Getting Ready

I thought I was efficiently getting prepared for face-down last time when I ordered the full suite of vitrectomy supplies from VitrectomySolutions.com. They were very helpful, shipped all of it in a timely fashion, we got it all set up. We even moved a twin bed into the family room so I could sleep any time without disturbing others. I had my iPod, my mirror for the TV, a radio with remote controls, a speaker phone. Nothing was going to faze me. But little did I know that none of the equipment would provide comfort in any extended way once my face had been pointed downward long enough for all the sinus cavities to fill up! So this time I was armed with questions when I went for the pre-op physical, such as what decongestants are safe (sudafed is fine the doctor said, even with my borderline hypertension), would an antihistamine help (yes, says the kind doctor again, as long as the ophthalmologist oks it), and is there a muscle relaxer that might knock me out enough to really sleep.(Maybe) Now the pharmaceutics are better prepared at least.

Next I went on a field trip to a medical supply place locally that handles vitrectomy face-down equipment (and massage creams, as the face-down stuff is really just massage table stuff). There I met the medical supply dominatrix queen--no, none of it is comfortable--yes, I do sell foam pads covered with nasty hard naugahyde--you, you scummy person with a macular hole, prepare to be miserable. So a pox on her house. May she someday have to use her own equipment for months! We're off to Bed Bath and Beyond on a pillow scavenger hunt. Came out of there with
2 Contour® Memory Foam Leg Pillows.

2 Therapedic™ Memory Touch Neck Pillows

1 Symphony Pillow by Tempur-Pedic®

I pondered whether to get a body pillow but was holding out for a large u-shaped pillow I had seen in the skymall catalog on the way back from Holland. Found it the next day online and it is headed for Sunnyvale now.

All this should make it possible to build a nest in the bed, but in order to sit comfortably, I still needed to deal with the massage chair. Luckily, the folks at Vitrectomy Solutions had all my insurance and shipping info on file so a quick call to them was enough to start the shipping process for the seated solution. They will also ship me the magic mirror. Last time it was the most important part of the system, because I could force myself to keep my nose pointed into it even while sitting in the arm chair.