Diary of My Eye Disease Treatment
Day Two
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
JENNIFER | SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 5:49PM JST
An Interesting Occurrence
For some strange reason I now remember that for a number of inconclusive months I randomly kept seeing or would accidently glance at a time that repeated itself more often than not. I felt a little lost as to why that time continued to present itself to me. Maybe that number remained dear to me because of that special day. Can you guess what time it displayed? You might not have the slightest idea, but it was nine eleven! How interesting is that, right? For the most part, I would notice it in the mornings and a fair share at night, too. The only event that I could associate with it was the tragic development that occurred 13 years ago in New York City. What surprised me the most is that it stuck with me. How could I imagine that that number was preparing me for a more personal situation in my life? When I saw it from time to time, I found it quite bizarre and wondered if some other unfortunate event would take place.
Then I shifted my mind back to the present, focused on the now and checked my temperature as I should twice a day; at 7:00am and 2:00pm. It was 7:16 and I managed to write today’s date. Wait, today’s date! It’s September 11th. Right then and there it hit me like a ton of bricks! Today is the day my soul and vibrations were warning me about. When we are in-tune with our feelings or better yet our intuition, we are aware of the smallest signs that come our way. Who would have thought that time was on my side and warning me? This is quite trivial to some of you, despite that, in my case it’s groundbreaking and astonishing.
An Interesting Occurrence
For some strange reason I now remember that for a number of inconclusive months I randomly kept seeing or would accidently glance at a time that repeated itself more often than not. I felt a little lost as to why that time continued to present itself to me. Maybe that number remained dear to me because of that special day. Can you guess what time it displayed? You might not have the slightest idea, but it was nine eleven! How interesting is that, right? For the most part, I would notice it in the mornings and a fair share at night, too. The only event that I could associate with it was the tragic development that occurred 13 years ago in New York City. What surprised me the most is that it stuck with me. How could I imagine that that number was preparing me for a more personal situation in my life? When I saw it from time to time, I found it quite bizarre and wondered if some other unfortunate event would take place.
Then I shifted my mind back to the present, focused on the now and checked my temperature as I should twice a day; at 7:00am and 2:00pm. It was 7:16 and I managed to write today’s date. Wait, today’s date! It’s September 11th. Right then and there it hit me like a ton of bricks! Today is the day my soul and vibrations were warning me about. When we are in-tune with our feelings or better yet our intuition, we are aware of the smallest signs that come our way. Who would have thought that time was on my side and warning me? This is quite trivial to some of you, despite that, in my case it’s groundbreaking and astonishing.
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Ding, Ding, Ding-Breakfast Time!
This morning at breakfast, the ladies in my room, 303, sat together and I joined in again.
Before I move further along about our conversation, I would like to share that prior to being admitted to this hospital, when I visited the eye doctor he gave me alternate methods of being treated. I could either decide to get treatment with breaks in between-5 days in the hospital, 4 days home, 5 days back in, 4 days off again and finally the last five days in- or 19 straight days in. I wanted to avoid the hassle of going back and forth every other week. Instead, I opted to stay in. Plus, I preferred to get it all out of the way in one shot.
Now, back to breakfast with the ladies. The pharmacist disclosed that she and possibly two of the other women sitting before me were in the break treatment plan. I was not too happy about that. Just when I was getting comfortable with them, they'll leave sooner than later. That’s life I guess, but most importantly their presence has impacted me in a favorable fashion. Learning to me is like water to soil, it always enriches me and they have done that and more.
What I enjoy the most about my stay here is the harmony and peace. All of us give each other space; yet, we are all on the same boat with faintly different eye issues. We experience some of the same treatments and I learn something new every day. It’s interesting how as I am writing this article and Fumiko gives me a mint out of the blue. As naïve as I can be at times, I told her that according to the rules, I cannot eat candy. In a swift response, she whispered the sweetest words, “Top secret, top secret!” Whilst hovering her index finger over her lips. It is her last day with us today. I mean, I knew she was leaving, but I completely forgot how quick time flies.
