I wanted to showcase some of my art in hopes of inspiring others. This piece has a story behind it and I thought it would be nice to share it here.
Back in 2004, I was on my next journey in life about to start college as I had just finished up high school. It was a scary, yet exciting time for me as I looked forward to starting over and following my passion: fine art. Before the semester started, I was experiencing floaters and eye flashes in the corner of my eye, which were new to me. Not understanding the severity of the situation, my mother took me to the regular eye doctor to have it checked out.
Everything came up normal and I went about my day per usual. It was only when things started to become darker in my right eye that it was clear something was going on. I was promptly driven to an ophthalmologist where they quickly figured out what was wrong; I was going blind in both my eyes. Without hesitation, they required I have immediate surgery. They mentioned if I had waited any longer, I would have lost my vision entirely. As an artist, your main tools for the craft are your hands and eyes. It quickly dawned on me how close I was to missing out on the one thing I was actually good at in life and that scared me so much.
For my right eye, I had a very invasive surgery done. They call it a sclera buckle which is a silicone band they stitch permanently into your eye. It holds your eye in place to avoid any retinal detachment. For my left eye, I had laser surgery (not lasik) where they 'weld' your retinal tears shut. You're awake during the procedure and it is very painful as you have to move your eye around in order for them to hit the tears properly all whilst the smell of your flesh burning fills your nostrils. This procedure had to be done multiple times during the span of a year, so I had roughly four sessions worth of laser work done.
It took about a year for my right eye to heal entirely, but the nightmare wasn't over yet. Some muscle tissue started to grow over the silicone band, which impaired my vision, so I had to get another surgery done. Since the eye was already so fragile, they could only do so much to stitch back the muscle. The doctors told me upfront that I might end up losing my vision from this surgery if it didn't go well or if they did anymore. Given my situation, I was very thankful I never lost my eyesight.
So how are my eyes now you may be asking? I can see and that alone is a blessing. The only complication I had after this was double vision and what I call my 'lazy eye' as my right eye is much weaker now and can veer off to the side sometimes. Unfortunately, when I finally started college I had to wear an eye patch because my eye was still healing. It wasn't for a long time, so I was very thankful for that.
So what's the connection between this story and the painting? Well, I had quite a number of painting classes and my teacher asked us to create a themed piece that for the life of me I can't remember. So I took my oil paints, brushes, and canvas and decided to convey everything I felt during my experience losing my vision and gaining it back again. For me, I've always been a non-representational painter, so basic shapes and colors were my way of expressing my emotions best. Veins, tree roots, water, curves, waves...all these things had a deep connection to me as I felt very drawn to nature, the human body and their beautiful connection to one another.
Everything I tried to express in my painting may look unusual for some, but it's how I've learned to cope with my emotions best. I hope this post can enlighten others to continue doing what you love despite the challenges.
Oh wow...I've never heard of a retinal tear like hers. I always assumed it was uncommon (if you took care of your eyes) but I guess not! Seems way too young to have it. Then again, I was only 19 when I had my surgery done.
Even more symptoms:
Depressed with no friends
Need To Hear Success Stories
Something Little can make your day
