Monday, August 16, 2010

. . . . . . Surgery Post-Op Appointment

Today I had a post-op with Dr. Kim. He is my normal oculoplastic surgeon and he will be doing all my follow-ups since Dr. Levine is so far away.

The good news is that my eye looks great (for 11 days post-op, that is). There is very little swelling and almost no bruising left. It is truly remarkable, no, more than that, miraculous is more like it. The docs and their patients all told me to expect terrible swelling and bruising for 3 weeks, with complete recovery in 3 months. In comparison to that time frame, my recovery is truly miraculous. :)

My stitches came out and everything from the procedure looks good. I still cannot blink, and I hope that will come in time, as the rest of the swelling goes away and things settles into place. I emailed Dr. Levine with more post-op questions, so I hope to have a few more answers soon.

The bad news is my vision has gotten worse out of my right eye, a lot worse. I was 20/50, now I am 20/200. Yikes. Dr. Kim said it is because I have "shagreen" which is essentially like having scales (they refer to it as crocodile shagreen) on the eye. Some of the "scales" are normal, but mine are particularly bad now, causing the poor vision. This is likely a result of overexposure and trauma to the eye from everything over the last few weeks, including tests, surgery, contacts, dry air..... So, hopefully it is temporary.

I still have a long way to go, but Dr. Kim was clearly impressed with how far I have come. He said the brow lift looked beautiful and makes me look much more normal (I agree!). He also said there are surgeons who can help fix my smile by literally "pinning" it up from my temple and hooking the corner of my mouth. Strange thought, but no stranger than a spring in my eye. :)

So, a good appointment overall, with plenty of room still for improvement. Check out today's eye pics.


12 comments:

Alison Hixson said...

It looks amazing!! I am glad it is looking so good and am hoping that everything keeps healing and starts functioning as it should! You are amazing to always have such a positive outlook and such high spirits!! Way to go!

wjmom said...

The prayers and thoughts continue to be with you. You are looking fabulous--what a miracle that you're healing so quickly!

britt said...

You look incredible. You really can hardly tell now that anything was ever wrong with your eye. I am glad to hear you are healing well and quickly. hopefully your eyesight is a temporary thing?!

Greek Goddess said...

You look fantastic! I'm really impressed with everything you've been through and how well it is going.

Anonymous said...

Oh my super awesome...that picture is the closest I have seen you look back to your "old" self! Getting closer...baby steps! Not cool to be blind in one eye though, now you can have your kids talk to you on that side, and you can just tell them you couldn't hear or see them..."sorry!" :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow! I think you look great - I think you look younger!! Not bad after all that you have gone through!! I really like your hair too. Jodi, you are amazing and always an inspiration. I can not imagine all that you experience every day. You are such a beautiful person, both inside and out!!
Thanks for sharing your journey with us. We pray that your eye sight will improve and that you will be blinking very soon!!Please give our best to your sister and her little one x
Love ya, B x

Belinda Jackson said...

I came up anonymous????
It's me ... Belinda x

B said...

you look great!

Leslie said...

Wow, Jodi, you look great! Your eye looks wonderful! What a difference from when I saw you last, the day after surgery! It was so great seeing you while you were here in California. Our prayers are with you! Leslie Guthrie

Jason said...

Oh my goodness sweet Jodi....you look AMAZING! Seriously! And how cute is your hair! Glad to hear that things are progressing along. You are one tough son-of-a-gun. Let me know whenever you are up for a visit- we have lots to talk about :)
Love you Jodi!

Karen Liu said...

Jodi, your eye looks amazing! You look beautiful! Hang in there, friend! -Liu

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!