Time
At this time of the day, every minute that scrolls by brings to mind the injection that will penetrate my left eye. Well, I haven’t gotten my IV yet, but it will be here any moment now. Then comes the terrorizing, monstrous steroid injection that will be diffused into my eye socket area by the killer nurses camouflaged in sweet white pressed uniforms. Five minutes after the excruciating pain subsides, I will be more than appreciative that those wonderful nurses came to my aid today and every day.
Quick Interruption
Prior to any of these actions taking place, I must disclose that my father called me this morning and it brightened up my day. It’s good to hear from a family member, even though I have had an amazing flow of messages on Facebook, phone texts and emails. Despite the fact that I may not have family and friends by my side, they are always present in spirit and I feel them near me.
This morning at breakfast, the ladies in my room, 303, sat together and I joined in again.
Before I move further along about our conversation, I would like to share that prior to being admitted to this hospital, when I visited the eye doctor he gave me alternate methods of being treated. I could either decide to get treatment with breaks in between-5 days in the hospital, 4 days home, 5 days back in, 4 days off again and finally the last five days in- or 19 straight days in. I wanted to avoid the hassle of going back and forth every other week. Instead, I opted to stay in. Plus, I preferred to get it all out of the way in one shot.
Now, back to breakfast with the ladies. The pharmacist disclosed that she and possibly two of the other women sitting before me were in the break treatment plan. I was not too happy about that. Just when I was getting comfortable with them, they'll leave sooner than later. That’s life I guess, but most importantly their presence has impacted me in a favorable fashion. Learning to me is like water to soil, it always enriches me and they have done that and more.
What I enjoy the most about my stay here is the harmony and peace. All of us give each other space; yet, we are all on the same boat with faintly different eye issues. We experience some of the same treatments and I learn something new every day. It’s interesting how as I am writing this article and Fumiko gives me a mint out of the blue. As naïve as I can be at times, I told her that according to the rules, I cannot eat candy. In a swift response, she whispered the sweetest words, “Top secret, top secret!” Whilst hovering her index finger over her lips. It is her last day with us today. I mean, I knew she was leaving, but I completely forgot how quick time flies.
Time
At this time of the day, every minute that scrolls by brings to mind the injection that will penetrate my left eye. Well, I haven’t gotten my IV yet, but it will be here any moment now. Then comes the terrorizing, monstrous steroid injection that will be diffused into my eye socket area by the killer nurses camouflaged in sweet white pressed uniforms. Five minutes after the excruciating pain subsides, I will be more than appreciative that those wonderful nurses came to my aid today and every day.
Quick Interruption
Prior to any of these actions taking place, I must disclose that my father called me this morning and it brightened up my day. It’s good to hear from a family member, even though I have had an amazing flow of messages on Facebook, phone texts and emails. Despite the fact that I may not have family and friends by my side, they are always present in spirit and I feel them near me.
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Time for Some IV Action
It’s 9:42am and I just got my IV. This nurse’s hands are like heaven, because I didn’t feel a thing. A pinch was as far as it went. Even while watching the nice long needle being inserted wasn’t as bad as I feel when I see one. She taped it up nicely, asked me if I was okay then left.
Before I get into the next section, one word that I have learned so far is いたい (pronounced ‘itai’). It means painful. I have heard it a few times by other patients and nurses as well. Nurses ask me if my stomach feels itai and I tell them no. I guess the steroids can cause stomachaches. On the other hand, I have been experiencing restricted bowel movements.
The Eye Injection
As for the steroid eye injection, it is the most physically eventful part of my day. I aim to transform that pain into a mini research project by assessing how the steroid moves around my eye socket, the feelings of discomfort and anything else that I can discover. Will I be able to decipher what the medication is doing as it enters that area? What is causing this radical feeling? Let’s take the challenge. In lieu of overly thinking and resisting to agony, I would rather test every minute or second from beginning to end. So, I am buckling up and hope to successfully see it from the outside in and the inside out.
It’s 9:42am and I just got my IV. This nurse’s hands are like heaven, because I didn’t feel a thing. A pinch was as far as it went. Even while watching the nice long needle being inserted wasn’t as bad as I feel when I see one. She taped it up nicely, asked me if I was okay then left.
Before I get into the next section, one word that I have learned so far is いたい (pronounced ‘itai’). It means painful. I have heard it a few times by other patients and nurses as well. Nurses ask me if my stomach feels itai and I tell them no. I guess the steroids can cause stomachaches. On the other hand, I have been experiencing restricted bowel movements.
