New Cells Have Closed the Hole -- Hallelujah!

As it kept on shrinking, James was able to see through the bubble which works like a built in magnifying glass. Yesterday morning in the doctor's waiting room, he told me he still saw edges although the distorted area was much smaller. We comforted each other as we walked into the doctor's office.

A nurse took OCT images on James' eye. It was the first time the bubble was small enough to allow them to do a scan after the operation. The result? Doctor L. said, "The macular hole is close." The scan showed new cells growing back in a thin layer and still growing. (Imagine a wall that was broken down in one section, but now that section has a shorter wall, but a wall nevertheless.) Hallelujah!!!

But we were still puzzled, "If the hole is close, how come the central vision is still distorted?" Doctor L explained that fluids went through the hole and got behind the retina. With the closing of the hole, some fluids are still trapped between the retina and the back of the eye. "Your central vision will be distorted for a while longer but it will improve in time."

Since the hole was close, our doctor replaced the C3F8 gas in the bubble with air (which will dissolve in a week) so that James can travel by plane on December 25th. The exchange was done by poking two needles into James' eye to reach into the bubble. As a result, James once again could not see, and his eye is very sore and painful. Hopefully, the pain will be gone and the air will dissolve in a few days.

In summary, although James still has pains, still have to stay facedown at night, and is not being able to see with his left eye, it looks like a positive outcome:

(1) the hole has close and is still closing with new cells
(2) the retina is still attached
(3) the C3F8 gas in the bubble is replaced by air which will dissolve much faster and give us a very high chance to go on a mission trip.

Through all these, we have once again experienced His amazing grace and power. Praise the Lord!