Diary of My Eye Disease Treatment
Day Sixteen
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
JENNIFER | SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 (BEFORE) 10:00PM JST
First, I got my daily morning check-up and began responding to some messages online. Then brushed my teeth and it was time to eat.
Breakfast
This morning we had two tables with six people. It was nice having more people to share it with. Takeshi reminded me that today was his last day of his second course treatment. He will be returning on the 30th for the third treatment, but I won’t be here and he will be leaving after lunchtime.
A Little About Maya
I was also able to know a little more about Maya’s condition. It is pretty different from most of our conditions here. She contracted Graves’ disease about 10 years ago. Then she lost weight and her throat got swollen. Her eyes also got swollen so she came to Olympia hospital immediately. She had an MRI and it seems that fat was accumulating behind her eyeballs. There was no muscular inflammation, which is quite odd. That’s usually the case. The worst part about this ordeal was that the fat remained and her face began changing. She didn’t want to be seen in public either. Sadly, her eyes kept growing or swelling. And it didn’t help when people who didn’t know her would tell her something about her condition. Almost two years ago, she asked her doctor to please conduct surgery and have her eyes fixed. The doctor could understand her pain, but the setback was that there were too many people on the wait list for surgery. She had to wait a year and a half before being hospitalized. Now, she’s happy because she is able to get this problem squared away. I wish her the best of luck. Her last day at the hospital is October 4th. Kudos!
My new roommate who sleeps across from me joined us for breakfast. I feel bad that I cannot speak with her in Japanese, but I am happy that she joined us and could acquaint with us. That way even when some of us are gone, she can still make some friends.
First, I got my daily morning check-up and began responding to some messages online. Then brushed my teeth and it was time to eat.
Breakfast
This morning we had two tables with six people. It was nice having more people to share it with. Takeshi reminded me that today was his last day of his second course treatment. He will be returning on the 30th for the third treatment, but I won’t be here and he will be leaving after lunchtime.
A Little About Maya
I was also able to know a little more about Maya’s condition. It is pretty different from most of our conditions here. She contracted Graves’ disease about 10 years ago. Then she lost weight and her throat got swollen. Her eyes also got swollen so she came to Olympia hospital immediately. She had an MRI and it seems that fat was accumulating behind her eyeballs. There was no muscular inflammation, which is quite odd. That’s usually the case. The worst part about this ordeal was that the fat remained and her face began changing. She didn’t want to be seen in public either. Sadly, her eyes kept growing or swelling. And it didn’t help when people who didn’t know her would tell her something about her condition. Almost two years ago, she asked her doctor to please conduct surgery and have her eyes fixed. The doctor could understand her pain, but the setback was that there were too many people on the wait list for surgery. She had to wait a year and a half before being hospitalized. Now, she’s happy because she is able to get this problem squared away. I wish her the best of luck. Her last day at the hospital is October 4th. Kudos!
My new roommate who sleeps across from me joined us for breakfast. I feel bad that I cannot speak with her in Japanese, but I am happy that she joined us and could acquaint with us. That way even when some of us are gone, she can still make some friends.
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Kaori was friendly as she always is. She tends to feel bad when she cannot say the English words correctly, but she does not need to apologize. She tries very hard to explain herself and she does a pretty good job for someone who doesn’t talk English all the time. She’s a sweetheart. If there is any way I can help her, I do.
What was for breakfast?
Breakfast was great!
The IV Injection
Today’s nurse looked for my vein and went ahead and put the injection. Right after she did that, she changed her mind and took the needle out. Goodness! She went to get another needle and injected me closer to the wrist. The IV pops out of my skin a bit, but it’s in. Today was an uncomfortable day with the IV. My arm was hurting from time to time.
What was for breakfast?
Breakfast was great!
- We had two butter buns with jelly. Kaori gave me her jelly again and I thanked her for that.
- Egg, cheese and broccoli mix
- Two pieces of orange
- Seafood and vegetable soup
- A grape yogurt drink
The IV Injection
Today’s nurse looked for my vein and went ahead and put the injection. Right after she did that, she changed her mind and took the needle out. Goodness! She went to get another needle and injected me closer to the wrist. The IV pops out of my skin a bit, but it’s in. Today was an uncomfortable day with the IV. My arm was hurting from time to time.
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The Eye Injection
After 10:00, the main doctor and a nurse came in and I asked them if I could record my process. At first they wondered, but the nurse grabbed my phone and began recording. As the doctor slightly struggled to enter the needle at first, the nurse stopped the video. The next time around she caught the doctor diffusing the steroid and removing it. I think he entered the needle too close to my eye and I felt something weird on my eye. |
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Minutes later
I went to the mirror and looked at my eye to see a bubble had formed on the lower left side. It is quite uncomfortable and I knew I had to bring it up on my follow-up visit.
Follow-Up
I asked the doctor about the bubble. The only thing he told me was that by dinnertime it should go down. Right now, it is about 11:30 and it’s going to take a while. Patience!
I went to the mirror and looked at my eye to see a bubble had formed on the lower left side. It is quite uncomfortable and I knew I had to bring it up on my follow-up visit.
Follow-Up
I asked the doctor about the bubble. The only thing he told me was that by dinnertime it should go down. Right now, it is about 11:30 and it’s going to take a while. Patience!
