In 2008, I met Dafne; we got married, and now we have three beautiful, sweet children. Two boys, Arthur and Simon, and a girl, Sanne. My hobbies are drumming, computers and gadgets, running, and working out. That is, when I have time for them, because with such young children, there isn’t much time left besides my 32-hour-a-week job.
How It Happened
I had a blind eye. In early 2015, that eye became burning, red, and painful. After a year of struggling with that eye, I decided to say goodbye to it. I reached out to the OOG in OOG Association because my blind left eye was going to be removed—at least partially. It’s called an evisceration.
Regular customer at Radboud
I’ve actually been a “regular patient” at Radboud UMC in Nijmegen since I was a child. I was born with severe nearsightedness—which is hereditary—(my right eye is -18.5 diopters with contact lenses, and with glasses, that goes up to -25). I’m also colorblind. When I was four years old, I lost sight in my left eye after a hard fall, which caused the retina to detach. Surgery couldn’t restore my vision, and my left eye went blind. That’s why I grew up seeing with only one eye. Although this is normal for me, it certainly wasn’t easy. Every year, the ophthalmologist examines my right eye, and sometimes—as a preventive measure—laser treatment is performed to strengthen the retina.
In 1995, the retina in my right eye also detached. Fortunately, they were able to repair it. Otherwise, I would have been blind by now. Over the years, my left eye has become lazy, dull, and developed cataracts. And then, starting in early 2015, I suddenly developed an eye infection on top of that…
Online research
After doing a lot of online research and deciding to have the eye removed, I reached out to the association. I really wanted to speak with people who had been through the same experience. My interactions with the people there turned out to be a real warm welcome. They were very friendly and helpful. The surgery was scheduled for Friday, November 27, and as it turned out, OOG in OOG was holding an Open House the week before. Wonderful! I was welcomed, had some great conversations that day, and met some extraordinary people. It gave me strength ahead of my surgery.
I have to be honest about the surgery. Of course, I didn’t remember a thing, but when I came to, I was in a lot of pain and actually felt very nauseous for the rest of the day. I couldn’t keep any food down. It wasn’t until late at night that I started to feel better, and in the morning—starving—I devoured my breakfast. After that, things just kept getting better and better. My eye looked like I’d boxed ten rounds against Regillio Tuur. In the weeks that followed, the eye was treated with ointment and cared for three times a day by the kind, attentive nurses from the home care service. Some of the home care nurses had never seen anything like this before. It was definitely a learning experience for them.
I now wear a prosthesis made by Fréderique Bak, an ocularist from The Hague. My symptoms have completely disappeared! It turned out that the “eye infection” was actually caused by a completely calcified, floating fragment in my eye—the remnant of what had once been my retina.
Natural process
My kids don’t even notice the difference—whether I’ve taken out my prosthetic, am wearing an eye patch, or have my beautiful prosthetic in. That’s how naturally the process went. Isn’t that amazing! The only thing still going on is a bit of swelling in my eye, which means the prosthetic doesn’t fit quite right yet. So we’re not quite there yet, but I’m glad to be where I am now. It’ll be fine! It’ll just take a little more time.
