had medication in my system to help me relax and to control bruising thanks to the amazing staff who called in all the prescriptions BEFORE the surgery. This had never been done in Boston but having one less thing to worry about after surgery makes a world of difference. Upon arriving they took me back and started me on my IV just as I had anticipated. Then came in the doctor (I almost never saw Dr Fay before a surgery, or afterwards for that matter). He talked about how there was going to be less pain than last time and explained the procedure once more. He took the time to answer all of my questions which to me made a world of difference. Next in was the anesthesiologist. I mentioned to her that I had a rough go-around last time when I came to and she said she would be with me the whole time and make sure I was comfortable, and thats she did! She started me off with a cocktail and then slipped me into a deep sleep. This was nothing like Boston where I felt I was in a processing plant in which they would just slap a nausea patch on you and send you on your way but it felt very individualized which makes a world of difference. Upon waking up I was in zero pain and felt no nausea whatsoever. I couldn't believe they had really just done surgery on my eye. The doctor had informed my mother that they had to remove more scaring then expected which would probably cause a lot more pain when I woke up, but boy was he wrong! Anyway, recovery was a breeze with my family right there and before I knew it my sweet niece Evelyn was bringing me chic-fil-a fries! I am now back at work still with no pain. I will head back to Atlanta for Easter then the follow-up will be on Monday. We will see what he says. Thank you all for your continued love and support and I will keep you updated. :)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Good News Bad News and Great News
Lets start with the good news first. On Monday March 28 I went to interview doctors in Atlanta to see who I would like to have follow-up with me after all this is over. A friend of a friend of Ali Griffin recommended Dr Brent Murphy with Oculous Surgical Center. Upon my first visit with Dr Murphy he was completely on board and immediately wanted to help me out. He told me that I did not need to make anymore trips up to Boston and that he could handle everything from here on out. This was great news, especially because of how fedup and done I was with the Boston staff. Sure Dr Fay was a skilled doctor but they think that because they have the Harvard name that they can treat you however they want. After those last couple of visits I would have been fine never going to Boston ever again.
Dr Murphy decided to take out the sutures that had been holding my eye shut over the implant. Upon removeing the sutures he informed me that the orbital implant was falling out. The tissue that was supposed to hold the implant in did not survive and so the eye was rejecting the silicone ball. They say it was probably rejected because the radiated socket (from when I had cancer) was unable to supply enough blood to the new tissue. So what does this mean? We start all over again. Although instead of putting in an orbital implant they will be putting in my own body fat. They say that your body does not reject your own fat (although I think some of us wish it did ha ha ha) so everything should go fairly smoothly. The only downside is that fat shrinks and so no matter how much fat they put in I will still have somewhat of a sunken eye but I dont really care about that!
So my surgery is scheduled for April 14, 2011 in Atlanta. I have a feeling this will be a much better experience having gone through it once already. Plus I will have family and friends right there with me!
So time for the Great News!!!
Up until my appointment with Dr Murphy I had been in a good amount of pain for the last 28 days. The first part of the pain was from the hemorrhaging and the second was from the implant. Little did I know but as the orbital implant was being rejected and was pushing against the conformer which in turn was putting even more pressure on my eyelid. The sutures were literally shredding my eyelid trying to keep it shut. Not a great feeling. Well as soon as the doctor cut those sutures away and took out the conformer there was instant relief. The pain was gone. Not just the pain for my eyelid shredding and the pressure on my eye but all the pain all together. I mean EVERYTHING WAS GONE. NO PAIN. NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. ZILCH. NONE. For the first time in 19 years I was completely out of any type of pain or irritation. Although I was disappointed that the last surgery did not work I could not help but to thank God for this amazing feeling of no longer having pain.
Dr Murphy decided to take out the sutures that had been holding my eye shut over the implant. Upon removeing the sutures he informed me that the orbital implant was falling out. The tissue that was supposed to hold the implant in did not survive and so the eye was rejecting the silicone ball. They say it was probably rejected because the radiated socket (from when I had cancer) was unable to supply enough blood to the new tissue. So what does this mean? We start all over again. Although instead of putting in an orbital implant they will be putting in my own body fat. They say that your body does not reject your own fat (although I think some of us wish it did ha ha ha) so everything should go fairly smoothly. The only downside is that fat shrinks and so no matter how much fat they put in I will still have somewhat of a sunken eye but I dont really care about that!
