Page 107 - The Freckled Eye - Book

I hadn’t recognized any other patients today, so to help pass the time, I
decided to strike up a conversation with the fella in the room next to me. I
could hear him, but couldn't see him because of the curtain. He was having
the same procedure done with the new plaque manufacturer. He had no idea
what had transpired the weeks prior to. So I briefly filled him in. He was
thankful. Everything seemed right today. My favorite nurses were there to
help me, Dr. Phan came in and gave me the ok, everything was good.

Here come the nurses. Mom gave my arm a little squeeze. They injected
another shot into my IV. Before I knew it, they had lowered my bed, unlocked
the wheels and started rolling me down the hall. I was out. Whatever they'd
just put in my IV was working.

Next, I remember hearing Dr. Phan talking. I was in the operating room. My
face was covered with some sort of light sheet. I could lightly feel them
working on my eye. It didn’t hurt. I could hear Dr. Phan talking with Dr.
Schneider. They were very happy with the fitting of the new plaque
manufacturer, which was great to hear. I think I may have made a noise to let
them know I was awake, and in seconds, I was out again. The next thing I
knew, they were rolling me back to the post op area. The procedure took
about 1hr and 15minutes from what mom had said. Jay and her were back in
my curtained room, while I was still coming to.

The radiation plaque was in place, sewn to the back of my eyeball and I had
the lead patch covering my eye. The lead patch was to keep the radiation
from leaking out as much as possible. It’s for safety reasons.

Though I was a bit groggy, I felt fine. The surgery went smoothly. I wasn’t in
pain and felt no discomfort at that point. I just looked like a pirate. After about
20 minutes, I was released to go home. Mom and Jay grabbed my things,
while I thanked everyone for helping me. I waved goodbye, until next
Tuesday, when they'd remove the radiation plaque. We walked out in to the
reception area and waved at Rose. She again had her wonderful smile. I
could tell she was happy things final went as they were supposed to. I waved
back, giving her a warm smile.

Back down the hall we went, down the elevator and into the parking lot. The
air seemed especially good today. It was done. Finally! And in the spirit of
this adventure, we decided to go back to Harry’s Haulfbraugh to have a little