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Lunch Time
It’s almost time to get something to eat. I sat with Kaori, Takeshi and Kaori’s friend. We chatted about the school where she takes her Italian lessons and I showed interest in taking Japanese lessons at the same school. Takeshi helped in finding the website and sending it to me. We had a last meal together because he was heading out right after lunch. What did we eat? Well, they prepared a special lunch for us due to the change in season. It was very nice. They even placed a note on our trays telling us about it. That was adorable.
What did we eat?
My main doctor stopped by the eatery area and wanted to discuss the bill I had questions about before. He told me that I would pay exactly what I thought I would have to pay. Again, I would get a bill a week or two after leaving the hospital and then pay. Yes! I also gave them a form that I have to return to my job for refund purposes. Anything to get some money back from being out of commission, right! That is all settled and clear. That's all I needed, some clarity and a budget handy.
I have had a slight headache almost all afternoon. I know it has to do with the bubble that formed on my eye. It is so annoying.
I spend the most part of this afternoon watching a movie called Silver Linings Playboo. It’s not a documentary, but it seemed interesting to watch. It’s about a guy who was in a mental institution for some time and was trying to adjust his life for someone he loved. Of course, it didn’t turn out that way because of what he learned in the process. It was a decent movie.
I got in the shower to see if I could ease this headache and it actually helped a lot. I just let the hot water run down my head and relax me. That felt so good and now I barely feel it.
It’s almost time to get something to eat. I sat with Kaori, Takeshi and Kaori’s friend. We chatted about the school where she takes her Italian lessons and I showed interest in taking Japanese lessons at the same school. Takeshi helped in finding the website and sending it to me. We had a last meal together because he was heading out right after lunch. What did we eat? Well, they prepared a special lunch for us due to the change in season. It was very nice. They even placed a note on our trays telling us about it. That was adorable.
What did we eat?
- A mix of rice, eggs, other veggies and conger eel
- A bowl of Japanese radish, carrots, sweet potatoes and tofu
- Pieces of tube-shaped fish paste soup with tofu
- Rice covered in sweet beans and warabi mochi (a rice dessert covered in bracken starch) dessert (hospital style)
- I could not complain one bit. It was all so delicious!
My main doctor stopped by the eatery area and wanted to discuss the bill I had questions about before. He told me that I would pay exactly what I thought I would have to pay. Again, I would get a bill a week or two after leaving the hospital and then pay. Yes! I also gave them a form that I have to return to my job for refund purposes. Anything to get some money back from being out of commission, right! That is all settled and clear. That's all I needed, some clarity and a budget handy.
I have had a slight headache almost all afternoon. I know it has to do with the bubble that formed on my eye. It is so annoying.
I spend the most part of this afternoon watching a movie called Silver Linings Playboo. It’s not a documentary, but it seemed interesting to watch. It’s about a guy who was in a mental institution for some time and was trying to adjust his life for someone he loved. Of course, it didn’t turn out that way because of what he learned in the process. It was a decent movie.
I got in the shower to see if I could ease this headache and it actually helped a lot. I just let the hot water run down my head and relax me. That felt so good and now I barely feel it.
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Dinner
For dinner Kaori, her friend, and I sat at the table. I will name her friend Nanami. Kaori took the time to write down the name of a school that offers free Japanese lessons in Saitama. That was extremely nice of her. She didn’t have to do that, but she was amazing enough to take her down some information for me. Nanami turned on a sumo fight that was going on TV and asked me if I had ever seen a fight before but I regretted I had not attended one yet, but I would like to.
Kaori felt the urge to ask me if I had lost weight and I said yes, about 5-8 pounds or 3-4 kilos. I guess she has noticed. I told her I had lost a lot of muscle mass and that it is because I haven’t been moving too much in here. I also informed her that I would go back to yoga lessons when I left the hospital. I can’t wait! She explained to me that if my family knew I was losing weight that they would be worried. I agreed. We had a nice conversation this time around. Kaori was the translator at the table and she did a pretty good job with her limited English skills.
What was for dinner?
Dinner was yummy.
Thank you for reading my article today! Until tomorrow!
For dinner Kaori, her friend, and I sat at the table. I will name her friend Nanami. Kaori took the time to write down the name of a school that offers free Japanese lessons in Saitama. That was extremely nice of her. She didn’t have to do that, but she was amazing enough to take her down some information for me. Nanami turned on a sumo fight that was going on TV and asked me if I had ever seen a fight before but I regretted I had not attended one yet, but I would like to.
Kaori felt the urge to ask me if I had lost weight and I said yes, about 5-8 pounds or 3-4 kilos. I guess she has noticed. I told her I had lost a lot of muscle mass and that it is because I haven’t been moving too much in here. I also informed her that I would go back to yoga lessons when I left the hospital. I can’t wait! She explained to me that if my family knew I was losing weight that they would be worried. I agreed. We had a nice conversation this time around. Kaori was the translator at the table and she did a pretty good job with her limited English skills.
What was for dinner?
Dinner was yummy.
- Vegetable soup
- Rice
- Bean sprouts and green salad
- Breaded chicken with a couple of green peppers
Thank you for reading my article today! Until tomorrow!
