October 17 - Good News and Bad News

October 17,2006. We saw the specialist today who took out all of the stitches from Ed's eye. Removing the stitches 'released' the warp of the cornea and Ed could see much better almost immediately. BUT, the bad news is that the specialist says that the dreaded fungus has returned!! We were warned that it might, but we didn't believe it! Ed's eye is reddened again, not calm like it was at the last appointment on September 12th.

(Photo of Ed's eye taken on Oct.24 after one week of Voriconazole oral 200 mg and hourly Voriconazole eye drops).

We thought that the redness was due to using the wrong kind of caulking (outdoor used indoors) that Ed used while working in his workshop. Guess not. Ed doesn't have pain; just an ache that comes and goes. He was saying that his eyesight seemed a bit worse than it was from that eye - so I guess that was an indicator. The specialist says that the fungus is growing under the 'flap' which we are guessing is the corneal graft? But could be the conjectival flap. We were too shocked to ask many questions.

So, Ed is now back on the oral Voriconazole anti fungal tabs; twice a day. He had finished taking them on August 15, almost two months ago. Then, after a month's worth of checkups, we thought that the fungus was dead!
But no, it was only waiting in the wings!! One little spore hiding and waiting to grow again!!

The oral Voriconazole blurs his vision for a few hours after taking them, and they make him really tired. He hates that, but no choice in this matter. Ed is also back on the Voriconazole eye drops every hour except between midnight and 6 am or when he is asleep. Luckily, we have some coverage for these very expensive drugs.