Sunday, November 18, 2018

Returning with Good News


Four weeks have passed since I last posted. That hiatus resulted from an appointment with a glaucoma specialist. Since December 9, 2015, Dr. Ann has worked to lower the pressure in my eyes; to do that, she has operated on my eyes several times.

I now put glaucoma drops in my left eye 3x a day and in my right, 2x a day. I also put in eye drops/lubricants between 7 and 9x a day. (The oven timer rules my life!)

All this is done so that I can maintain—for as long as possible—a level of vision that will permit to go about my life as I always have—minus driving. My passion, as you know, is writing. The thought of blindness stymied me in October and left me searching for ways I could continue to write if I lost my sight completely.

Now I want to share with you the good news that Dr. Ann gave me this past Tuesday.

In my earlier visit—the one that prompted my hiatus—the outcome of one vision test alarmed the doctor. Through an eyehole in a machine, I looked at a vision chart. Normally, I’ve always seen three rows of letters with 4 letters per row—12 letters in all. Then the tech would ask me what the lowest line was that I could read and I would say aloud the letters I saw.

At that visit, with my left eye, I saw all 12 letters—most weren’t distinct, but I knew they were there. With my right eye, I saw only 2 letters. Not 2 of 12 but only 2. It wasn’t that I didn’t recognize the letters; it was that there simply weren’t there for me to see.

For Dr. Ann that meant my field of vision had narrowed on the right and at the bottom to almost nothing. She was alarmed and talked about how long my eyesight might last given its rapid deterioration from the visit preceding that one.

In my most recent visit—on Tuesday—I saw all 12 letters with my right eye. 12!!! And I could read the letters of the second row, while seeing squiggles below it. 12 letters and squiggles in all!!!!

Dr. Ann’s smile reflected how I was feeling. The explanation for the difference? She believes that a large—very large—floater was in the vitreous humor of my eye during the previous visit. (I think I have that right. Not sure.) The floater blocked my vision.

This past Tuesday, she did set up a field-of-vision test for me in February just so we can know the parameters of my vision. But before leaving the room, she said that my eyes were “doing well.” What uplifting words.

However, she encouraged me to spend only 25 minutes at a time staring at—focusing on—the computer screen, the television, an iPad, or a large-print book. Then I am to take a 10-minute break and rest my eyes—close them. Also, I must try to keep my eyes lubricated by blinking often. My vision will be a little sharper if I blink. I’m going to be the best blinker in Independence!

Come to find out, I’ve been mistaken in my belief that dry eyes damage the optic nerves. Dry eyes can affect eyesight, but they do not affect the optic nerve.

Next week I’ll share my new book with you. This week, I wanted to tell you that my niece designed an author web page for me. If you’d like to see it, here’s the URL: http://www.deeready.com


Peace.

37 comments:

  1. An excellent web site. An excellent niece!

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    1. Dear Joanne, so true about my niece. She's the reason that I've been able to self-publish. I wouldn't have been able to figure out or manage working with Createspace to publish, but she's a whiz-bang of a computer tech! Peace.

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  2. What wonderful news, Dee! Something really big to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week. Printer is done with the paperback copy and I'm trying to finish the ebook for my book myself rather than hiring it done. Have a very happy and thankful week!!

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    1. Dear Cynthia, such great news about your book. I'm so eager to read it. Tell me again what its title is so I can order it. Well, I can't read ordinary print, but when the e-book is done then I'll be able to read it! So exciting. I wish you every success in getting that e-book done. Peace.

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  3. WONDERFUL news about your eyes. Rooly. truly, wunnaful news.
    Love the web page your niece designed as well.

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    1. Dear Sue, Yes, the news just left me glowing both within and without! I'm glad you like the web page. My niece is so talented. Peace.

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  4. Love your web page, love your doctor's diagnosis & I love you!!

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    1. Dear Fishducky, thank you for all this loving! In the past month, I've spent a lot of time counting my blessings and you are surely among the friends who have touched my life with goodness. Peace.

