If you’re following along with Harvest Hues stitch-along, regrettably, we have to pause for a moment. In fact, I need to pause the blog just for a little while – maybe until Monday or Wednesday? I’m hoping it’s only that long, anyway…
Just grabbing a previous photo from an earlier article on embroidered eyes…
For those of you who have followed along on Needle ‘n Thread a while, you know I have troublesome eyes. I had very quick and problematic cataracts develop after going through chemo and radiation about eight years ago, which led to cataract surgery – which would have been great if it had stopped there! What a wonderful solution! But then I had a few complications from that.
Then, in the past few years, I’ve had several ocular strokes that have left me with blind spots, though fortunately not in my direct line of vision.
Then a vitreous detachment in my left eye, which was a bit problematic till I got used to it because the most obvious blind section is in that eye. Swirling vitreous and blind spots don’t go well together, strangely enough.
And if we had just stopped there, everything would be ok. Buuuuttttt…. nope. The eye saga isn’t over yet.
Night before last I had a vitreous detachment in my right eye with a bit of a hemorrhage. It’s not an abnormal or rare thing for people to experience vitreous detachment, apparently. The difficulty at this point for me is that it hasn’t detached completely, so I have to be very careful, lest there’s any negative impact on the retina as the rest of the vitreous continues to detach. At the same time, it has impaired my vision in my right eye (which is my “good eye”), especially with the little bits of hemorrhaging.
So I’ve got to just take a little break.
My plan / hope is to publish a short installment of Harvest Hues at the beginning of next week – enough to get you working on it and get you stitching.
So that’s where we are.
Sorry about the delay!
Time to get off the computer.
Thanks for your understanding!
Hi Mary,
That is a wow. I wish you lots of comfy rest, success with any treatment you have. To say I love your work and blog just doesn’t say enough. Please let others take care of you for a while. You are so loved.
Catherine
Good luck; hopefully you can avoid any further damage.
We love you, Mary! You take care of you! <3
Mary, I’m so sorry to hear that you are having these eye issues.
You are in my thoughts and prayers. Take care of yourself and l pray that you will be doing better soon.
All the best.
Angela Lutz
Wishing you a speedy recovery knowing how frustrating and serious this can be. Always take care of yourself. No one else can do that!
Embroidery, as important as we think it is, will be there when you are ready. Don’t shortchange yourself for our sake.
Debbie
I’m so sorry to hear that you are dealing with this eye issue…sending healing thoughts to you. Worrying about us, should be the least of your worries. I hope your eye improves quickly and fully.
❤️
Mary I’m so sorry to hear about the eye issue you are experiencing after all the other eye issues you’ve suffered! I can only imagine how frustrated you must be as an artist who relies on your eyes every day to practice your artwork. You’ll be in my prayers for a full and quick recovery. I know everyone will understand and supportive!
Sincerely, Kim H.
Please just tend to yourself and take very good care
We will still be here when you are healed!
My prayers are with you Mary in this difficulty. Your inspiration and ideas are so valuable to all of us stitchers. Get well soon!
Please take care of yourself! You will be in my thoughts.
Jane
Wishing you a speedy recovery!
Oh no, eye stuff is so scary. I hope this resolves with minimal impact on your remaining vision.
Dear Mary, I’m so very sorry to hear this story in full! I’d known, from your posts, that you were having trouble. This is terrible. You’re putting on a very brave face–bravo! In the meantime, I am sending good kharma and prayers that you get past this and back to full eye health!
With admiration,
Jennifer
Scary having eye issues. Don’t worry, we will be OK out here in cyberspace. Rest and heal.
I’m so sorry to hear your eyes are causing so much trouble. Is the vitreous detachment something they can fix surgically? In my mind I picture them going in with a surgical glue gun and sticking things back in place. 🙂 I doubt that’s how it works but I do hope the doctors can repair things so you can continue to enjoy the joys of threads and needles.
I am adding you to a prayer list. I am an editor and the idea of eye problems stresses me incredibly. I hope all goes smoothly and your eye issues resolve favorably!
Thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery.
Please take care of yourself and rest your eyes. You do not want to hurt them any further. All of us are very willing to wait for how long it takes for you to get better. Saying prayers for you.
Praying for you!
Sending prayers and hugs!! Pam Wesselink
Mary, I’m very sorry to hear that your eyes are continuing to have problems, I had a vitrectomy in my left eye about 5 years ago for a vitreous detachment. It wasn’t a horrible surgery, even though you are a) conscious and b)have y our eyes propped open (much like with cataract surgery). The worst part of it was two days of being face down. If your ophthalmologist recommends this surgery I highly recommend renting recovery supplies. (This is the company I used: https://www.vitrectomyrs.com/rental/packages/prices.html ) They can also be purchased from Amazon.
I sincerely hope the problem is more easily resolved than that, and that you’re back to better sight soon! Sending you good healing vibes from Pittsburgh- Kathy
Take care if your vision first. Don’t worry about the other things. Your vision is the most important thing right now. Let it heal before you do anything else.
So sorry for your eye troubles. Good thoughts and prayers for your speedy healing. XXOO
Oh gosh, you poor thing! I do hope that your eye troubles clear up soon! I, for one, am happy to wait as long as it takes before your next blog post – your health is the most important thing!
Wow, Mary ….. you have had a time, haven’t you? So sorry! Take good care of yourself. Please don’t stress about us. You’re more important. Rest those eyes and get better!
Praying for you.
So sorry to hear that news Mary! Rest all that you can. Eyes are precious and we stitchers need ours very much! Take as long as you need to heal hopefully.
We can wait. May God bless & heal you.
My prayers are with you Mary! As an avid reader and creator of beautiful tiny things I feel for you. Nothing scares me more than the loss of eyesight.
Sending best wishes
So sorry to hear about this latest development, Mary. Hope everything heals as properly as possible. Aging is certainly a challenging prospect! Best wishes for a good recovery.
Katherine (another “older” stitcher)
Mary,
I will keep you in my prayers that this resolves quickly. I’ve had complications from cataract surgery and know how frustrating it can be.
God bless!
Take care of yourself Mary and follow what the ophthalmologist tell you. Get well soon.
I am so sorry for your visual complications. Please take good care of yourself! Sending a hug!
I hope things get better for you soon! I also have issues with vitreal detachment in both eyes that drive me crazy sometimes, so I can definitely relate.
Please be in touch with your ophthalmologist and don’t wait to go to the ER if anything worsens. the eyes are mysterious wonders and so very delicate. thinking about you, hugs.
I hope your eye problem is sorted quickly and everything works out OK – take care and send get well soon hugs
Best Wishes for an early and complete end to eye problems!
Keeping you in my prayers. Please take as long as you need to take care of your eye condition. That should definitely be your number 1 priority right now.
So sorry you’re dealing with this – again! I’m praying you’ll be on your feet in no time – and able to see where you’re going! 🙂
Speedy recovery. Sending prayers
Dear Mary,
Bless your heart. Sending love and positive energy. Take care.
Fran
Dear Mary, all very best wishes.
PLEASE don’t worry about us. If we have trouble with the current project we will browse your website and find many things to work on.
I have had some eye issues and treating them was more important than anything else.
Mary, I am praying for a speedy and healthy resolution to your eye issues. I am a fellow “eye warrior” and I have particular empathy for what you are experiencing.
I had a detatched retina in June and a vitrectomy with silicone oil. Today I am home from my second vitrectomy where I thought the silicone oil would be removed, plus they also did a cataract extraction that should really help my vision to be better. Well , , , my doctor discovered that my retina had a fresh tear, so he had to laser that and then put silicone oil back in. As he so accurately said, we took two steps forward and one step back.
Take care, get well soon, and embroider on!
I totally understand- your job is to take care of yourself and heal. We, your faithful readers, will stick with you.
Dear Mary,
I enjoy your blog tremendously and follow it for quite some time. Always looking forward for your newest bits and pieces. But try and relax. Getting your health in order and saving your eyesight as much as you can is more important than anything else.
