alexxkay | Kestrell and Alexx return to the Ocularist

kestrell has new eyeballs! 10 months of angst is *done*! (Save for another few followups, but hopefully those should be trauma-free...) Photo-essay follows. Fewer disturbing images than the last one, but still worth putting behind a cut.

On the T. This is, with luck, the last picture ever in which Kes is wearing an eye-bandage. Not that I objected to the bandage -- but the continual use of the tape did unpleasant things to her skin.

In the chair, waiting for new eyes.

The new eyes, soaking.

The ocularist displays his handiwork.

Taking out the old left eye.

Here's a closeup of that suction-cup gadget I was talking about last time.

Awaiting new eyes.
[Kes: this is the point where the ocularist dropped my eye on the floor, because the silicone drops used for lubricating the eye make it extremely slippery.]

In with the left...

...and the right.

Delerium eyes!
[descriptive text: the right eye is bright emerald green, and the left eye is bright blue.]

Hmmm... The right eyelids aren't closing all the way yet. They're kind of atrophied after all this time. Kes: "It feels like I have a cow in my eye!"

Using a Sharpie to mark where he wants to trim down the size slightly.

Popping out the right eye with the suction cup, to do a little fine-tuning.

The left will also need a bit of adjustment. Kes demonstrates where it feels wrong.

The right eye is much improved. "Now it just feels like a small calf!"

Marking the left eye for adjustments.

And popping it out.

For the left eye, the old prosthetic is handy. The ocularist has Kes compare the old and new, to help identify exactly where the problem area is.

After adjustments, re-inserting the left eye.

Feeling much better, now!

On the T again, not wearing dark glasses for the first time in ages!

After all the trauma, it's time for a *full* makeover, so off to a hair salon.

Who is that woman with the straight, non-crazy hair?

By the eyes, it must be Kestrell!
Kes: The salonist really wanted to blowdry my hair straight, even though every fiber of my being defies straight; I indulged her, but this is unlikely to ever happen again. Still, this is me with straight hair.

ETA: Closing comments on this post due to excessive spam. If you want to comment, email me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's sooo weird. Why would he care? It's not THAT unusual. I mean, maybe if you wanted flames on them or something...I think they look beautiful.

The ocularist gave me a lectue which basically came down to blah blah normal blah blah passing blah blah *whispery shame voice* "No one should know."

My reply was I know what passing is, I don't care about normal, and everybody knows already, because I'm blogging about it.

The ocularist also sometimes throws in lines like "Looking normal helps you get jobs easier" and other bull. It wouldn't make me quite so crazy except the speech is delivered in a total patronizing tone that the able-bodied normal person has to explain these basic concepts to the disabled person, even though the ocularist knows I hae had prosthetics since I was 14, and I'm not stupid because I did manage to graduate from MIT.

Sorry, it still gets my righteous indignation going when I remember the lecture.

Oh, and i forgot the ocularist finally coming down tot he what I think really bothered him: "It doesn't look good for me."

Because of course, it's really all about him.

But this is why we promised not to mention his name or anything.

But this is why we promised not to mention his name or anything.

But why? Because wouldn't it be useful to someone else who needs to have prosthetic eyes done to know that this particular ocularist doesn't have good bedside manner?

I think you're awesome for taking charge of your own destiny (no, not Capital-D Destiny) and not letting anything get in your way.

Cheers to you!

Well, I stil have mixed feelings about hwo the ocularist treated me when I wanted to change the eye color of my prosthetics, but I would make that more of a caveat than a blatant disrecommendation. The truth is that his work is exceptional, and as far as being gentle and being understanding about issues of pain, anxiety, and even outright fear due to previous experiences with terrible ocularists, he and all of his office are again exceptional. It's just this one area where his attitudes are stuck int he 1950s and, although I found that to be a really big "but," I am far more concerned about other people getting prosthetics which fit correctly and are correctly made so that the process doesn't cause them pain, because it seems there are a number of people who shouldn't be allowed to touch a patient who are allowed to be in business. I would still recommend this ocularist to anyone who needed one, just adding that you have to stick to your beliefs sometimes about personal decisions.
Apologies for the lengthy reply.

Hey, it's your journal. Feel free to ramble as long as you like. :)

Kestrell and Alexx return to the Ocularist

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From Neil Gaiman's journal

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Re: From Neil Gaiman's journal