In this post i will talk about-
-Important info about me
-the appointments before getting put on the wiating list
-getting put on the waiting list
-my two pre-op appointment
-getting a surgery date
-day of surgery
-days after surgery
-post op appointment

Important info about me-

Im 16 and i was born with esotropia and DVD ( dissociated vertical deviation ) in Netherlands and thats where i had my first surgery (medial rectus muscle 4mm recession in the left 4.5mm in the right) at 4 years old in 2014

my measurements in 2013-2014 were about 20-35 diopters esotropia but it changes like in one appointment at up gaze it was 45 Diopters ?!! Maybe they dilated my eyes because it gets worse when that happens

I was supposed to have surgery again a month after but my parents decided to move to the UK and not wait for it i dont they they take it seriously they thought it would continue in the UK but that wont happen because it had to start from scratch and they need to try other ways to help the strabismus instead of surgery, look for causes cuz they didnt know if it was infantile, measurement every one or few months etc etc

Im now 16 and my measurements are 35-45 diopters esotropia depending on the direction.

I didnt develop amblyopia (lazy eye) and i dont have headaches , double vision etc and i have rlly good visual acuities in both.

The appointments before getting put on the waiting list-

Two appointments before the appointment where i met the surgeon and got put on the waiting list

Appointment one-17 OCTOBER 2025
I met a optometrist They dilated my eyes and i had to sit outside for like an hour , it was so blurry i had to put my phone text size to the LARGEST and i still had to squint , it was so bad and my esotropia got soo bad like it went all the way in lol.

I went back in the room and she got this massive thing that i had to put my chin on and look through and she said the back of my eye looks really healthy ( this was done because they wanted to see if the strabismus was caused by something else)

I didnt like this optometrist at ALL she lied to me this is why i prefer talking to an orthoptist or ophthalmologist basically she said i need to wear glasses for my slight astigmatism for a while like 2 months because it would mean the surgeon would know how to do the surgery haha and she said if i didnt the surgery could make it go the other way wtf anyway, she said in 3 months i would DEFINITELY get surgery which was a fucking lie by the way, and you will see how i found out in the next appointment⬇️

Appointment two -12 FEBRUARY 2026
By the way after the first appointment i was so happy and i cried nearly everyday because of how happy i was that it would be all over

In the next appointment I met with an orthoptist , she was so sweet i loved her and she done those measurements they always do in every appointment and she asked if i get headaches or double vision i said no and she said i had excellent visual acuities and really good vision and we asked her about the surgery and how we got told we would get it last month she looked on her computer and she said i wasnt even on a waiting list and i shouldve known cuz the optometrist didnt even make us sign a consent form and she gave me an exact month i would get surgery which is so wierd. I was so upset that i cried out of anger because that optometrist lied to me

This orthoptist said she would contact them and get an appointment before my GCSEs which started in May and i got an appointment letter which a surgeon 2 days after in the mail and she was the reason i got that which i love her for

Because in the notes (i seen them after i requested for my medical records from the NHS ) the last thing she wrote was -( plan- to see (surgeons name) for Surgery)

and all the other doctors just write ‘see again in 2-3 months’ even after my mum told them how it affects my mental health and i couldve got it earlier if they just wrote what she did instead of waiting 12 years for a second surgery.

Also she asked me why i stopped wearing my glasses ( i wore them for a week after i got them) and i said it hurt when i wore them , the squint went worse and its blurry and we checked if it was the right prescription and it was so it was possible the optometrist got it wrong and i see wayy better without them i have 20/20 in the right and 20/18 in the left (slightly better than 20/20)

Getting put on the waiting list-

(17 march 2026)
- Okay so i recieved a letter for an appointment two days after my appointment in February i didnt think much of it i thought it would just be a normal appointment they always send me for me to see an orthoptist and do some measurements

but this time it said ‘(surgeons name) clinic’ when it normally says ophthalmology clinic so i thought it would just be me talking to her and checking things and i thought there was a possibility she wouldnt mention surgery but do something else so i wanted to tell them how much i struggled with it

i knew i would cry lol i never told them cuz my mum is always with me in the appointments but i wanted to ask if i could go alone now and i was preparing so much and i was so nervous

On the day of the appointment i got called by an orthoptist and she was asking why i wasnt with my mum and she made my mum sit outside while she asked me this and my voice was shakinggg😭😭 and i just said its because i dont feel comfortable with my mum being there when i say how i struggle with my mental health because of strabismus and i started cryingg and she understood straight away and knew it was affecting my confidence etc and she gave me a tissue but my mum still had to come in since i was 15 at the time ( was gonna turn 16 in a month)

After she done some measurements she told me to wait outside and someone would call me and my mum and then the actual surgeon called me up and she was saying how she actually seen me years ago

she talked about the risks of the surgery which were ‘RISKS-under/overcorrection of squint, transient or permanent double
vision, lost muscle ,loss of vision, infection, haemorrhage &/or persistent red eye, suture granuloma (cyst), anaesthetic risks.’

