WARNING! THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC PHOTOS THAT SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND DISTURBING! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
In my last post I said that I would post pictures of my visit to Vancouver, and the process of making my new eye.
Personally, I find the whole process to be completely fascinating, and I really think that Leif Erickson (NO, not the explorer and discoverer) is truly a very talented artist (technically, he's called an Ocularist). I love taking other people with me to see the whole process, so this time, I thought I would bring the camera...and Emma was MORE than happy to be my photographer. I'm sure that some people will think these pictures are kinda gross (and you might not want to be eating while reading this), but I'm guessing that some, like the teenage boys, might find this as interesting as I do.
So here we go........ last chance to back out.....
(captions will be under the related photo)
Step one: A clear impression shell with a hollow tube is placed in the socket over the existing implant - yes i have implants...well at least one implant. For those that may not know, when the eye was removed originally, 17 years ago, the empty hole was filled with an implant consisting of a silicone ball covered in sclera (white part) from a donor's eye to give it a tissue-like texture. This was attached to the muscles that were previously attached to my real eye. This helps me to have movement in my artificial eye. This was then all covered with my own conjunctiva pulled over the implant and stitched together to seal all the contents in the socket. The conjunctiva is where the little hole was that I had to have repaired a month ago. I have feeling in the conjunctiva, so it still gets irritated if there is dirt or eyelashes in there. Anyway, back to the story...
A syringe is used to fill thru the tube to get 'goop' in behind and all around the clear shell. The 'goop' is basically the same material used to take dental impressions. Barb can fill in what that stuff is called. The point here is to get a 'perfect' fit. This allows the prosthesis to fit snug and well to my implant, so I can get maximum movement, and so hopefully there are no abrasive spots.
Dabbing some of the excess oozing 'goop'
Waiting for it to set up. Nice smirk. I love having my picture taken.
The back side, or bumpy side of the impression.
Checking for any leftover impression material.
Off to Granville Island for a couple of hours so Leif can do his thing.
OK, just for the record, it doesn't usually look this gross. Leif has put some fluorescein dye in my eye (which even glows under black light), which will show any spots where there is too much pressure, or not enough. If you look closely there is a bubble in there, which will promptly be remedied.
Oh ya, that clear shell is also in there. So Leif is drawing on the shell to mark the places that need to be reduced, or built up.
Emma trying out the head gear with huge magnifying lenses.
This is the end of day one, around 2pm. As you saw in my last post it was pretty rainy, so it wouldn't be much fun to wander around outside. Hmmm, sounds like we 'need' (haha) to pop across the border and go shopping at some of my favorite stores. Luckily Bellingham Washington is only an hour away. Although we were only gone 5 hours, and techically not entitled to bring anything back with us, the border crossing guard must have felt sorry for me driving around with one eye and all, and he let us back in without having to pay duty or anything else. Yahoo!
Day 2. A much nicer day. This is the view that I get to look at while Leif and his son Lars work on my eye. The office is only a couple of blocks from Granville Island, and the windows are all overlooking False Creek, and downtown Vancouver. Very nice!
The blank fitted eye, in for a fit check. It's still too big though.
Measuring. Hmm, where shall we put the iris??
If you look hard, you can see the circle in red marking the placement for the iris. Hope he gets it right.
The 'blank' black iris button. It is on a peg to give them something to hold on to while they hand paint the iris to match my other eye.
This is Lars, Leif's son who has been learning the tricks of the trade for the past 7 years. He's getting pretty good, and apparently has moved up in the world to now be the main iris painter in the office. Leif still checks his work to make sure it's all done well, but this part is Lars' job today.
The little vials in front are the 'paint'. Really just powders that he mixes with monomers to get the right colors as he goes. Just for the record, blue and green are never used in this step, even if your eyes are as blue as Marissa's. Amazing. I guess you can get the right colors with the black from the peg/button, and whites etc. This is true talent, to be able to custom match each patient that comes in. And yes, Lars has been known to 'practice' his techniques by making various eyes that might only be seen at halloween...cat's eyes etc. At $2200 per eye, I still don't feel like I can afford to get any 'fun' ones yet. He has also used one of my other ideas (probably came up with the idea himself), and been a cyclops or i guess more accurately a triclops for halloween - using liquid latex to 'glue' a third eye in the middle of his forehead. (just some of the small talk that happens while you wait for him to paint).
Here comes the pupil. You need a steady hand to do this part. The clear thingy is just a rest for his hand. The iris peg is in a spinning thing so he can get a perfect circle. The pupil size is one of the hardest things about making MY eye. My natural eye is very reactive to light, so it's really hard to decide on just one size of pupil. In the sunlight of his office I need a small pupil, but as soon as we go out to the hallway I need a much larger pupil. Ah, what to do. I was pretty happy with my last eye's pupil, so I took that for reference. Lars had trouble believing that it would be right, but when he saw me in the other lighting he went for a bit bigger size. They've been working for about 20 years on a dilating pupil, but with the chemicals required there has been difficulty in getting approval (FDA type) ensuring the safety and efficacy.
The finished iris and pupil.
Time for another break. Off to Stanley Park for a drive around the island. I can't believe how thin the forest has become. You might recall that several years ago there was a nasty wind storm (and rain and hail i presume) that devastated the old cedar forest. It's so sad to see when you know how thick and lush it used to be. It's still a beautiful place, and we were so happy to see leaves everywhere we went. It actually looks like summer might not be far away in Vancouver.
Supplies for the next step. Razor blades, scissors, and red cross-stitch thread.
We're getting close. This is the eye before the veins. The iris button has been put into the white, checked a few times for fit, and now we're ready for the veins and a bit of coloring on the whites.
Attaching 'veins'. I've been told that it's not a good idea to go drinking before you come for this step. Again, the goal is to match the natural eye.
"Follow my thumb. Look left, look right." I heard a lot of this.
The almost finished eye. Just waiting for the shiny clear coat. We'll be back in the morning to pick it up. Hopefully all goes well in the final steps, or we'll have to start over.
Day 3. Checking the fit and final product. This is Leif Erickson. No eye leaves the office til he gives it his stamp of approval. Quite literally. Each eye is numbered along the top edge. I like to think of it as owing a piece of limited edition, numbered artwork - probably the only real original art I will ever own. At this stage we are also checking the eyelid placement. They can raise or lower my lid somewhat by adding more bulk, or removing some to try to match the lid height of the other eye.
How did he do??
(where's Waldo, I mean, Ross?)
He's pretty much my favorite son, couldn't have asked for a better one.
Here's the car Ross left for the Grad banquet in. It was super clean in and out, but still looked totally ghetto because the snow tires (which finally got changed today) were still on, and the hub caps don't fit over them. 
Somebody took some pictures of the friends at Lake Bonavista, I think the better photos will be emailed to us later.
Ross and Becky Vance (his date).
This is the car Ross and Becky actually took to Grad. Yes, Ross actually got to drive a 2004 Porche 911 (Carrera)convertible to the banquet. When he arrived at the Vance's to pick Becky up, Ben (her dad), persuaded Ross to take his Porsche to the banquet. I think there was some nervous excitement, as Ross realized the huge responsibility that would be... but soooo fun! The best photos of Ross, Becky and the car, are on the Vance's camera - so we are waiting for copies of those pictures.
At the banquet. Ross enjoyed the slideshow documenting the last 3 years at Lord Beaverbrook High School - especially since he showed up in it 7 times! In a class of about 650, that was a pretty good showing.
