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.  :)

     

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!

(the orbital implant pushed its way out)

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.