Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement as I face this next step. It won’t be as serious for me as previous surgeries. It’s a relatively simple procedure that will remove something that is damaged beyond repair and causes pain and discomfort. As to your question @Gloria Mitchell no it’s not inappropriate. The simple answer is no: an eye transplant that is to say transplanting a complete eye isn’t possible. It’s possible that you’re thinking of a corneal transplant? Some explanation may be needed. Many people choose to donate their eyes after they die but at the moment the only part that can be used in a transplant is the cornea. Transplantation of a complete eye would require reconnection of the optic nerve which isn’t possible at the moment. So why is that? Ok, hands and arms have been transplanted and people have regained movement and mobillity in the transplanted limb. When a hand/arm is transplanted the blood vessels, muscles and nerves in the transplant are reconnected with the ones in the arm stump. The nerves are like pieces of string, they’re ”tied” together and the join regenerates, a bit like a broken bone mending. Why not just ”tie” the optic nerve together in the same way? Well the optic nerve is one of the smallest and most complicated nerves in the human body. The optic nerves - we have two, one for each eye, are just over one inch in length and on average about 0.15 inches in diameter. Unlike the other nerves the optic nerves are not just one ”thread”. The optic nerve is composed of retinal ganglion cell axons and glia. Each human optic nerve contains between 770,000 and 1.7 million nerve fibers, which are axons of the retinal ganglion cells of one retina. In the fovea, which has high acuity, these ganglion cells connect to as few as 5 photoreceptor cells; in other areas of retina, they connect to many thousand photoreceptors. From Wikipedia. You could compare the optic nerve to the optic fibre cables used for high speed internet. Imagine, over one million nerve fibers in a sheath that is a fraction of an inch in diameter and in order to restore sight each and every one of those nerve fibers would have to be individually reconnected. With current surgical methods this is just not possible. Studies are being carried out and some experts say that a complete eye transplantation may be possible in the next twenty years or so. If a complete eye were transplanted it wouldn’t work and the recipient would have to take medication to prevent the transplanted eye being rejected just like other patients with transplants. Then of course there’s the question of color. Eyes are like fingerprints, everyone’s are different. Though I guess I’d look cool with one blue and one brown eye. So that’s why an eye transplantation isn’t on the cards.
Thank you @Lon Tanner and @Beth Gallagher but you're both also dealing with issues that I'm sure would be hard for many people to come to terms with. It's a pleasure for me to have met you both and all the other members here who are dealing with their own health issues but have found the time to respond to me with kindness and encouragement
Sunday is my husband’s birthday and we’ll be having a family party which will be the first one for two years. 2019 we were on safari in Tanzania and last year - well you can guess. With our large family consisting of children, grand and great grandchildren plus us of course there’ll be twenty eight of us which is four more than last time! Today we’ve collected all the groceries and other stuff and I’ll be spending most of tomorrow Saturday in the kitchen preparing food for the hungry horde.
Spoke to the eye specialist this morning. On Wednesday November 17th I will be having surgery to remove my blind eye. Have an appointment on November 10th when I will get exact information about the procedure before and during surgery and the post surgery recovery period until I'm fitted with a prosthetic eye.
@Bibbi Wright, I didn't even want to read this thread as it hurts to think about what you are going through. I am sorry, and pray for a better outcome from it.
@Ed Wilson & @Ken Anderson Thank you both. Strange as it my seem this doesn’t worry me too much and I look at it this way. I’m getting rid of something that is broken and beyond repair.
It’s 8 am Saturday morning and we’ve been up and running for over an hour. DH is a very early riser and by 7 am he’s usually got me up showered and dressed and ready for the day. Now it’s time for breakfast and a cigarette and then I’m off to the kitchen to start preparing for the family gathering tomorrow.
Sunday 11am. A quick breather from the preparations. Spent all day in the kitchen yesterday and all morning so far. Second daughter with husand and two grandchildren arrived yesterday. Oldest daughter with husband and two grandchildren, son and daughter in law with fifteen grandchildren - they’re not all his, very long complicated story and her eldest daughter with fiance and three great grandchildren will all be here for lunch.
@Beth Gallagher Thanks Beth. We had a lovely day but the preparations and clearing up were exhausting. We got everything finally cleared up - five loads in the dishwasher, about forty glasses that had to be hand washed and everything put away around 10 pm yesterday. Mr.Bibbi says thanks for the birthday wishes. Today we're having an easy day in preparation for going to stay at our second daughter's tomorrow for a couple of days to babysit as they are both attending separate seminars at different places.
You always have the best attitude, Bibbi. Have you started the eye drops yet? How long will it be until the doctor can tell if the drops are helping?
@Beth Gallagher & @Marie Mallery Thanks both of you. Yes I got the eyedrops the same day as my visit to the eye specialist before I left the hospital - the wonders of online prescriptions and started with them the next day. They’ll check again when I go for the enucleation surgery and then once a month for six months at the optometrist here in town. I have strict instructions to contact them if I suspect any changes in my vision before then.