Results: Matt's Surgery
Hey there! Thanks for keeping Matt & I in your thoughts & prayers. He is doing well... we were at Walter Reed over 12hrs on Thurs & then for a few more hours Fri for a checkup... and the traffic was evil... but it's done and he is back to cracking jokes as usual ;o) Here are the rest of the details from Matt:
My surgery went well. Colonel Birdsong (My opthalmic surgeon) went into my right-eye and detached my inferior oblique muscle and reattached it in a different location to bring my eye-sight back into a closer proximity (I have had diplopia since my injury).
NOW- layman's terms!
I have had double-vision (diplopia) since the blast-force trauma I endured during the IED attack. Dr. Birdsong went in and detached one of the major muscles in the back of the eye (inferior oblique) and reattached it in a different location to make my double-vision less.
I am in pain, and my eye looks all bloody and mooshy (great visual, yes?) but I can see through it and all is well. I am going back this morning for a checkup and will be taking care of my eye for a bit. The surgery only lasted about an hour with much of that being dedicated to putting me under and bringing me back up. I was in the recovery room for a while because of nausea and other insignificant issues, but was released in no time. I should be able to drive in 3-5 days. Modern medical-science is amazing.
The great news is that I have "Chuck Yeager" vision (as my surgeon puts it). My right eye has 20/15 vision and my left eye is 20/10. Too bad they don't work well together! I should have been a fighter pilot!
Anyways, I am in pain-- but the good kind. The type that lets you know you are on the mend.
Thank you all for your support. This should be one of my last surgeries for a long time so Dawn and I are pretty excited. Peanut (our Chihuahua) is just happy to have my full attention again.