Slowly but surely...

Kim visited the eye doctor again today. He says that she continues to improve and that approximately 50% of the bubble remains. He told her that she could keep her head up 50% of the time now (woo hoo!), but during the other 50% it has to be down ALL THE WAY (like when she's in her special chair). He said her vision will continue to improve, but slowly. She will still need help for about a month he estimates (though not 24/7 as has been required up to now). We will be adding more helping times to the schedule next week...

Kim wanted to thank everyone who has come over to help or brought flowers, great treats & dinners! A BIG thank you to Angela Nickel for planting flowers in her outdoor pots.

Good news...

Kim saw the eye doctor this morning & he said that her fall did not cause any permanent damage to her eye. As he suspected, the fall caused some of the bloody fluid in her eye to mix with the bubble (which had been clear). Now, she is looking through murky, bloody fluid & her vision is negatively affected. He says that the hole is still closed and the pressure in her eye is good. There is about 65% of the bubble left. They like the patients to remain face down until it's about 50% remaining. She will see the doctor again next Friday and hopefully she will be cleared to sit up. Woo hoo! She mentioned something about having a party when that happens and celebrating with martinis : )

Needless to say, Kim is extremely relieved that there was no damage. It's annoying that she cannot see better, but the most important thing is that the hole closes properly.

Kim's little mishap

On Monday evening (5/11), Kim was sitting on her bed reaching for a drink on the ledge behind her. She was closer to the edge of the bed than she thought & fell off the bed headfirst onto the floor. Since then, she has had a headache and been dizzier than normal. Additionally, her vision is less clear than it was before the fall. Kim has spoken with the doctor, who is pretty sure that the fall did not cause anything terrible to happen (such as opening up her macular hole). He hypothesizes that the blood remaining in the bottom of her eye (as a result of the lasering he did) came loose and has now mixed with the clear fluid in her eye. Therefore, she would now be looking through this murky liquid, reducing her clarity. She will be going to the eye doctor in the morning to have him check it just to be sure. She is, with good reason, concerned about the change in her vision and will be more comfortable once he looks at the eye. Never a dull moment! Keep praying!

On another note, thank you again for all the help this week. A HUGE thank you to Aunt Mary Ellen who came to stay Wednesday through Friday while Steve traveled!!!

We will post again tomorrow after the dr. visit!

Things continue to improve...

Today, Kim had a follow-up appointment with her eye doctor. He says that things are looking good and she must have been very good about keeping her head in the proper position!!! He said the pressure in her eye is normal, which is good. The hole is still closed & the place he lasered looks good (no further bleeding). Her occular tumor is unchanged. She will see the doctor again next Monday and if things keep improving at this rate, she should be able to keep her head up more. She is DEFINITELY looking foward to THAT : )

Regarding her eyesight... Currently, Kim can see about 4-6 inches in front of face (not real clearly, but she can see shapes and colors). The doctor expects that in about 3-4 weeks she should be able to see further, e.g. seeing the television. It may take 3-6 months until she is able to read & even longer than that to see how much total vision she regains. It's unclear what percentage of her vision will ultimately return, but the doctor feels really good about how the surgery went and her progress thus far.

Kim wanted me to be sure to thank everyone who has visited and brought yummy things to eat! She is overwhelmed by your generosity and thoughtfulness...

: ) Suzanne (Kim's secretary)

One day at a time...

Kim continues to do well! As well as can be expected when you can't really see and have to stay in an awkward position, that is. I spent some time with her yesterday & she seemed in pretty good spirits. They moved her chair outside on the patio for a while and she was able to soak up a little sunshine. Steve says she has been able to sleep pretty well too.

The best news is that she has already been able to see a little bit of light/shadows & she could tell her Starbucks straw was green! That seems to be a good sign. She had not expected that to happen for a while...

She wants you all to know how much it means to her to have you all thinking of her, praying for her, and volunteering to help her & her family. They are often unable to answer the phone, so please do not worry that something is wrong if there is no answer. I will continue to post on the blog occasionally so that you know all is well!

: ) Suzanne

Recovery, Day #1

Everything appears to have gone fine with the surgery. During the surgery, the doctor also did a lot of lasering on my largest eye tumor, which was problem what caused a lot of this problem to begin with. The only glitch was when I didn't get pain medication after surgery because my eyes were closed and the nurses assumed I was sleeping! HELLO!

I was able to sleep off and on during the night. My eye still hurts, but the medication is keeping things under control now. I feel fine when I am laying down, but the motion bothers me when I have to move or get up to go to the bathroom. It is especially weird because I am not familiar with the room here.

I will be leaving the hospital around 11:30 and then going across the street to see the doctor before I head home. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Surgery went well!

According to Steve, Kim went into surgery around 12:40 (about 1 1/2 hours late) and the procedure took about 1 hour 20 minutes. The doctor said that everything went well! Kim is now in her room and experiencing some eye pain, but has taken some Rx that will hopefully kick in soon! She will be spending the night at the hospital for observation and will return home tomorrow after a visit to the eye doctor. Steve is going to be heading home soon to take care of the children and her friend Suzanne is going to be staying with her tonight. Keep praying for a full and speedy recovery! Thank you also to all who have joined the Lotsa Helping Hands community and volunteered to help : )