The Aftermath (June 20)

The whole process started at 11AM. It was now 4 PM as I entered the room. I went straight to bed to sleep. I had to sleep on my back and had to tape two plastic eye guards to avoid touching my eyes while I’m asleep or for the pillow to rub my eyes. I forgot to mention this, but after the Corneal Cross-Linking procedure they placed 2 bandage contact lens (BCL) on my eyes to protect the treated area from exposure and to stop my eyelids from rubbing my eyes since the epithelium layer was not intact. The pain was unbearable. My entire body was sweating, my clothes were all drenched in sweat, I was freezing as the AC hit me (even though I covered myself with a thick blanket). What follows is pure torture.

As I previously mentioned I was at the final stages of a nasty cold. I still suffered from congestion in my chest and all the riboflavin drops (vitamin B2) that they were putting in my eyes over a 1.5 hour period passed through my eyes, into my throat, mixing with all the phlegm in my system and completely soaking my tongue. What did that mean? Every time I blow my nose there is a yucky flavored phlegm colored yellowish/brown (due to the Riboflavin drops) coming out. I could not see it since my eyes were closed the entire time, but that was how my mother described it. Next, all the absorption of the riboflavin on my tongue caused a condition best described as “cotton mouth”, complete dryness of the tongue (imagine a thick towel inside your mouth that you can’t remove) where I just felt like throwing up. Top that with extreme hunger and stomach pain because the last meal I had was around 7AM (9 hours ago) and I had a voltaren pain pill which causes stomach cramps if taken on an empty stomach.

I was starving, did not have any food, suffered from a stomach cramp, felt like vomiting, felt like my eyes were soaking in Clorox, sweating all over, had chills and all the nerves and muscles in my head were so tense I felt they were gonna snap. My mom went to get some food from the grocery next door as I was blind, helpless and in pain. She came back with some bread, cheese and milk. She prepared a cheese sandwich which was probably the worst thing she could have given me. Imagine putting a little cream cheese on a dry towel and then with an absolutely dry tongue drying to eat it. I was about to puke at that moment but stopped myself since I knew my stomach was empty and for the fear this reaction may damage my eyes that have just undergone some major procedures. I did not have any regrets at that moment and never once said I wish I never did this. All I knew was that I had to keep on walking on the path I’ve chosen, no matter what the consequences were. As these thoughts passed through my mind, I lost consciousness and drifted to the only shelter I could escape to. I was finally asleep and no longer felt any pain as my soul temporarily departed my physical self.