She also said i might need more surgery because i had surgery before and she said my strabismus is complex

She was also asking what surgery i had at 4 because at that time we didnt know specifically what they did

i asked both my parents what eye it was in and my mum said both and my dad said just one so it was very confusing i called my dad since he works in the Netherlands my mum said both and the surgeon got up and came over to me and got a light and told me to look to the side and she noticed i still have a scar from surgery in the corner white bit of my eye near my nose which means it was done on the medial rectus muscle

She didnt see it on the other eye though she told me i need to get my medical records from the hospital i had surgery in or the surgery cant happen my mum said we cant get them i got so frustrated cuz she didnt even try and get them or anything she just said that i forced her to call my dad and he said of course we can and she said ‘ohh’ i nearly cried because how can she just say that she doesnt care about me tbh and she only told the doctors that i struggle with my mental health not because i told her but because they can get me surgery and she thinks i don’t struggle at all

My dad called the hospital the same day for the records and we would get it in two weeks and my surgeon said the surgery would happen in a few weeks to a few months and we gone home i was so shocked i was getting surgery i cant even explain how happy i was after that appointment

My Two pre-op appointments

Appointment one - PHONE (2 may 2026)
I received a letter in the post saying i had a phone appointment and a nurse called and they said-

the hospital it would be at , when i can or cant eat if its in the morning or afternoon , how i would be given food after and she said i would stay 2 hours in recovery and i would take a urine test and they check my height and weight and do observations like heart rate , blood pressure and how mum would stay until i get given anaesthesia and it would be through my hand

She asked if we got given a surgery date and i said no and she asked if i had surgery before and if there were any problems and i said yes it was the same surgery and there were no problems she sounded surprised after i said it was the same surgery and she said i would get all this information soon anyway

Btw i shouldve told her that i did throw up after i woke up and ate in 2014 because thats a risk of having anaesthesia but its fine i would tell the anaesthesiologist on surgery day so they can give me antiemetics ( prevents you from throwing up)

Appointment two-AT THE HOSPITAL (1 june 2026)
So i got a letter again and this time i went to the hospital by myself since i turned 16 in april and thats when you can go to your appointments by yourself

The guy called me and i went in and he done some measurements because the surgeon wanted 9 positions of gaze measurements before surgery and a red thing that looked like the prism bar test but it was red and asked to look at something in the distance and if i seen double and he done the same with the normal prism bar

this guy was really nice i liked him and he asked if i had double vision i said no and he asked if im getting the surgery just for the appearance of it and asked if i avoid eye contact and i said yes he just seemed so understanding and i loved that hes the first person to ask about how it affects me mentally

i asked him if the next appointment is surgery and he said probably and asked if got given a surgery date and i said no and he said the hospital usually waits until the patient turns up to their pre op appointments before giving them a date because a lot of patients used to not even turn up to their surgery date which shocked me

And he said i need to tell the hospital if they give me a date when i didnt finish my GCSEs because surgery can always be rescheduled and my GCSEs are way more important ( my gcses finished on 15 june)

and she got this massive thing that i had to put my chin on and look through and she said the back of my eye looks really healthy ( this was done because they wanted to see if the strabismus was caused by something else)

Receiving a surgery date

(19 June )- I called the surgeons secretary and asked if they recieved the medical records from holland and i was so sure they did because when i asked for mine from the NHS it came with it so they added there i just asked to be sure they sent it to them

She said no which made me upset and i emailed her it and she said the surgeon is on annual leave and she would give her it to see when she comes back in the beginning of july

(23 june)A few days after i emailed her to ask an estimate date i would get the surgery and an hour after that i received a call from the booking centre telling me they were talking to the secretary and asked if i would be available on the 8th of july and i said yes and she said i would receive more information by post .
the call was so quick i checked and it was 50 seconds haha.i got so happy i cried and went to tell my parents.

(26 june)- i recieved the admission letter and with it was a 5 page info sheet on anaesthesia and all the admission letter says is the date and time ,the ward,location,consultant and the fasting information which was nothing to eat after 7am and between 7-11am only clear drinks. no milk , no juice. And nothing to have after 11am. And i have to be at the hospital at 12:30

and at the bottom of the letter it says

‘You will need to bring pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers for your child.
One or both parents should stay with your child for the day. Visiting is restricted to parents only as your child is being admitted on the day of the operation. This is for the benefit of the child who may be feeling very tired after surgery. if this causes you any difficulties, such as caring for other children, please contact the ward sister.’

Day of Surgery

On the letter it says i have to be at the hospital at 12:30 and