My TBT this week looks back to Christmas 2002. Two days after Christmas my retina detached in my left eye, leaving me totally blind in that eye. I drove myself to the hospital because Jack wasn’t home. 46 miles in my trusty Jeep over to Dartmouth Hitchcock. It’s amazing what one can do with one eye!
I saw my usual Optometrist, who examined my eye and called his colleague, Dr. Chapman, to come take a look. Dr. Chapman was a Retinal Surgeon, and he examined the eye and told me to wait a moment, then he came back and at 4:15 that afternoon, he scheduled my surgery.
After a cursory physical, I was wheeled into surgery, not knowing if I would regain my sight or not
Me in the hospital after my first retinal detachment. I remember being very afraid, until they took off the bandage, and I could see some light.
The photo above was a few days after the first surgery. I looked like I had been in a boxing match!
It was quite an ordeal, and for those of you who may be new to my blog, I have had retinal detachments in both eyes, cataract surgery in both eyes, lens replacement, and then 6 surgeries in my left eye to clear the vision. My eyes, simply put, have been beat up a bit with all the cutting and stitching. However, I am so grateful to the talented surgeon I had, who never gave up on me.
And in the end, it was Dr. Chapman who saw me through it all.
Why am I writing about this today? Well, after all these years, Dr. Chapman has moved his practice to another state. Although I never had a chance to say goodbye, I will be writing to him to thank him for all that he did for me.
I am so fortunate! How do you thank someone who saved your vision? I can see Savannah and Quinn. I can do so many wonderful things because my vision was restored! And this year when I got my driver’s license renewed, I didn’t need my glasses to pass the vision test!
Yes I will be thankful all the days of my life to this wonderful doctor. He never gave up, and was always fighting for my vision. How very grateful I am!
Thank you Dr. Chapman!
Scary stuff. Thank goodness for good doctors.