So, I haven't been on deviantart lately mostly since I've been so busy with work.  But some bad luck came my way.  A few weeks ago I've been seeing a lot of floaters and flashes consistently in my left eye.  (Floaters are what you occasionally see that resemble dust motes but aren't actually dust motes cuz they're in your eye.  Flashes are occasional swirls of lights.)  Since I work for an ophthalmologist, I had her do a dilated eye exam on me and it turns out I have a retinal detachment in my left eye as well as a small retinal hole and a retinal tear.  Usually if the retinal detachment is severe enough, you may experience more floaters/flashes than normal, vision that is either described as dim or as if a "curtain" is obstructing your vision.
Retinal detachment is caused by blunt trauma or (in my case) being very nearsighted.

I didn't experience the later because based off of the location on my detachment I didn't really use that are to see.  But if left untreated my symptoms can become worse and I could lose vision in the eye.  My ophthalmologist referred me to a retina specialist, which I was able to see quickly enough since my diagnosis is considered an emergency situation.

During the exam with the retina doctor, it turns out that my right eye has a pretty weak retina too with multiple small retinal tears all around the periphery, but not as severe as the left eye.  The doctor did laser photocoagulation for the right eye (which was kinda painful) same day to prevent it from getting as bad as the left eye.  Now for the left eye, the doctor said in order to fix it, I'm going to have surgery on it.

The surgery involves me getting a scleral buckle around my left eye.  You can essentially think of it kinda like a silicon band wrapped around the circumference of my eye to essentially push the layer of the eye close to the detached retina so that it can be reattached with laser or some other procedure.

Recovery is not gonna be easy for me, especially since many of the things I love to do requires me to utilize my eyes (my fanfics!  my animes!)  Things to expect immediately after surgery and several days after is pain, swelling, and dizziness (i hate feeling dizzy!)  My eye will look red, irritated, and dry.  Reading will be contraindicated since it requires rapid eye movements and it's gonna be so uncomfortable since there will be stitches on the eye ball itself.  I won't be able to see outta my left eye until several weeks after the surgery (could be anywhere from 5-8 weeks).  My myopia will get worse as well since the shape of my eye has essentially changed.

I'm pretty nervous, I've never had outright surgery before and never had general anesthesia.  I am hopeful that the surgery will go well, but I'm worried what it will be like once I'm older.  Now I know my retinas are weak, which means I have to be extra careful in protecting my eyes.  I can't strain it, cuz that will make my nearsightedness worse.  I guess I may have to avoid rollercoaster as well.

Surgery is next Tuesday.  I'm getting ready by actually cleaning my room for once for easier access to my eyecare stuff/meds.  Bought me a bottle of Aleve, an eyepatch, cottom wipes, and q-tips.  My ophthalmologist/boss gave me some Ambien as well (which I know I will put to good use seeing as how I'm gonna feel super crummy after surgery.)   

We shall see how this goes.