(the orbital implant pushed its way out)
So time for the Great News!!!
Up until my appointment with Dr Murphy I had been in a good amount of pain for the last 28 days. The first part of the pain was from the hemorrhaging and the second was from the implant. Little did I know but as the orbital implant was being rejected and was pushing against the conformer which in turn was putting even more pressure on my eyelid. The sutures were literally shredding my eyelid trying to keep it shut. Not a great feeling. Well as soon as the doctor cut those sutures away and took out the conformer there was instant relief. The pain was gone. Not just the pain for my eyelid shredding and the pressure on my eye but all the pain all together. I mean EVERYTHING WAS GONE. NO PAIN. NOTHING. NADA. ZIP. ZILCH. NONE. For the first time in 19 years I was completely out of any type of pain or irritation. Although I was disappointed that the last surgery did not work I could not help but to thank God for this amazing feeling of no longer having pain.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Yes, Back In Boston
I never quite saw this one coming. Dr Fay had set-up my followup appointment with a doctor in Charleston and he said that I should be taking tylenol and moving on in my life in no more than three days after they removed my eye. Boy would that have been nice.
Needless to say on day three I still had not had anything to eat and the pain was pretty rough. I made it back to Augusta where my family was waiting for me. They spent all weekend waiting on me hand and foot. They are the BEST! My mother decided to stay the week with me because the pain was not subsiding the way we had anticipated. We ended up going to Charleston early to get the doctors view on the healing situation. Needless to say i was not very fond of this doctor and he decided that he did not want to touch my eye and recommended I fly back up to boston as soon as possible. That night sitting at the Marriott in Charleston (compliments of Titi Lisa and Rich), I booked a flight the next morning for Boston. My mother drove me back to Augusta the next day and off I went to Boston to find out what was going on. Upon arriving, I saw the doctor who thought that there could be a hemorrhage causing all the pain. They admitted me back into the hospital for pain and had me scheduled for an MRI the next day. My mother flew up the next day compliments of the Statham family to make sure everyone was set straight this time around. I failed to mention earlier but my first time at the hospital was a nightmare and when I was admitted the second time I had to speak with the charge nurse, doctors, patient advocate and social worker to make sure we were all on the same page and that I would get the treatment I deserved.
The MRI revealed that there had been a hemorrhage which was causing the additional pressure and pain. It had stopped bleeding but there was still a lot of dried blood. There is nothing that they can do in this situation but wait and try to manage pain. I stayed in the hospital another night and then went to the Marriot where my mother was staying (again compliment of Titi Lisa and Rich).
I have had pain all over my body but I feel like pain in the eye can be one of the the most debilitating spots. Every time I would try to open my left eye my right eye would hurt so it was ideal to have both eyes closed to help control the pain. However closing both eyes leaves you with very few ways to distract you from the pain ie watching movies or surfing the internet. My friend Maggie a Child Life Specialist and well respected professor in her field tried her darndest to come up with some distraction techniques but even that was a little tough she said.
Anyway, my mother and I flew back from Boston this past Thursday (compliments of the amazing sky miles of the Summers family) to recover in Atlanta. The pain is still there and never really fully goes away but the eye is still draining the old blood and I am able to open my eyes for longer and longer each day. I am a little confused as to what God is doing right now but I am sure his masterpiece will be revealed one day! Thank you all for your love and support, it means the world to me.
Needless to say on day three I still had not had anything to eat and the pain was pretty rough. I made it back to Augusta where my family was waiting for me. They spent all weekend waiting on me hand and foot. They are the BEST! My mother decided to stay the week with me because the pain was not subsiding the way we had anticipated. We ended up going to Charleston early to get the doctors view on the healing situation. Needless to say i was not very fond of this doctor and he decided that he did not want to touch my eye and recommended I fly back up to boston as soon as possible. That night sitting at the Marriott in Charleston (compliments of Titi Lisa and Rich), I booked a flight the next morning for Boston. My mother drove me back to Augusta the next day and off I went to Boston to find out what was going on. Upon arriving, I saw the doctor who thought that there could be a hemorrhage causing all the pain. They admitted me back into the hospital for pain and had me scheduled for an MRI the next day. My mother flew up the next day compliments of the Statham family to make sure everyone was set straight this time around. I failed to mention earlier but my first time at the hospital was a nightmare and when I was admitted the second time I had to speak with the charge nurse, doctors, patient advocate and social worker to make sure we were all on the same page and that I would get the treatment I deserved.
I have had pain all over my body but I feel like pain in the eye can be one of the the most debilitating spots. Every time I would try to open my left eye my right eye would hurt so it was ideal to have both eyes closed to help control the pain. However closing both eyes leaves you with very few ways to distract you from the pain ie watching movies or surfing the internet. My friend Maggie a Child Life Specialist and well respected professor in her field tried her darndest to come up with some distraction techniques but even that was a little tough she said.
Anyway, my mother and I flew back from Boston this past Thursday (compliments of the amazing sky miles of the Summers family) to recover in Atlanta. The pain is still there and never really fully goes away but the eye is still draining the old blood and I am able to open my eyes for longer and longer each day. I am a little confused as to what God is doing right now but I am sure his masterpiece will be revealed one day! Thank you all for your love and support, it means the world to me.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Flying to Brazil?
Monday morning i called the Dr. office to confirm my 4:30 appt. While talking to Rose the nurse practitioner she mentioned that Dr. Fay was going to talk to me about a procedure he had seen done in Brazil. This left me in high hopes for the next procedure to be done on my eye. Upon arriving at Mass. Eye and Ear I immediately met with Dr Fay, to discuss my different options. The biggest problem we were now facing was that the eyelid would not function enough to cover the entire eye when blinking. However there was a procedure he had seen done in Brazil where they take a slice from inside your lip and cover the white part of your eye which in turn would assist in keeping the eye more lubricated, which in all actuality it would just be buying us more time. I told him that as much as I would have enjoyed to travel to Brazil with him and trying this procedure I think we both felt that we would still be left a couple step short from achieving our ultimate goal. This has now left us with the backup option. I never really saw it coming this fast but it was time for an enucleation. He said he would give me time to think about it but he knew that it had been in the back of my mind before. Having the procedure done in Boston was not the most ideal location because most of my support system was back in the south. However I knew that Dr Fay knew me and my eye better than anyone one else and it was under his skilled hands that I would feel most comfortable. That evening as I was walking down the streets of Boston I became overwhelmed with emotions and a song came with each of those emotions. I would like to share these songs with you and just let them speak to your heart. It started with JJ Heller
followed by Horatio ending with Christy. As I was lying there in bed I thought to mself, Eric this will be the last time you go to sleep with your own two eyes. Kinda crazy huh? The next morning I woke with a peaceful spirit. I went to MGH a bit early to ask some last minute questions. Dr Fay explained the different options and the route he was going to take. To be honest I am glad he was able to operate today because waiting would have probably eaten me up inside.
Upon waking up in recovery they took me to the 11th floor for the night just to keep track of my vitals and help manage pain. Needless to say this was the part of the procedure that did not go according to plan. They said I would have been able to hop on the plane and be back in Augusta by Wednesday afternoon. Well when Wednesday afternoon rolled around I could not hold anything down, I felt extremely nauseous, and in lots of pain from the inability to hold the pain pills in my stomach long enough. My parents ended up changing my flight so I spent one more night in Boston. Jenn was such a huge help during this process by picking my up from the hospital, filling my prescriptions, and getting bland foods to work on.
Thursday morning I still had not had anything to eat but knew that all I needed to do was make it home sweet home. All of the airport personnel were great from curb to curb. My good friend Ali Griffin picked me up in Charlotte and brought me to Columbia where my friend Jenna picked me up and brought me the rest of the way home. Upon arriving home, there was my sweet little molly girl, my two loving parents and the oh so famous family dog chico! I was a home.............
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