Retinal detachment in Peru.

On the evening of an overnight excursion to the Colca Canyon, the vision in Josh’s eye went nearly black. He said it was like a black curtain was suddenly covering most of his left eye.

He noticed seeing floaters the week before we left on the trip, but according to Google that’s not abnormal for an aging eye so we didn’t deem it an emergency.

After a taxi rushed Josh back to Arequipa, an eye surgeon diagnosed it a retinal detachment and recommended a vitrecomy as soon as possible. Eye surgeons use gas or silicone oil to keep pressure on the tissues, aiding reattachment (I think). Using gas means you can’t fly for a month (which would really throw a curve ball in our plans), but silicone gas means a follow-up surgery to remove it. Two crappy options. UGH.

In the end, the surgeon chose silicone gas. Josh was relegated to a face-down position for even more steady pressure on the eye to promote reattachment.

An AirBnb in the Yanahuara neighborhood of Arequipa was the perfect place for Josh to rest, and became home base for us for over a week so the boys.

We knew there would be setbacks, but didn’t anticipate it happening so early in the trip. It meant cancelling the week we booked in the Amazon rainforest, the thing Josh was most excited about this whole year. The tickets we got for Machu Picchu would also go unused. It was a blow to our sense of adventure and the stress of it all was tough on us.

Worst of all, would Josh ever be able to see out of that eye?? A retinal specialist in Seattle told Josh the silicone had done its job and could be removed any time. Only after its removal would we know Josh’s “vision potential.” Next up: follow-up surgery in Auckland, New Zealand.

Follow-up surgery to remove silicone oil, Auckland, NZ