Category: plastic surgery

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You should see the other guy

Yesterday I had surgery to correct ptosis of the eyelids, an inherited trait that impinges on my vision. Being terminally optimistic, Iā€™ve underestimated the down time. ā€œTwo days of assiduous icing and Iā€™ll be right as rain. In the meantime, Iā€™ll stay in bed and read,ā€ I thought. I didnā€™t count on my eyes being swollen shut. Donā€™t send me anything with fine print today; I can only see vague shapes.
Like most people, Iā€™ve speculated on the impact of being suddenly disabled, losing either the use of a limb or a sense. I have a deaf friend who negotiates the world wonderfully; he even swing dances. I think it would be more difficult to get around without oneā€™s vision. Today, Iā€™m awfully grateful for the gift of sight.

Let me know if youā€™re interested in painting with me on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park in 2015 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.

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Having some ā€˜workā€™ done

Most celebrities are chary about admitting theyā€™re having plastic surgery. Iā€™ve decided to bore you with all the details.
It’s called ptosis, and it can be fixed with crutches or surgery.
Years ago I decided that Iā€™d never have plastic surgery. I didnā€™t want to take a chance that my daughters would one day have to admit, ā€œMy mom died having a boob job.ā€ So the first time my ophthalmologist suggested that I needed my eyes ā€˜liftedā€™, I just laughed. My fatherā€™s eyes were hooded, my grandmotherā€™s eyes were hooded; if they could live with them, so could I.
Until now I thought those heavy eyelids made a great sun visor. I guess not.
Nonetheless, Iā€™ve been having increasing trouble seeing, and thatā€™s not good for an artist. Although I have symptoms of cataracts, my ophthalmologist tells me thatā€™s not the problem. Yesterday I took a field-of-vision test. It proved to me that my droopy eyelids really are causing less light to reach my eyes. (Hopefully, my insurance company will be equally convinced.) So very shortly Iā€™m gonna let a man with a knife mess with my lovely face.
I never had a visible eyelid.
My grandmother, father, siblings, and three of my four children all have that epicanthal fold, which is a trait more commonly seen in Asians. It was no problem when I was eight, but at 55, the skin on my lids has fallen forward and is covering my pupil.
Why do some Northern Europeans have that Mongol eye? Some speculate that the layer of fat above the eye protects it from extreme cold–and that Renee Zellweger recently had the same eye surgery to disguise her ethnic eyes. (Maybe she was just having trouble seeing, too.)
It will take about a week to recover, during which time I plan to listen to books on tape. But in the meantime, I need to zip up to Maine to do some reconnoitering for next yearā€™s workshop. 

Let me know if youā€™re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2015 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops! Download a brochure here.