After five agonizing days of facing the ground, today my surgeon released me to look up, stating that he could tell I had done an excellent job of "positioning." He said, "Well, the gas bubble has done all it is going to do ... we'll see what happens ... come back in one week." So, while I can't really see out of my left eye (I see some shapes and some big jiggley black circle at the bottom of my field of vision), I am going back to work tomorrow. I see fine with my right eye and, as long as I am careful, I shouldn't miss depth of field too too much. Needless to say, I am suspending all exercise for now. Ditto for driving.
We were sad to hear about having to put our favorite race horse down. I imagine everyone on Penn's campus is grieving. I hope Nina and Alex didn't take it too hard. Hopefully, they are more fixated on chickens.
Sid, while my face was down, I spoke to your friend the Devil. He has some interesting plans for you .....
I searched the internet for any insight into the mystery of why snow would last longer on the garden. I did not find an answer!
This is my last day at work for a few days. My eye sucking surgery is tomorrow. It means I will miss the Redhawks home game against Alaska-Fairbanks Thursday night! Grrrrrrrrr.....! In the last game, Noah and the rest of the boys who spend a lot of time on the bench got kicked out by the ref. We were leading by almost 20, so the coach put Noah and his buddies in a couple of minutes from the end of the game. It all went well, until one of the opposing players bumped our Redheaded point guard's shoulder. Red shoved the opposing player in response, J.J. (a tall Redhawk from Reno) leaped into the fray and so the ref kicked all five Redhawks out of the game and the starters had to come back in for the last 8 seconds. Noah and the boys had so much fun getting kicked out that they didn't mind in the least. Their playing time was limited but oh so memorable!
Jessica is excited to be going to Vegas in February for three or four days. Her friend and roomate Katrina's parents are funding a lot of it apparently, and the dad has arranged for them to have their own bartender in some celebrity nightclub. I don't have a clue what that really means, but I'm sure it will be a ton of fun and a nice break from retail madness.
Love to you all. If I expire during surgery by some fluke, know that I have led a blessed life, mostly because of all of you. After I ascend to the great beyond, I will make it my heavenly duty to bring those of you who have strayed back into the fold.
Well, that is a good heading, but actually there is not much news from this area that you have not heard about already. The chickens are beginning to lay again, and they are busy tilling the soil in the garden spaces. Question: The snow seems to stay the longest on the garden spots we have in town and at the farm. The snow will still be white on the garden when all the other snow has melted. I thought all the organic material in the ground would make it warmer and hence melt the snow faster!
Sid, do you still have your garden spot? I have been looking at the seed catalogs for SALSIFY SEED. It grows something like parsnips but had a fishy taste when it is cooked. I used to like it as a kid. It might also be known as an OYSTER PLANT.
We found a strange apple shaped fruit from a tree in the park. It is called a Hedge apple or an Osage Orange. It is not edible and is related to a mulberry. It is as big as a big apple. It is funny how I keep learning something new all the time.
I take sunflower seeds out to the farm chickens to give them a treat. When they see my car come over the hill, they all come running to meet me. One hen, one that Kay gave me, sees the sunflower seeds in the plastic bags and pecks a hole in the bag so the seeds come falling out. She has done it more than once. The weather id great at last! Love, Bopcha
One of WAMU's senior vice presidents, who is Tory's bosses' boss, said he'd promoted Tory to a Level 7 Vice President position. He said she was know as the "Queen of the Loans Table and SQL" (of course, I'm not sure I know what that really means) and that her dedication and tremendous energy helped WAMU carry through on a number of critical initiatives. He said she was one of the bank's key "go to" people--and that's why he was promoting her to VP!!! Isn't that thrilling!!
Meanwhile, Murray decided to stay for the time being with Broadstream, accepting a significant increase in compensation and responsibility rather than moving on the Microsoft.
I just wrote something and it disappeared into cyberspace, so I'll make this short. I have surgery on Thursday, January 25th. I will spend one night in the hospital so they can make sure I sleep face down. After that, I just have to spend 3-5 days face down. Whew!
I can't believe all the medical things happening so early in the New Year. I'll be on pins and needles, waiting for the report on Tuesday from your doctor Dee. I don't know whether to hope the one doctor or the other is right. And Sandra, when will you know if the doc's have to operate on your ear? Lots of love, KC
I really like your idea about pestering the doctor at his home. You know maybe if there were more white cane holding patients willing to do what you will do, we, the patients, would be taken more seriously.
