[stylist] Beauty...In the Eye of the Beholder

Tue Feb 17 21:19:00 UTC 2009

barbara,
I remember the conformers.  I was so very self-conscious in the 
months I had to wear them!  they were much harder to adjust to 
wearing than prosthetic eyes.

for those who don't know, after the eye is removed, you wear a 
removable "conformer," a white or clear plastic placeholder in the 
eye space where the nice eye is going to go later.  most of the space 
where the eye was is taken up with an "implant"  one of mine is 
silicon and one is pyrex.  these are secured inside the eye 
socket  because after fitting the implant the doctor sews together 
the conjuctival tissue to seal them.  the conformers have no visual 
element to them, so do not look like eyes at all.  you slip them 
under the eyelids, and they sit on top of that conjuctival 
tissue.  they have holes to allow fluid to drain.

once all the tissues have settled down, the conformer comes out and a 
prosthetic eye is fitted custom to that space since it will be unique.

when I had the conformers, I really felt like I was abnormal looking.
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 09:01 AM 2/17/2009, you wrote:
>The only time you really need to boil them is if you swallow them 
>and they ... you get the picture.
>One of my twins did that to his conformer, that's why I know that.
>Barbara
>If wisdom's ways you wisely seek, five things observe with care:  of 
>whom you speak, to whom you speak, and how and when and where.
>
>--------------------------------------------------
>From: "James Canaday M.A.  N6YR" <n6yr at sunflower.com>
>Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 4:49 PM
>To: "NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Subject: Re: [stylist] Beauty...In the Eye of the Beholder
>
>>whoa Amy that's really cool!
>>
>>no, the most I ever do is scrub my eyes with softsoap and water, 
>>along with soaking.
>>
>>I'd never heard of boiling your eyes!
>>
>>a blind guy went to class, just in time for the test.  his neighbor 
>>was late, pushed into the seat next to him, and was suddenly 
>>shocked to see his eyes out.
>>when asked, the blind guy  explained, "when I got here, the prof 
>>first said "I want all of you to keep your eyes on your tests!"
>>
>>I too am self conscious of people seeing me clean my eyes, or 
>>having them out.  .
>>jc
>>
>>Jim Canaday M.A.
>>Lawrence, KS
>>
>>At 04:39 PM 2/16/2009, you wrote:
>>>With all the discussion of love and eyes and the like, I wanted to 
>>>share a humorous story:
>>>In 1992, after losing my sight to diabetic complications, I 
>>>developed infections and it was necessary for both of my eyes to 
>>>be removed. Almost ten years later, I met and married the love of 
>>>my life, who happens to be sighted. Our connection was based in 
>>>our shared Native American culture and the fact that we're both 
>>>writers. My husband new of my prosthetic eyes from the start, but 
>>>I preferred to keep the cleaning process private. I didn't want 
>>>him seeing me without my "eyes" on. One morning, after he had left 
>>>for work, I removed them and put them in a pan of boiling water on 
>>>the stove: a procedure I've since learned will damage the surface, 
>>>but at the time I had been misinformed. Suddenly, I heard the key 
>>>in the door and...surprise! Hubbies home, I'm standing in the 
>>>kitchen eyeless, and my baby blues are staring up from a pan of 
>>>boiling water. The beautiful punch line: He walked in, not 
>>>noticing the mortified look on my face, saw the steam rising from 
>>>the stove, and said, "!
>>>  What's cooking?"
>>>Seven years later, I'm no longer boiling my now replaced pair of 
>>>eyes; a pair which my husband assisted in choosing the color, 
>>>which we both found very romantic, and I know without a doubt that 
>>>this guy loves me...with or without eyes.
>>>Amy
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Writers Division web site:
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>>
>>
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