Fear of surgery for my fractured cheekbone - what can I do?
Dear Sir or Madam,
this coming Thursday I am scheduled for surgery on my cheekbone fracture - at 29 years old, my first surgery ever. I sustained this injury in an accident on my way to work. The initial pain has subsided quite quickly, so I currently do not need any pain medication like IbuHEXAL 600. Fortunately, since the accident, I have not experienced any vision problems and can see as before, as confirmed by the eye doctor.
However, I am very afraid of the possible risk of blindness due to the procedure. Of course, doctors are legally obligated to inform patients of possible risks and complications, just because they have occurred somewhere and at some point in time.
Although the treating doctor tried to alleviate my fear of the procedure as much as possible and also said that it is a routine surgery and therefore I shouldn't worry so much, I still have great fear before the procedure, even though I requested a sedative pill before the operation.
Already 2 days before the procedure, I notice that I am getting more and more tense and nervous and my fear is growing. I know the procedure is unavoidable, and even though I have openly discussed my fears with the doctors and they were able to address them well, I am still filled with almost panic fear that something will go wrong.
Although I am actually in good health, I am still under the impression of my mother's death last May and am naturally very sensitized, seeing my fear also justified by that. After all, my mother was prone to special cases and rare complications or side effects - and after all, I also carry her genes within me. So far, I have been physically healthy, only tend to be susceptible to colds. Still, I am afraid that there may be something fatal lurking in me that I am not aware of - also because I carry some of my mother's genes within me.
I am probably getting too worked up beforehand about a relatively small routine procedure. However, the risk of going blind in one eye scares me a lot.
My question now is, how best to deal with this fear. Is my fear justified? What about the risk of blindness?
