HOUSTON — U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw provided an update Friday, two weeks after he had emergency eye surgery for a detaching retina.
“First and foremost, thank you to everyone for the outpouring of well-wishes and prayers. It helps more than you know, and it has meant a lot to me and Tara,” the congressman said in a release Friday.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from the initial report of the congressman's surgery.
Crenshaw said his follow-up visit with his surgeon went very well.
“To our relief, my retina was still in place during my follow-up appointment,” Crenshaw said. “I can lift my head up again and no longer have to position myself face-down, which is a relief. This is obviously good news, but it doesn’t mean we are out of the woods yet.”
The congressman said his recovery is still in the early stages, but was confident his eyesight will return to normal.
“I still cannot see much other than lights and shadows, basically, as I am still in the early stages of my recovery,” Crenshaw said. “I am not sure how my vision will be in a few weeks, but I am hopeful and confident that it will return to normal.”
The former Navy SEAL described the procedure doctors performed on his eye:
“During the surgery, they put a ‘silicon buckle’ around my retina and used a laser to ‘glue’ around the edges of my retina. When they did that, they needed to keep my retina in place, which is why they injected a gas bubble into my eye to act as a bandage for my retina and prevent further detaching. That is why I cannot see anything right now and won’t be able to see for the next few weeks until the gas bubble dissipates.
“The surgery went very well, thanks to the excellent doctors and nurses at the VA here in Houston, but I still have a while to go until I am fully recovered. I cannot fly on an airplane for at least six weeks because the pressure changes while flying may cause the gas bubble in my eye to expand.”
Crenshaw said his offices in Houston and Washington, D.C. would still continue to function as normal. He will still not be posting on social media or conducting interviews as he continues to recover.
“I am focusing on my recovery so I can be back to 100% as soon as possible,” he said. “If you have any good audio book recommendations, send them my way.”