A brand new day, a brand new year, and a brand new eye.
It's the first day of 2017 and it's a good reason to make an entry in this almost-abandoned blog. It's been a busy year, but a very limited vision was the main reason I was not writing as much as before, as much as I wanted to.
On 21 December, 2016, I received a new lens in my right eye. I had gone through an emergency operation to remove the cataract that had become thick and dense, and which had led to acute glaucoma. The eye has fluid going in an out through a "drain" but due to the cataract, it was blocked causing pressure to build up. The result is intense pain and discomfort due to the tension. The pain had caused my systolic blood pressure to hit 208. Tests done by the doctors-on-call later showed that the pressure in my right eye was 60 against a normal pressure of 20.
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| My right eye before the removal of the cataraxt which was very visible. According to Dr. Haliza, it is usually sparsed but mine was centred at the pupil of the eye. The doctors in HUKM believed that the severity and the speed the cataract had progressed could have been induced by an injury or trauma. Their suspicion was correct - .I had, a couple of times at least, accidentally sprayed very high pressure water from a rubber tube directly to the eye while working at the bee farm. |
I had been advised to go to the Emergency section of the Hospital University Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) by my optometrist friend, Asoc. Prof. Dr. Haliza Mutalib. I had lamented to her that the brief and mild pain which had started just a day before, had become consistent and more intense since dzuhr that day. I must say that Dr. Haliza was my primover when I was in that vulnerable situation. When I had visited her for a check-up earlier, she had told me the bad news that I couldn't wait any longer, I had had to get the cataract removed immediately. She had referred me to the top specialist in HUKM, but due to the large number of cases, I only managed to secure an appointment in mid-January. But my eye couldn't wait...the cataract had to be removed immediately and I was put on top of the prioroty list for surgery, but the pressure in the eye had to be reduced first.
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| I'm so thankful for the love and support I received during this time, especially from my only daughter Marzia who doted on me while runnng around with errands. My husband and son were not there physically but I had felt their strength throughout. My sisters, sisters-in-law, nieces, uncles, aunties and cousin had made time to visit at the hospital, and made me feel so blessed. |
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| If you look carefully, you'll see a figure sitting by my bed while I was almost oblivious to my surrounding. I'm not sure if it was because of the pain or the medication I was given. That's Dr. Haliza, the first person to visit me while in hospital. She knew the type of pain I was in, and had massaged my head which gave me so much relief. Just her presence was such a big relief. |
Dr. Haliza was so right about the opthamologists and doctors in HUKM. I must say they were very profesional, even the Medical Officers. The nurses too were so attentive, helpful, efficient and kind. The service was at par with private hospitals and facilities, being a teaching hospital, I believe are no match. I was put through various tests and checked by three doctors at least each time, but I didn't mind being a case subject.
I am now recuperating and my vision is slowly but surely improving day by day. I was in denial and was hoping that the cataract could be treated like other diseases without having to go through surgery. It couldn't.
