One In A Million....

Not the words you want to hear from a specialist doctor...

 

I debated whether to post about this and came to the decision that if it can help one person then it is worth putting it out there.

So here goes...

 

For as long as I can remember I have had a mole on the iris of my left eye. Not a lot of people noticed it, but I always saw it everytime I looked in the mirror. It started off very small and with each of my pregnancies with my 3 boys it grew bigger and further into my iris towards my pupil. I have always had it checked by a number of doctors and specialists and it was always just a mole. That was until this year. I had been having some vision problems so off I went to have it checked out.

The original diagnosis made no sense to my husband and I so we asked for a second opinion.

 

On October 10 we headed to Sydney to see one of the top eye surgeons in the country.

Within 20 seconds he had diagnosed it as a melanoma !!!

Right then our whole world changed...

I was nearly sick. Paul's mouth was gaped open in shock. 

Me: "So what action do we take from here?"

Dr: "We remove the eye ! It's ok, I do it all the time."

Me: "No really, there has got to be another way." Tears streaming my face. "I have told you I am a quilter!! I need two eyes !!

 

After much discussion he sent us off to meet with a Professor in Sydney. Unfortunately the Professor gave us the same diagnosis. It is so rare. One in a million !!! and the only way to rid my body of this horrible thing is to remove the eye.

So a date was set, October 30...
I had 13 days...

I started preparing myself for living my life with one eye. There was no way that I was going to take this lying down. I started to practice sewing and quilting with my left eye shut. It was all ok. My seams matched, my quilting was fine and it put my mind at ease to know that my life shouldn't change that much. I was driving with my eye shut and even that wasn't too bad. I had come to terms with it and I was going to hit it head on. Telling family and friends was the hardest part of the whole thing. Everyone we spoke to was so upset and I felt I had to stay strong for them. Once I was staying strong I felt strong and the more I spoke about it the stronger I felt. That was until I had to see my GP for all the test results prior to surgery. I was a blubbering mess. The results were ALL CLEAR!!! It had not spread.

The day came for my surgery. I had my hubby Paul, my Mum and my sister Monique with me. It all went very well although once the pain killers started to wear off...OMG...
I was a bit sad but not as much as I thought. The first night was a bit tough but every day since has been easier than the last...

Within 4 days I was off the pain killers and cutting and prepping hexagons to do while I was recovering. I think having something that I love to do has really helped me get through the whole ordeal. Also the amazing support I have had from my family and friends including all my ladies from my classes. Thank you to you all for your kind words, messages and phone calls to make sure I wasn't getting depressed....you all know that I could never be depressed !! I don't do depressed...

 

My pretty hexagons...

 

 

Loving them...
 

It has been almost 4 weeks since my surgery. Life has pretty much returned to normal. I have been sewing, quilting and driving. I do lose my balance every now and then but that will get better with time. I will soon be fitted with a prosthetic eye and I will look the same it just won't see a darn thing.

Custom quilted and bound ready for a magazine shoot... all with one eye!!
I have impressed myself...

I guess the moral to my story is if you think something is not right, it's not going to hurt to get a second opinion. You never know it may just save your life. Melanoma is rising in Australia. We all remember running around in our swimmers all summer and not being able to lay down in bed at night because of the sunburn. We are starting to pay for it now.....

Thank you for reading my story. This is the last you will hear of it here. As I said I am moving ahead as normal and I will have some great stuff to show you very soon.

Happy Quilting
Leanne xo