My Health: Breathing, Eyeballs and Art

As much fun as this last year has been with building a new studio, trips, lining up several exhibits, and making a lot of art, I have been battling some health issues. I have had sinus problems and a cough for the past year that I think is due to living in close proximity to my art space. I paint with oil paints and the fumes of the paint and the mineral spirits make their way into my living space. I didn't realize it at the time, but almost immediately when I moved upstairs to live (I started renting out my downstairs), I started having sinus and coughing problems. I began to suspect my studio this past fall. Once I had the new studio space completed enough to move all the toxic materials, I did. In the last several weeks my cough and sinuses have begun to clear. I still have a cough and sinus problems and predict it will take months to completely heal. But I feel like I am on my way.

The new studio has an exhaust fan for removing the fumes. I am also letting my paint rags dry outside instead of sitting on my paint stand until they dry. I feel much better about the new space, especially in terms of my health. Hopefully, some of these issues are behind me. My family has many members who have lived into their late 80's and into their 90's. My hope is to set myself up to paint for another 30 years. Ironically, it was while I was improving my health that my next health issue popped up.

I joined a gym and started working with a trainer to improve my strength, flexibility and general health (along with my tennis game). One day after working with the trainer and pushing to new limits with weights I tore the retina in my right eye. The tear crossed a blood vessel and I had some bleeding in my eye. The doctor said it was probably only a drop but, boy, can one drop of blood cloud up your vision!

Of course, the incident happened on a Saturday morning and I couldn't see a doctor until Monday. The doctor examined my eyes and informed me of what happened to my right eye and that he would have to operate on my retina the next day. It would be laser surgery to, basically, spot-weld my retina so it wouldn't tear anymore. The procedure takes about ten minutes. While he was in there he was also going to strengthen some "lattice weakening" that could lead to some more retina tearing later. I went home and rested my eye until the next day when my sister picked me up to go to the hospital for the procedure. As crazy as all this sounds, the doctor said I didn't need someone to drive me. My eyesight would be fine right after the operation and there would be no drugs. I still asked my sister to take me.

For fun, I found eight different times I had drawn or painted my right eye over the years.

I went the next morning for laser surgery on my right eye. The nurse was very friendly and pleasant. She dilated my eye while asking me a lot of questions. My blood pressure was a little high, understandably. When my eye was dilated enough, a nurse escorted me to a room that looked like a normal eye-examining room. Instead of the usual machine that doctors examine your eyes with, there was a slightly different machine. The doctor had me put my chin in the chin rest and lean my head against the forehead rest. He attached a large lens to my eye that kept my lids from closing and connected to the laser. He looked around in my eyeball to find the problem areas and then began zapping his welds into place. With each pulse of the laser there was a green flash of light. When he was really in a groove, the constant flashing of green light caused me to see the veins inside my eye as an after-image. A bit freaky, but cool. There was some discomfort, but not much. While in there, the doctor found another small tear and spot-welded that one, too. He looked around some more, didn't find anything else that needed to be secured and was done. He removed the lens from my eye and he led me to a room where the nurse would do a final check with me before I was released.

I was glad to have my sister there because I could see nothing out of my right eye. It was so dilated and dealing with the trauma of such intense light and lasers that everything was a blur. I could have driven home with one eye closed, but was very happy to let someone else do that for me. Once home, I ate a sandwich we picked up on the way home and then took a nap. When I woke up my eye was still dilated but I was starting to see a little better out of that eye. The worst of it is that the outside of my eye got scratched a little from the large lens. But that should be better after a good nights sleep.

In a day my vision should be back to normal and then I have about 6 - 8 weeks of not lifting really heavy things or doing anything that could inappropriately jostle my retina while the scars form properly. I trust the next several weeks will go by without any problems. I'm sure I will feel fine... until I get the bill.

 UPDATE: Its been 3 weeks since my eye surgery.  I still have days where there are a lot of floaters in my eye, but I would say my eye is about 90% and getting better everyday. Sometimes, in the dark, I see dull flashes of light where my retina was torn, but not like when it was torn. This is similar to dull flashes that I saw after I had Lasik surgery ten years ago. My eye is usually tired by the end of the day, but I can tell it is getting better. As for my coughing, it is still getting better and I had two great days in a row but, of course, the third day sucked. It comes and goes as it seems to steadily improve.