Perhaps surgery won't be necessary after all. I can certainly understand any nervousness you may have about the surgery since it is your eyes. I remember how I felt when they were going to operate on my ear (to prevent total deafness). It was very scary but then I was really glad I did it. Although now it looks like they may have to operate on the left ear, so I am not our of the woods yet.
Maybe we could have the surgery simultaneously and then we could share our hearing and seeing drama. We would make great company to our friends and family. I am sure they would want to hear all about our anxiety over our sight and sound.
Hang in there Diana, I am certain that you are going to come out of this just fine!!
KC told me that Sandra had written a letter on the blog. I don't see it. Did it go into the atmosphere and is not returnable?
Also, KC, would you send me Yurek's return e-mail address. I appreciated receiving his nice letter but the heading was left off.
The sun is shining today, and was shining yesterday. It is 40 degrees outside. The Seahawks have just lost their game with the Chicago Bears. And yesterday I was sad to learn the Philadelphia team also lost.
Today I planted some pumpkin seeds. I know, I know --it is much too early. The ground was so hard I planted the seeds on top of the ground, covered it with fertilizer, and on top of that, some ground up bark. It makes a nice mound, so we'll see what happens when Spring arrives
and wakes up the seeds, and if all goes well, there will be pumpkins this fall!!!
So, now that I have seen one optomotrist and two opthamologists, the story is that one of them thinks I have a macular hole that can be remedied through surgery. The other thinks that might be true, but it is more likely just deterioration that cannot be fixed but can be slowed by taking vitamins and eating lots of vegetables. I have an appointment with a surgeon on Tuesday. I guess I'll get dye put in my arm so that he can see more of what is going on. Sigh! The good news is that the surgeon lives next door to my friend Doris, who lives one block from me. If he doesn't fix me up I can make his life and his family's lives miserable by taking my white cane and tap tap tapping it outside his door all day and all night.
Hi Everyone - I have my flights arranged. Here's my itinerary:
Arrive 4 Feb in Eugene at 12:16 pm on Delta. Bopcha says she can pick me up since I'm arriving at such a reasonable hour, unlike some of her other children. We'll be singing happy birthday to the twins. Can you believe they'll be turning 37?!! Gulp.
Depart Friday, 9 February from Eugene at 12:41 pm on Delta.
Not a long visit, but should be a fun one. I'll be bringing my camera in the hopes of capturing photos for my next Bopcha calendar.
I have been doing internet research on my eyeball ever since I found out on Friday that it appears that a macular hole is what is causing my left eye vision to go berserk. Here is a typical write up:
Macular holes were once considered an untreatable problem; however, because of advances in retinal surgery, many patients can be helped. It is possible for anyone to develop a macular hole, but they are most common among women about 60-70 years of age. Macular holes may occur for a variety of reasons, but are usually a result of traction from the vitreous gel on the macula. Since the macula is responsible for central vision, this problem causes severe and often complete loss of central vision.
Fortunately, we’ve come to understand this problem better than ever before and can even restore vision in many cases with surgery. The extent of the patient’s recovery is dependent on several factors such as the severity of the hole, time since onset, and other variables. Sometimes the hole spontaneously resolves, although it is much more common to require surgery.
The operation is performed with local anesthesia under a microscope. During the procedure, the doctor injects a gas bubble inside the eye. The purpose of the gas bubble is to place gentle pressure on the retina and help seal the hole.
The biggest challenge of macular hole repair is to maintain the proper head position afterward. Since gas rises, the patient must be able to keep his or her head down so the bubble floats up and presses on the back of the eye. This is very critical for approximately two weeks following the surgery. There are many creative ways to stay in the correct position and remain comfortable. The body slowly absorbs the gas bubble over approximately three months. In some cases, the eye is filled with silicone oil instead of gas. This is easier for the patient because no special positioning is necessary; however, the oil must be removed with a second operation several months later.
With the surgical treatments available today, we are able to restore partial vision in 70-90% of our patients. Most patients find that their vision improves approximately two lines better on the eye chart.
As retinal surgeons, we are encouraged by the advances made in the field of macular surgery. New treatments are being developed all the time as we continue to learn about this incredibly complex sensory tissue.
The Blakneys are very thankful to have had power over Christmas and New Years. We will never take it for granted again. Even though it was not all that hard to get through one week of powerlessness, it was getting sort of tedious.
Now we have nonstop basketball and frequent visits with JB to keep us busy for the next couple of months. After that, we will make a serious attempt to grow a decent garden (Mother and Judi put us to shame).
I got a digital camera for Christmas, so I hope to send this forum some artful photos somewhere along the line. I would not recommend holding your breath, though.
