saving his precious vision

My husband has a history of near-sightedness since childhood. Three years ago he was diagnosed with Glaucoma effecting his left eye. Earlier this year he was noticing even more difficulty seeing with his left eye so cataract surgery was eventually recommended. The cataract was removed complication-free on the first day of August. Suddenly, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning he noticed a change, somewhat impaired vision and an increased sensitivity. The full moon shining into our room was just too much light! He made an appointment and went in to his doctor, all seemed to be well. Forward to Saturday (yesterday), greater impaired vision with large floaters. After doing a bit of research we felt that his symptoms might possibly be retinal detachment. He was referred to the ER at Kaiser. After waiting more than three hours plus he was demanding to be released, AMA. He was tired of being ignored, felt cold, and was getting hungry. After four and a half hours he was finally more thoroughly examined and it was confirmed, retinal detachment. About 9:30 PM I joined him and brought him some junk food and a sweater. He was released at 10:15 PM pm with plans for immediate surgery and instructions to report to a different facility at 11:30pm. A retina specialist was called and he was driving in from an hour out-of-town. By 12:30 AM this morning he was undergoing the first phase of treatment: Pneumatic Retinopexy. No sedating analgesic (just eye anesthesia), no relaxing music, no nurses, just the fabulous Doctor and us. It was terrifying and impressive at the same time. No complications and we were back home and settled in by 2:00 AM. DH MUST sleep sitting-up straight with his head tilted to his left side for FIVE DAYS. We were back at the office this morning at 10:00 AM for a check-up: all is good. We'll be going back tomorrow for a follow-up laser treatment if all is progressing well and then we'll go back the next day. This first attempt to save his sight has a 75-81% chance of being successful. There are other OR options down the road if needed, but we're hoping of course that this is effective. It should be. His had no choice, do it or lose sight within a few days to a few weeks.

I'll add more later and or slightly edit, but wanted to post this for now. He does so much for us in our home that I am already exhausted with all my new duties like preparing dinner and emptying the dish-washer. gtg. It's our baby's 13th birthday!