The Eye Injection
As for the steroid eye injection, it is the most physically eventful part of my day. I aim to transform that pain into a mini research project by assessing how the steroid moves around my eye socket, the feelings of discomfort and anything else that I can discover. Will I be able to decipher what the medication is doing as it enters that area? What is causing this radical feeling? Let’s take the challenge. In lieu of overly thinking and resisting to agony, I would rather test every minute or second from beginning to end. So, I am buckling up and hope to successfully see it from the outside in and the inside out.
© 2014 Jennifer Gutierrez
Here it Comes…
I got my second injection and although it was less shocking, it was fairly aching no less than yesterday.
Every morning right after breakfast, a nurse brings a tape with her to place on my periorbital dark circle region, which is the skin located under and around our eyes. That is also where many people develop hereditary bags or sleepless night bags. Yesterday, was the right eye and today, the left eye. The tape is an anesthetic and they put it under the eye that will receive the injection for the day.
About one and a half hours later, the procedure that takes about a minute and it's done.
But Now...My Analysis
A doctor and a nurse walk in prompting me to lay down with my head facing up. It’s the routine. I place this article to the side and wait for my turn as they are injecting the lady whose bed it directly in front of me first. They head my way. The man takes off the anesthetic tape, wipes my left eye with alcohol pads, and inserts a long curved needle into the periorbital area. He shifts the needle to find the perfect spot where he can release the steroid liquid and during that time I feel the liquid beginning to spread, it slightly stings and clouds my view. My feet move uncomfortably from side to side as if someone is choking me. As I feel the pressure of the needle and the liquid spreading, my eye lets out a few tears. The doctor removes the injection, places another alcohol pad on the throbbing area and I hold it in place. As I was told before, I should hold it for five minutes. Those five minutes were filled with tingles mixed with a flow of hot liquid swarming the eye. Therefore, I closed my eyes, remained still and waited possibly over seven minutes before sitting up and removing the alcohol pad displaying a couple droplets of blood. By this time, the annoying pain was gone. Phew!
Well, the worst part of the day is over, yes the eye injections. On a different note, Fumiko has left. It sucks being that she was the one person who spoke with me the most.
My Feelings About it All
These days here are more stimulating than blue. I never feel sad about what I have or what is happening to me. As a matter of fact, I like the nurses, doctors and patients. I have lots of time to write, forget about any distressing daily issues (which by the way, I don’t have many of) and a ton of time to relax. Those who know me know that I don’t relax even when I should. I don’t know how to do that. It seems that this illness was causing my body to feel fatigued on numerous occasions, so I need to get better. It is definitely a blessing.
Meeting Aya
For lunch today, I had some delicious chicken, vegetables, soup and rice. It was all so tasty. When I went to floss and brush my teeth, there I met another lady who is also an English teacher. She said that she was happy to meet me and speak with me in English. I was quite excited because Fumiko had just left. I talked with her about her condition. Again for confidential purposes, I will rename her. Any ideas? I think Aya sounds nice! Aya doesn’t have Graves’ disease and her eyes are not bulging, nevertheless, she has another type of eye disease. She informed me that many doctors in Japan are not aware of eye diseases, because it isn’t quite common and they proceed to ignore it, which is scary.
Aya told me that she was experiencing double vision. She saw differently when she looked up and when she looked down. When she would lift her head or look forward, she would see with double vision, but when she looked down she could see clearly. She became more impatient, but she finally found a doctor and he told her that she was ‘depressed.” He gave her medicine for that, yet she refused to believe it. If you meet Aya, she is a ball of light. She began doing her own research about hospitals that deal with double vision problems and to her advantage, she found this hospital. When she told me her story, I quickly added that if a doctor misdiagnosed her in America, she would have a nice settlement by now. She chuckled.
Last Tuesday, Aya had surgery on her right eye and it is quite red, but other than the redness, her eyes look a perfectly normal size to me. She says that next Tuesday she will have surgery on her left eye. Despite the fact that she feels her eyesight has slightly improved, she also explained that looking forward is clear, but if she looks to the sides it is blurry or slightly double.
