As my surgery date was getting closer I was terrified something would go wrong and it wouldn’t happen. I had been trying to exercise and eat well and keep healthy. A couple of weeks before my surgery date I had a sore eye and another emergency appointment was arranged with Dr Kate. There was an abrasion on the cornea and she put in a contact bandage to protect the eye and gave me antibiotic drops. I saw her again the week before I was due in Sydney and she wasn’t happy with how the eye was going. She spoke to Dr Con and he advised to leave the contact bandage in until I arrived in Sydney and he would remove it then. At that point, I was totally focused on the next week and then the couple of weeks after that while the eye recovered from the surgery. I knew I would have reduced vision after this procedure and that would make life more interesting! When I last saw Dr Kate I tried to read the eye chart with my left eye and I couldn’t even see the chart. It was like she had turned off the light and there was no chart there.
I was ready for my trip to Sydney. I had been out shopping to buy some more pyjamas. I love pyjamas and during winter I was the flannelette queen. This was the first year in my life I was unable to wear them as my body was a bit warm! I usually go out every year and buy some new ones and the range to date had not been very exciting. Until this year! They were everywhere and gorgeous and I couldn’t buy any of them! I did however manage to buy a couple of pairs of very pretty pj’s in a lighter material and could not wait to lounge around in my hospital bed looking gorgeous.
This was going to be a very different experience as I would be in Sydney and my family would be at home. The girls didn’t want to take time off school and come to Sydney so we arranged for them and Madeline to stay with some friends in the Creek. Peter was going stay a couple of days and then come back to pick me up. My bag was full of clothes, electronic equipment and audio books to keep me amused and of course I had a bag of treats.
Peter and I decided to catch the train to Sydney. It was freezing when we arrived at the train station and there was a bitter wind blowing. While we waited we spent the time walking up and down trying to keep warm. I’m sure we looked a sight as we huddled against the walls and jumped around the station. It didn’t even occur to me that the station would not be open with a friendly stationmaster keeping us company in front of a raging fire. At last the train arrived and off we went. It was lovely and warm and very relaxing and of course the train was about an hour late arriving in Sydney. We eventually arrived at our hotel and the noise of Sydney kept us awake for most of the night, which meant we slept in, and were in a bit of a rush to get to the hospital on time.
It was a very emotional morning as at last something was happening to restore my sight after two and a half years of limited vision. When I was taken to theatre I was very teary. The surgery was done under local anaesthetic. I was having one of my cornea grafts removed and I could hear the doctors saying how well it was going. It was then time to get into hospital routine. The first day went very well and I even slept. Peter was back and forwards during the day and night and bought me coffee from the Lindt Chocolate Cafe. Best coffee I had ever tasted! Mm mm. Where are the chocolates?
I didn’t expect to feel that good. I was feeling quite cocky and this was a breeze – it was going to be very easy.
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