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  5. Wow, Dee, this is really great news about your eyes. As you know, I can relate about the importance of sight. And I just love that website. Very well done indeed. You have given me one more thing to be thankful for. :-)

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    1. Dear DJan, yes, WOW! I am so happy that my vision is staying steady for now. I feel so grateful for my live and all my friends and family. Like you, I've learned that living in gratitude--thankfulness--is the path to contentment. Peace.

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  6. Glad you got good news from your eye doctor! Mine has told me to blink more too so thanks for the reminder. I need to put a post-a-note on my computer screen to do so.

    Your niece did a fabulous job on your website but I think she needs to remove the word "aspiring" from the left hand corner. You ARE an author already, not an aspiring author.

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    1. Dear Jean, my niece Linda is going to be so pleased that you think her website job is fabulous! I must tell you that she didn't add "aspiring," I did. In the labyrinth of my mind, muddled as it often is, I can't think of myself as an author until I have success as a novelist. Next year I hope to self-publish a novel. We'll see then if I can finally accept that I'm an author! Peace.

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  7. I'll bet seeing Dr. Ann's smile was a wonderful thing. Such good news about your vision.

    Your website is clean, attractive and easy to navigate. Your niece has talent. :)

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    1. Dear Bea, her smile encompassed my whole being! I'll relay your comments on the website to my niece. She'll be gratified. Peace.

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  8. That is awesome news. My hubby has glaucoma. He has three different drops he uses daily. I have macular degeneration. Just have to keep monitoring it.

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    1. Hello, and happy Thanksgiving. Your husband's glaucoma sounds as if it, too, is very concerning. Do you have the wet or the dry macular degeneration? I so hope that you can read. A dear friend of mine has it and is not longer able to read the printed page, but she is loving listening to audio cassettes and CDs. If we must have eye problems, it's so good that we are living now instead of 50 years ago because of things like audible books. Peace.

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  9. Such wonderful news! Sending you peace and gratitude... Suzanne

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    1. Dear Suzanne, it is wonderful news. I find myself so grateful that I can see well enough to sit here at the computer and type. I hope that lasts for years, but I will be grateful always for what is. It's good to hear from you. Peace.

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  10. Reading this I started too cry because I was so happy that there has been such good improvement with your eyes.

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    1. Dear Jo-Anne, thank you for rejoicing with me. My sight is still blurry--not sharp. But the knowledge that they are not deteriorating at a furious pace is so heartwarming. I can see to write and to read and I can see the lovely faces of the cats with whom I live. I am so blessed. Peace.

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  11. What a blessing. I'm headed for your website now.

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    1. Dear Judy, I hope you like the website. My niece gave it to me as a birthday gift! Peace.

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  12. Dear Dee this is very touching post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    i am so grateful and happy for you that finally your doctor told you a good news
    i can imagine how precious these windows of soul for you specially as writer!

    i asure you with depth of my faith that NOTHING WILL GO WRONG AND YOU WILL BE WRITING ALWAYS :)))

    how exciting that you will shre your book soon and i sooo liked the page created by your niece
    please take care and stay strong my friend!
    Hugs!

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    1. Dear Baili, I am so grateful for your encouragement. Your attitude toward life is so uplifting. Thank you. I'll share the news about the cat gift book next Sunday. I really, really enjoyed writing this book! Peace.

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  13. "My vision will be a little sharper if I blink. I’m going to be the best blinker in Independence!"

    I am imagining your posts a year from now, "I have developed a blinking habit. Good news is, I can see rocks on Mars from here. Bad news, I blinked 10,000 times while typing that!"

    ;-)

    Glad for the good news!

    Now I am going to look at your author's website. :)

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    1. Dear Sandi, I laughed out loud at your 2nd paragraph! A cartoonist could really go places with it! You should see me blinking while I watch television. Last evening, I realized that I was screwing up my entire face as I blinked!

      I hope you liked the website. Peace.

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  14. I believe in never giving up hope and this certainly is great news, Dee. You will have a very good Thanksgiving this year.

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    1. Dear Arleen, I have been doing a lot of thinking and meditating about hope. We talk a lot about charity and faith, but so seldom about the virtue of hope.