We enjoyed our talk and she wanted to resume our conversation later on. That was good news to me, too. I have a chance to speak to someone else. Gladly she lives in Chiba, the same prefecture that I live in.
Today has been a pretty good day. Good breakfast, meeting someone new, good lunch, overcoming eye injection pain, getting my daily IV and writing about it.
Until next time! Hope you enjoyed today’s article!
I got my second injection and although it was less shocking, it was fairly aching no less than yesterday.
Every morning right after breakfast, a nurse brings a tape with her to place on my periorbital dark circle region, which is the skin located under and around our eyes. That is also where many people develop hereditary bags or sleepless night bags. Yesterday, was the right eye and today, the left eye. The tape is an anesthetic and they put it under the eye that will receive the injection for the day.
About one and a half hours later, the procedure that takes about a minute and it's done.
But Now...My Analysis
A doctor and a nurse walk in prompting me to lay down with my head facing up. It’s the routine. I place this article to the side and wait for my turn as they are injecting the lady whose bed it directly in front of me first. They head my way. The man takes off the anesthetic tape, wipes my left eye with alcohol pads, and inserts a long curved needle into the periorbital area. He shifts the needle to find the perfect spot where he can release the steroid liquid and during that time I feel the liquid beginning to spread, it slightly stings and clouds my view. My feet move uncomfortably from side to side as if someone is choking me. As I feel the pressure of the needle and the liquid spreading, my eye lets out a few tears. The doctor removes the injection, places another alcohol pad on the throbbing area and I hold it in place. As I was told before, I should hold it for five minutes. Those five minutes were filled with tingles mixed with a flow of hot liquid swarming the eye. Therefore, I closed my eyes, remained still and waited possibly over seven minutes before sitting up and removing the alcohol pad displaying a couple droplets of blood. By this time, the annoying pain was gone. Phew!
Well, the worst part of the day is over, yes the eye injections. On a different note, Fumiko has left. It sucks being that she was the one person who spoke with me the most.
My Feelings About it All
These days here are more stimulating than blue. I never feel sad about what I have or what is happening to me. As a matter of fact, I like the nurses, doctors and patients. I have lots of time to write, forget about any distressing daily issues (which by the way, I don’t have many of) and a ton of time to relax. Those who know me know that I don’t relax even when I should. I don’t know how to do that. It seems that this illness was causing my body to feel fatigued on numerous occasions, so I need to get better. It is definitely a blessing.
Meeting Aya
For lunch today, I had some delicious chicken, vegetables, soup and rice. It was all so tasty. When I went to floss and brush my teeth, there I met another lady who is also an English teacher. She said that she was happy to meet me and speak with me in English. I was quite excited because Fumiko had just left. I talked with her about her condition. Again for confidential purposes, I will rename her. Any ideas? I think Aya sounds nice! Aya doesn’t have Graves’ disease and her eyes are not bulging, nevertheless, she has another type of eye disease. She informed me that many doctors in Japan are not aware of eye diseases, because it isn’t quite common and they proceed to ignore it, which is scary.
Aya told me that she was experiencing double vision. She saw differently when she looked up and when she looked down. When she would lift her head or look forward, she would see with double vision, but when she looked down she could see clearly. She became more impatient, but she finally found a doctor and he told her that she was ‘depressed.” He gave her medicine for that, yet she refused to believe it. If you meet Aya, she is a ball of light. She began doing her own research about hospitals that deal with double vision problems and to her advantage, she found this hospital. When she told me her story, I quickly added that if a doctor misdiagnosed her in America, she would have a nice settlement by now. She chuckled.
Last Tuesday, Aya had surgery on her right eye and it is quite red, but other than the redness, her eyes look a perfectly normal size to me. She says that next Tuesday she will have surgery on her left eye. Despite the fact that she feels her eyesight has slightly improved, she also explained that looking forward is clear, but if she looks to the sides it is blurry or slightly double.
We enjoyed our talk and she wanted to resume our conversation later on. That was good news to me, too. I have a chance to speak to someone else. Gladly she lives in Chiba, the same prefecture that I live in.
Today has been a pretty good day. Good breakfast, meeting someone new, good lunch, overcoming eye injection pain, getting my daily IV and writing about it.
Until next time! Hope you enjoyed today’s article!
