Vitrectomy Survival Guide: How to manage your body, mind, and life while face-down

By Rabee Alwan

This book is a must-have for people that will undergo or are currently recovering from a vitrectomy surgery—especially those that had a retinal detachment—and, as a result, are required to maintain a face-down position. It is also recommended for support persons and healthcare providers that are caring for vitrectomy patients.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rabee Alwan
• Release date: Aug 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781999183400

Rabee Alwan

Rabee Alwan is an engineer turned leadership coach with a passion for compassion. His life purpose is creating serenity and his mission is to help people become fully expressed by helping them turn friction into traction. He's a father, a runner, a self-taught guitar player, and he's lucky enough to call Calgary, Alberta his home.

Book preview

Rabee Alwan

Vitrectomy Survival Guide

How to manage your body, mind, and life while being face-down

First published by Rabee Alwan 2019

Copyright © 2019 by Rabee Alwan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

First edition

ISBN: 978-1-9991834-0-0

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

Find out more at reedsy.com

To my mother, for your unconditional love and support when I needed you most.

To my wife and kids, for helping me see the best of life.

To my parents, for your relentless commitment to my vision.

And to you, the reader, for having the courage to take on this journey.

Contents

Disclaimer

Sharing my story

Who should read this book?

How to read this book

Vitrectomy: very simply explained

I. THE JOURNEY BEGINS

How I got to face-down

A few words on trust

What to expect

Support system

Surgery preparation

II. MANAGING YOUR BODY

About: Managing your body

Sleeping

Eating and drinking

Hygiene

Physical activity

Relaxing

Bodily functions

Pain

Medication

Vision progression

Other senses

Intimacy

Safety

III. MANAGING YOUR MIND

About: Managing your mind

Loving where you are

Feeling isolated

Entertainment

Reflecting

Meditating

IV. MANAGING YOUR LIFE

About: Managing your life

Work

Family

Friends

Social gatherings

Driving

Travel

In closing

About the Author

Disclaimer

My goal is to help make your vitrectomy recovery experience as pleasant as possible, however, I am not a professional in the space of surgery, medicine, healthcare, or any such occupation that would render me as someone that can provide professional advice on anything related to your condition or your surgical procedure and associated recovery. My intention is to help you by sharing my own personal experience of going through a vitrectomy. To share what worked and what didn’t work—for me. With that said, what worked for me may not be suitable for you, and it may not even apply to your situation. Your healthcare provider will be the one to define what is appropriate for your unique situation, and you should always consult with them for any issues or questions that arise. This book is not intended to take the place of, or override, any instructions, limitations, restrictions, or recommendations that are given to you by your healthcare provider.

Sharing my story

Our stories make up who we are. They form our values, they shape our character, and they define the principles that we live our lives by. But most importantly, our stories describe how we got to where we are today. All knowledge ever acquired has been passed down from generation to generation through stories. This book is how I’ve chosen to share my story. My story of being face-down and the experiences that I’ve had through my journey. My hope is to pass along something that enriches your experience as you take the steps through your own face-down journey.

Who should read this book?

This book is intended to be read by people that will undergo or are currently recovering from a vitrectomy surgery—especially those that had a retinal detachment—and, as a result, are required to maintain a face-down position. It is also recommended for people that are supporting anyone that is recovering from a vitrectomy. And finally, this book may also help healthcare providers better support those in their care by sharing a detailed account of a patient’s experience and perspective.

If you’re a patient

You will gain an understanding of the overall experience from start to finish, and an understanding of how to manage your body, your mind, and your life as you go through the recovery process. You will also gain tips and tricks on what works and what might not work so well, and most importantly, you will gain confidence that you too, can do this.

If you’re a support person

You will gain an understanding of what your person is going through. You will be able to anticipate some of the troubles and issues and be more proactive in your care and support for them. You will also be able to understand and support their mental state as they go through the challenging recovery process. Most of all, you will be less surprised as things come up and will have more insight as to what you can do to relieve issues.

If you’re a healthcare provider

You probably already have a lot of answers and suggestions for your patients and have lived through this procedure vicariously through them, but, the hope is that there may be something in here that helps you provide different suggestions or advice to your patients so you can support them that much better. Even if you only take away one tip or trick from this book, or have a slight shift in perspective when it comes to the patient’s experience, you will be able to share that with so many people, and the impact will be huge.

How to read this book

This book is intended to be a companion as you go through your journey and was written to allow you to quickly flip to a part or chapter and get the information you need. If you’re preparing yourself for a vitrectomy, then you may benefit from reading it cover to cover. However, if you’re already on your recovery path, then reading the sections that are relevant to your current situation may be the way to go.

The book is broken up into four main parts:

The journey begins: In this part, I share my story on how I got to face-down, the impact that trust has on the overall journey, the timeline that you should expect, and what an effective support system could look like for your recovery.

Managing your body: Here we dive into every aspect of your body, from sleep, to nutrition, to hygiene, to safety, and everything in-between to ensure that you know what to expect and how to best manage things as they come up in relation to your body.

Managing your mind: This is where we talk about the mind and how to keep it