what a piggish world it is//*

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 * (40) eyes are our most precious gift...

It had been a nightmare for me this past week and it has not ended yet...

My mum had a cataract operation 2 weeks ago and was due for a second one on her other eye today. Cataract surgery is routine and uncomplicated which is why only day surgery is required. In fact, mum's op was a success, as observed during the check-up on the day after the op. Mum stayed with me after her op and was supposed to go home after 1 week. But mum ended with postoperative endophthalmitis, a condition which occurs most commonly after cataract surgery, typically afflicting approx one in every 1,000 patients!

Everything was fine until the 3rd or 4th day after the op when mum started to have intermittent headaches. But mum had a high threshold level for pain and was always uncomplaining. Furthermore, we all thought it was normal to have headaches after cataract surgery... bad mistake! Then at noon last Monday, she realised she could not see a thing with her left eye. We rushed to the hospital and had to wait a long time though I had told the nurse that mum had had cataract surgery. I should have been a bitch! I should have more assertive! I should have insisted that mum be attended to immediately!

When mum was finally given all the tests, her eye fluid pressure was 32 (normal: 10-22). The head of the eye clinic immediately performed a laser procedure on mum's eye to bring the pressure down. She went back for a second laser procedure the next day but on the third day, her surgeon decided on a more aggressive treatment - an operation to inject antibiotics and steriods directly into her eye. He also took samples of her eye fluid for cultures to determine which bacteria was causing the infection.

Mum stayed 2 nights in the hospital after this op as 2 of the eyedrops had to been instilled every hour around the clock while the other 2 were for 4X and 3X daily. When she came home, the eyedrops continued to be instilled every hour for 3 more days and nights. Eldest brother and sis-in-law brought mum for her check-up yesterday and the instillations had been reduced to every 2 hours around the clock.

It has been a week since mum's loss of vision but she is uncomplaining and has great faith in God. She does not blame anyone for her infection and is mentally prepared should she not regain her left vision. But mum has always been a fiercely independant person so I don't know if she can really take it.

Mum has another check-up tomorrow - we all hope for a very favourable prognosis.

Please pray for my mum!

the pig oinked at 2:00 PM

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