      I remember reading a lovely poem about it by the French poet Charles Peguy. It was in his book, "God Speaks." I have the book, and I need to reread that poem because I want to live in hope and in gratitude.

      Happy Thanksgiving, Arleen. You are a gift from the Universe to all of us who have come to know you through blogging. Peace.

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  15. Your niece and your doctor are keepers. Wonderful news about your eyesight and I really found your site easy to navigate and I was surprised at how many books you have in the works. You are an amazing woman. Keep blinking and tying.

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    1. Dear Patti, I have a lot of "keepers" in my life, all of whom will be in my thoughts and prayers this Thanksgiving Day.

      I'm glad you found the site easy to navigate. As for my books, I don't have the energy and stamina to write as much as I'd like, but I'm grateful that I can write at all! The Palestine novel, I hope, will come out next year as well as another gift book for cat lovers.

      Then I hope to do a book a year. But we both know that plans oft go awry! So I'm living the day and going with the flow as we all say and being grateful for what is.

      Peace to you, pressed down and overflowing.

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  16. All those drops!! Before we saw the ophthalmologist and got the best drops, and only once a day, I had to be on a not quite so bad schedule with Samson's eye drops and it took over my life. He was happy because he got treats. So I feel for you. What I love about you is that you are always looking ahead and making plans and being so positive through all your health scares. I'm so glad you got the best news about your eyes. Take care my friend.

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    1. Dear Inger, truly the oven timer rules my life with regard to the glaucoma drops and the lubricants/eye drops. I had to buy another timer to put on my office desk. I set it for 25 minutes. It dings and I set it for 10 minutes. While it's ticking away, I close my eyes; I blink; I look around the room. I think about the next sentence I'll write. The timer dings and I set it for another 25 minutes and so on! The day passes with ding and rings and timers letting me know what's next in my life! Peace.

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  17. Dee, this news is wonderful--a great Thanksgiving gift! It is amazing what wonders there are for preserving eyesight, and research continues! Your niece Linda created a very nice Web site that is easy on the eyes--love the tranquil waterfall graphic. I can almost hear the water falling over the rocks and bringing peace and calm. I also agree that you ARE an author! I am grateful to have met you years ago when you taught an editing class. And I am grateful that you that you are still a mentor to me! What you accomplish is inspiring to me, as well as it must be to others who follow your blog. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy the time with friends and family. Joy to you!

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    1. Dear Lynda, so good to hear from you. I hope the aches and pains have vanished. Thanks for viewing the website. I'll pass your remarks on to Linda, who designed it.

      I so remember those years of teaching in the University of Minnesota classroom in the evenings and meeting so many women and men who were pursuing a dream. You among them.

      I'm praying for you and your family today and every day. On Thanksgiving I will give thanks for your presence in my life. Peace.

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  18. Dear Dee the champion blinker! I am so happy to read of your return to blogging with good news.
    My brother, a marathon runner has just started guided running, he and his runner take the guide dog, leave it at the start of a race in safe hands, run a 10Km or half marathon race strapped together and pick up the dog at the end. It has given my whole family an incredible insight into life for the partially sighted.
    I am happy that you can continue to run your own marathon life with a much improved eyesight. I have just enjoyed visiting your new website (great job by your niece) you have many projects on the go which I can already feel you are returning with full zest for life.
    Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
    Wren x

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    1. Dear Wren, I've never known about guided running. Does your brother have good sight and he runs strapped to someone who is only partial sighted? How wonderful that is to provide the opportunity for someone to engage in an activity that can brighten our endorphins! I so like to walk and I'm always aware that I feel better when I've completed a walk, even though I go only between 1/3 and 1/2 mile a day. It's getting the body moving that is essential.

      Thank you for looking at the website. My niece is one of the blessings of my life. And yes, I have a lot of projects. I dream big! Peace to you, pressed down and overflowing.

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  19. Hi, Dee! I'm very happy your eyes have a better report, and that you are encouraged about your writing future. I'll add my kudos to your niece for the nice website for you. My blogging is sketchy lately, obviously, but I may get a new, newsy post up soon. Take care, and enjoy the start of December.

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