August 18th, 2007 by admin

            I went back to see the glaucoma specialist who had done the surgery on the eye, and we tried to treat the eye with the eye drops. This was the only thing to do unless I wanted another surgery. I did not want to think about that. It was not fun the first time and I was sure it would not be the second. Over the next few months, the pressure in the eye was in the mid to upper twenty�s and damage was occurring slightly to my peripheral vision. I did not want another surgery, and we were still planning on moving to help plant a church. By June of that year on one of my doctor visits, that were now getting more frequent, my doctor mentioned to me that he could do a special procedure. This procedure could be done immediately sitting in the chair and would only take 30 seconds. This sounded good to me since he said that it would alleviate the pressure which in turn stops the glaucoma from causing more blindness. It was called a needling procedure. This procedure is designed to pop a hole in the area that had been clogged up when the blood vessel burst. Exactly as the procedure is named, a long needle is used to penetrate the eye. The doctor will then poke a few holes in the back of the eye, which then relieves the pressure. This is done by hand while the nurse assists. This will then allow the eye fluid to flow the way it is supposed to, and in return bring eye pressure back to normal. The procedure is performed while the patient is fully conscious. The eye is treated with some numbing drops but that is the extent of pain avoidance. The patient must look down and avoid blinking. Now how am I supposed to avoid blinking when a needle is going into my eye and is going to stay there for 30 seconds? A nurse held my eyelid open, I clinched the chair arms. I felt the needle go in and can honestly say that it was the longest 30 seconds of my life. After 30 seconds, the doctor slid the needle out, and I immediately was overcome with nausea and its impending results.