Some months ago we were reviewing the wording on a brochure called Going Home After Surgery. Our client Joe agreed to read over it for us and give his opinion. He told us that the facts of self-care were all in there. He did feel the brochure was missing information about the types of feelings one might experience. Joe then described that after he left hospital he experienced many worrying and unfamiliar symptoms. These were so severe that Joe was convinced he was dying. It was years before Joe got to hear from a counsellor that his symptoms were a common response to trauma. This made us decide that a client information website needed to include information about the possible emotional response to eye loss.
Last week we came across an article in The Australian that was just what we were looking for. This article isn’t specifically about eye loss but everything it describes is relevant to many clients. Dr Nick Baylis describes how the brain processes trauma and the type of symptoms that can develop when part of our brain gets stuck on “red alert”. Thanks to Dr Baylis for giving us permission to include his article on our website. Thanks also to Joe for allowing us to tell his story.
What was your emotional response to the trauma of eye loss? Did you seek assistance or work through it on your own? Would you like to share your experience us? I would welcome your story.
