Comments on: James Burns' detached retina

James Burns' detached retina

mathowie — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:40:22 -0800

Detached a gorgeous comic based on the author's experiences with having a detached retina and going through eye surgery.

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 10:55:05 -0800

Spalding Gray's excellent monologue, Gray's Anatomy, tells the story of his macular pucker eye surgery

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:31:47 -0800

I was thinking of making an FPP of this myself. In case anyone was unaware, this comic is by MeFi's own jpburns.

By: Capn

Capn — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 12:09:26 -0800

This is great! Doctors have told me that due to my incredibly poor vision, I'm at risk for a detached retina, and just the threat of it is absolutely terrifying. "I don't want to worry you son, but medical science says that your eyes could basically explode at any time, with no warning, don't forget to get a lollipop from the receptionist on your way out".

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 12:49:57 -0800

Maybe I'll check it out later when the server's not getting hammered so hard. I got one time out and one half loaded image on the front page but I liked what I saw. And having had eye surgery last week, I will almost certainly be able to relate.

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:23:46 -0800

I send this link to friends of mine who have to get retinal surgery often. It's wonderful. You do know that it's done by our own jpburns, right?

By: Ogre Lawless

Ogre Lawless — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:27:29 -0800

This jpburns, it vibrates?

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:29:21 -0800

You do know that it's done by our own jpburns, right? I do. (Calling out jessamyn! Oh, no, I di'n't!)

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:30:06 -0800

jpburns, if you read this, I can mirror some content if you suddenly need to for some reason. [sorry for not catching that you linked him already FoB]

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:35:36 -0800

[sorry for not catching that you linked him already FoB] No problem. :)

By: FunkyHelix

FunkyHelix — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:42:15 -0800

I'd love to read this, as a family member just went through the ordeal of double detached retinas. Unfortunately, the site is being hammered. Took three minutes just for half of the front page image to load. *bookmarks*

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:45:39 -0800

Back on topic, this is seriously a wonderful comic. I can't properly praise the writing, the art or the design/layout without feeling like I might be coming off as condescending and/or sarcastic (sometimes I hate the Internet), so I'll just say that I highly recommend it and look forward to reading the rest of jpburns's material on his site. I knew he was a cool MeFite, but I never knew he was such a talented comics author.

By: jpburns

jpburns — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:15:33 -0800

Thanks all, and sorry for the lack of bandwidth. I use a friend's hosting service, but he's not used to being "MeFi-ed," and he's doing his best to keep it up and running. If anyone cares to mirror, feel free. It's actually pretty compact and while it relies on a buncha JavaScript, it's fairly standards-happy stuff... I can send a stuffed or zipped archive for your convenience. My email is on my profile page... Thanks Matt for posting this; now I don't have to pimp myself here every chance I get... Thanks again everyone for your kind words. This was my first comic, and I'd like to think I'm a little better, drawing-wise nowadays, after drawing a weekly comic strip for the past year ("Grumbles," on the same server, alas...) for the Sunday Paper here in Atlanta.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:16:54 -0800

Yeah, I agree with FOB here. I had no idea it was jpburns, or that he did such great work. I really love the classic comic style of it all.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:42:57 -0800

I think this was posted before. I remember commenting on jpburns' use of some browser window-resizing code, and he kindly removed it from the site. Thanks jpburns, lovely comic.

By: gismonda

gismonda — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:43:27 -0800

What a beautiful way to tell this story! I especially like the timing, and my favorite panel might be the overhead shot of his daughter watching TV as he rests on the mattress. I can relate to the story, to a degree. Last year I had laser surgery (the spot welding) to reverse the effects of lattice degeneration. The laser makes a little burn on the retina that then scars up. It's this scar tissue that creates the bond that will hold things in place. I still had a bad case of the "what-ifs" beforehand and had a nice quiet little freak-out after the second procedure, when things went dark for me in that eye. And yeah, it's definitely a little weird to be not-quite-middle-aged and hanging out at the retina clinic.

By: edgeways

edgeways — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 14:56:41 -0800

This is a problem I have battled since I was 15. About that time I woke up and everything in my right eye was underwater green, and despite surgery I lost vision in that eye. It wasn't until I started having problem with my other eye that it freaked me out. All told I have had seven eye surgeries. As of now my remaining eye is stable (10 years now) but it is a real possibility and quite likely, I shall be completely blind in my lifetime. Not something you dwell on. It is perhaps because of this that I enjoy photography so much at this point. I could go on about other things related to the process, but that is enough for now. good work jpburns

By: beth

beth — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 17:54:43 -0800

My mom had a retinal detachment about 8 years ago with immediate sucessful laser surgery that corrected it quite nicely. A couple months ago, I was informed that I had a hole in my retina, and lattice degeneration. I was referred to a retinal specialist, and he looked more closely and found many small holes, a medium sized hole, and lattice degeneration all over the place. He offered me the surgery if I wanted it, but stopped short of actually *recommending* it. I did some research and found I had a .37% chance of a detachment. This, for me, is not enough of a worry to warrant major surgery (the surgeon would have wanted to put me under general anesthesia, which carries some not-insignificant risks in itself). Sure, I'll be on the lookout for floaters or other signs that trouble is afoot. But the point is lattice degeneration (even with holes) is not necessarily bad enough to *require* surgery. I kind of feel like I'm being mean, but the comic struck me as being overly melodramatic, and I didn't finish it. Hate me if you must.

By: kamikazegopher

kamikazegopher — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 18:24:04 -0800

I can see where some might think it was overly melodramatic. As someone who could be considered a worrier (I like to think that I am hypervigilant, really), I could totally relate to it. Wonderful comic, great story. Glad that there was a happy ending!

By: Bonzai

Bonzai — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 18:55:01 -0800

I realized about halfway through chapter 2 that the mystery of a true life autobiographical story of whether or not a man will lose his eyesight is someone diminished by the fact that it's in comic form. Kind of gives away the ending.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 19:17:45 -0800

Thanks for this, James and to Matt for posting it. Beautifully done in one of my favorite comic styles, really nice.

By: -harlequin-

-harlequin- — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 02:56:38 -0800

I know an artist who would like this, as he also is suffering from the problem. Unfortunately, he lost his other eye in childhood, so the detached retina means he's all but blind and could barely see it. Sucky thing to have happen if you earn a living from graphics. :(

By: jpburns

jpburns — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 04:10:26 -0800

Beth: Yeah, I was being a little melodramatic, but that's how I felt. By the way... I didn't just have lattice degeneration, but had an actual detachment (a tear), thus the name of the comic. Thanks again for all the kind words...

By: beth

beth — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 06:41:41 -0800

By the way... I didn't just have lattice degeneration, but had an actual detachment (a tear), thus the name of the comic. Yeah, I know. I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about gismonda's comment: Last year I had laser surgery (the spot welding) to reverse the effects of lattice degeneration.