Recovery this time felt familiar—and mercifully smoother. I knew the drill: strict face-down positioning, no exercise, no strain. Equipped with oral meds, pressure-lowering drops, antibiotics, steroids, dilating drops, and artificial tears, I followed every instruction to the letter.
By January, my doctor was pleased: I could ditch the pressure meds and keep the rest until my May check-in. But in May, everything changed. The doctor looked me in the eye and said gently,
“The silicone oil needs to stay permanently. It’s what’s keeping your retina in place.”
It hit me like a wave. This wasn’t a phase. It was permanent. And worse? I’d now need regular procedures to drain and replace the oil, to prevent complications. Each visit came with a cost I wasn’t sure I could afford.
Then came blow number two: surgery on my other eye wasn’t recommended. Though that retina was also detached, it was stable. Touching it could risk full blindness. So, they left it. And I was left with the realisation:
This is forever.
This is expensive.
This is my new life.
Learning to Lean on Technology
- Paper is the enemy. Handwritten or printed text is unreadable.
- Digital is a mercy. I enlarge fonts, embolden text, and toggle zoom—my phone is a lifeline; my laptop, a struggle.
- Reading takes time. A paragraph that once took minutes now takes hours.
Yet I don’t “look” disabled. I’ve perfected the art of masking my struggles: smiling at introductions, nodding when I can’t recognise faces, hiding the panic of navigating stairs in dim light.
The Cost of Independence
I’ve been out of work while sorting my vision, and my confidence has slipped away. Assistive tools like text-to-speech and speech-to-text could help me rejoin the workforce, but they’re another expense I can’t easily bear.
I wear a mask of normalcy, but inside, I carry the weight of every lost detail: the fine print, a friend’s face, the menu at a café.
This is my reality now—blurred, dependent, but unbroken.
Sometimes, the bravest thing isn’t the surgery itself—it’s learning to live differently every day.
Glossary
- Retinal Detachment: When the retina pulls away from its blood supply, risking permanent vision loss if left untreated.
- Silicone Oil: A temporary implant that holds the retina in place; requires periodic replacement.
- Low Vision: Permanent visual impairment that makes daily tasks challenging despite corrective aids.
- Face-Down Positioning: A post-surgery recovery posture that helps the retina heal properly.
- Text-to-Speech (TTS): Software that converts written text into audible speech.
- Speech-to-Text (STT): Software transcribes spoken words into written text.
- Vision Disability: A condition limiting sight even with glasses or surgery.
If you missed Pt 6, read it here:
