Update: The Temporary Tarsorrhaphy

Lori woke up this morning with severe pain in her eye, definitely worse than it had been. She's pretty sure her eye patch came loose during the night, so her eye was probably open for some time. Luckily, I had most of the day off, so I got her in to see my ophthalmologist friend, Dr. Fullmer. He took a good look at her eye and could see that there were some very small ulcerations on the cornea, probably from excessive dryness, and that was what was causing the pain. We talked about options, and we eventually decided on a procedure called a "temporary tarsorrhaphy." Translated, that meant he would sew her eyelids together for a little while until the lid regains strength. Here she is after he instilled the local anesthetic. She looked like Hitch when he had the allergic reaction.Here it is tonight. The little white things are pieces of rubber used to bolster the stitch that holds the eyelid together, so that it doesn't cut through the skin like a cheese slicer. The eyelid isn't all the way sewn shut; it needs to be partially open to allow oxygen to get to the eye, and to provide a means to examine it and instill antibiotics. She is already a lot more comfortable. It will probably stay in for about 2 weeks.Thanks to all of you who have written encouraging comments, called, brought food, prayed, or otherwise shown such great support. She has literally been showered with friendship since this came on, and the outpouring of generosity and well wishes has been overwhelming and gratifying for her, and for me. I will continue to post updates on her progress.