Falk moved to Barr Pavilion

Update: Falk returned home to Marina City on Monday afternoon.

June 11, 2010 – A buildup of fluid behind the retina is keeping Vincent Falk at a River North nursing facility.

The Marina City resident and documentary subject experienced a complication following eye surgery on May 24 that left him at least temporarily blind. Another operation was performed on Falk’s left eye on May 27 to drain fluid from behind his retina, the light-sensitive layer of nerves in the back of the eye.

Falk was born with glaucoma in one eye and is blind in the other eye.

On May 28, he was moved from the University of Illinois Medical Center to Warren Barr Pavilion. Doctors believe his condition will improve. They are waiting for pressure in his left eye to equalize.

Jennifer Burns, whose documentary on Falk won praise from film critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, says she was told that while “there has been no permanent damage to Vincent’s retina, it may be several weeks before his vision returns.”

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, the front part of the eye is filled with a clear “intraocular fluid.” In a healthy eye, the fluid flows out through the pupil and is absorbed into the bloodstream. With glaucoma, the eye’s drainage system becomes clogged. As the fluid backs up, it causes pressure to build within the eye and this can lead to vision loss.

(Above) Vincent Falk at the Chicago premier of the documentary about him on May 7.

Meanwhile, the film about Falk is doing well. Burns announced this week the Gene Siskel Film Center has invited the documentary back for a weeklong screening next month. Vincent: A Life In Color is scheduled to be shown 15 times between July 23 and July 29.

The film ran at the Siskel Film Center from May 7 through May 13, longer than originally scheduled because many screenings were sold out.

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Vincent’s current address: Vincent Falk, Warren Barr Pavilion, 66 West Oak Street, Chicago, IL 60610.