Wish you all the best
Silke
Dear Mary
Please,
please don’t give it another thought! Your health is the top priority and we, your many, many fans, are here routing for you from all over the world!
Christine
I’m so sorry to hear about your eye issues. You have my true sympathy. I have had 4 surgeries on the same eye in 3 months. A detached retina with macula off would not reattach . High eye pressure after the surgery led to a medium grade eye stroke. Then I developed an infection,and the retina detached again. It has finally “stuck,” but my vision loss is in my dominant eye and that impacts overall visual performance. I haven’t touched a needle in months and I certainly do miss it! It’s a slow process. healing the eye, but we hand sewers have that in abundance. Stay strong, rest the eyes snd get better soon
So sorry to hear about your eye condition, take care and do what you supposed to do!! You need your vision to do the beautiful work that you do!!
I hope your eye clears up soon with no further issues!
so sorry that you are having an eye problem. Do whatever – or as much – resting as you need to. We’ll be here waiting for you and praying for the best outcome!
Hope your eye problems recede, and you can get back to creating and working.
Sending Positive Thoughts & Healing Energy your way!
As eager as I am to get started, your eyesight is by far more important! I hope you take as much time as you need. The materials will keep.
Oh, no! Why do these thing happen to disable us at the very points we need most in 9urbdailynlives? I’m so sorry you have these scary things to deal with. I had a small “silent stroke” (no obvious symptoms, proablybhappened while I was asleep)about year ago that left me with double vision in one eye. I was able to get good medical care and eventually, new glasses that included adjustments to eliminate the double vision. I hope you can get quick, effective solutions, too!
Try to stay calm. Drink good tea and get lots of rest.
Fondly,
Ann
Please take time to relax and let your eyes heal. The weather seems to be nice so maybe some quiet time in the shade with a book on tape.
Because my life long job has been putting print into braille for the blind I have a special concern for eyesight. Please do take care of yourself.
Take care of yourself
So sorry to hear that – wishing you all the best for a speedy and full recovery! Look after yourself!
Praying for your swift and complete healing in Jesus name. We love you and only want the best for you. You take as long as you need to. We aren’t going anywhere! Hugs from the great state of Tennessee
Prayers for a speedy recovery. With appreciation for all you’ve taught me.
Vraiment désolée. Je vous comprends car moi aussi j’ai eu des problèmes aux yeux. 8 opérations pour un décollement de rétine et 12 injections de chimio. Mon oeil droit est fichu. Mais je brode quand même et je fais de la dentelle aux fuseaux.
Prenez bien soin de vous. Gisèle M.
Sorry to hear about all of the challenges your eyes are giving you.
I just wanted you to know we want you to take care of yourself so you can continue to
present us with your wonderful projects. We will wait as long as it takes.
I’m not the only one, I am very sure, who will be thinking of you and wishing you the best.
May your vision be as clear and un-messy-fuzzy as possible.
I should’ve written a long time ago, but I’d like you to know that I’ve learned a lot from you over these many years, I’ve been able to teach lots of youngsters because of your clear style, and I’m a just big fan of yours.
Here’s to more stitching ahead, when your eyes are good and ready.
Mary –
I’ve followed you for quite awhile now and have learned so much from you. You’re an amazing teacher and such a talented thread artist!
Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Judy
Prayers for you.
Mary
I just wanted to let you know I’m praying for you and your eyes.
Thank you for the history lesson on St. Lucy. I am a catholic also.
I find it most interesting that you post this information . I will be going in for consultation for cataract surgery next week.
Thank you so much. May God bless you with a speedy recovery.
Denise
Thanks, Denise! I wish you the best with your cataract surgery. It makes such a HUGE difference in what you can see – and the clarity at which you can see it. Especially when it comes to color perception and to driving at night!!
I am so very sorry to learn of your eye problems. You have such talent for creating beauty. I will pray for your healing.
best wishes, Mary Jo Neyer