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Sometimes Things Look Different to Me

Wednesday, 16 February 2011 By Leave a Comment

Every morning I weigh myself twice, once before I get in the shower and once after I dry off after the shower. Getting on the scale is also an eye test of sorts. Our scale’s readout is an LCD with two inch tall numbers. The weight only displays for five to ten seconds after it is calculated, so I have to be fast when trying to read it. Today, I was able to read it the first time before the shower. I was 154.8 pounds. Some days it takes me two or three times if my eye is dry or has a bunch of stuff in it. After the shower, and after a moisturizing eye drop, it took me two times to read it. I was 154.6, by the way. (It’s funny how most days I weigh less after the shower…) My goal is to stay around 155, which I’ve been since last summer. As previously mentioned, that is about 80 pounds less than I weighed when I changed my eating habits ever so slightly.

I get frustrated when I have to get on the scale multiple times. What is worse is when I think I see one number, then the next day the number is two pounds higher and I wonder if I actually read the number correctly the day before. Similar things happen when I read things on my computer screen. The word email looks an awful lot like small to me when both are all lower case. Lower case t’s and f’s, v’s and y’s, i’s and l’s are the worst. Sometimes it’s letter combinations that throw me, like rn looking like an m or ri looking like an n.

Today, when I was reading some tweets, I read down to one I posted last night. I tweeted: Tired of Safari quitting on me multiple times per day. Well, 10 minutes ago when I read it, it said this: Tired of Satan quitting on me multiple times per day. Hmm… Don’t give up on me Lu! (Of course I’m kidding, I don’t believe in satan like I don’t believe in god…) I did have to zoom in on the the word to make sure I typed Safari. Once I verified that I did, I smiled at what It looked like I had typed.

The same sort of things happen when watching TV or simply looking at objects. More times than not it is frustrating to me. (Last week, I left one Bang-Bang Shrimp on my plate at Bonefish Grill that Eliz had to tell me was there.) Today though, I smiled at what I thought I saw.

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Filed Under: event, low vision, Weight Loss Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Sweet Sixteen Tomorrow

Thursday, 20 January 2011 By Leave a Comment

Let’s hope it is sweet, or at least it doesn’t make things worse. Tomorrow at 12.30 I’m having what is called YAG laser capsulotomy, a minor surgical procedure (my sixteenth) to get rid of some clouding that has developed since the cataract extraction last April. I’ve been told that it is very quick procedure. In fact, the women from the office who phoned me today with the time of the surgery told me there were no restrictions (as far as eating or meds go,) and, get this, I could drive myself to and from the procedure. Uh, if I tried to drive myself to the procedure, I’d never get there. If I tried to drive after the procedure, Action News and NBC10 News have a 50-50 shot at being the news since the surgery center is about a block away from them.

I won’t get into what I hope I can do after the surgery, because even the doctors I’ve talked with about it tell me that I will probably only pick up a very slight increase in vision. Risks associated with this surgery are also pretty small, with retina detachment the primary complication. While I am hopeful of getting back to the sight I had for the 10 day period following my cataract extraction, and staying there, this surgery will not get me there. My sight has been so poor as of late that any positive outcome will be greatly appreciated. The dream of significantly better sight will have to wait for modern medicine.

So, we’ve got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. At 8.30, we’re touring the high school at Friends Central where Jane would move on to next year (she’s currently in eighth grade there now.) After that, we’re heading down Lancaster Avenue to make a delivery. Then on to the Main Line Surgery Center for the surgery. (I’m hoping we can fit a Starbucks stop either before or after the delivery — though maybe I should wait until after the surgery so the caffeine from the Apple Chai Infusion doesn’t make me too jittery… After the surgery, a delivery or two over in Ridley, and, if it’s in, a trip to Newark to pick up our Clairol order. Wow, I’m tired already.

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Filed Under: business, cataract, low vision, surgery Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

I Can’t See Very Well, But My Hearing is Still Good

Friday, 31 December 2010 By Leave a Comment

We visited my parents today. We spent about an hour with them. After we left my parent’s apartment, we were walking down the hall where a couple was sitting. As we walked past, Eliz greeted them. We didn’t know them, but everyone there usually says ‘hello’ as you pass them by. After we were 15 or 20 feet down the hall, the guy says to the women, “Did you see that guy looking down?” He insinuated that I couldn’t be bothered to look up.

Generally, I walk behind Eliz in the halls there because they are a little narrow to walk side by side and I don’t want to walk into any one. I look down and concentrate on Eliz shoes so I don’t run into her. I’ve found in the past, if I look straight ahead, I run into her if she stops or slows down when there are other people in the hall that may be blocking our way.

That guy’s comments irritated me. Obviously, I look fairly normal, so there is no way he would know that I’ve got sight issues. He made the comments after he thought we were far enough away that we wouldn’t hear them. I heard them and didn’t appreciate them. Am I too sensitive? Probably. I try so hard to be normal that when someone makes a comment like that it gets under my skin.

This is my last post for 2010. Okay, stop cheering, there’ll be more in 2011. Jacob has gone to his friend Andrew’s for the night and Jane has a couple friends here to ring in 2011. Eliz and I have the Veuve Clicquot chilled and a couple of movies to watch. I’d like to wish all of you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!

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Filed Under: family, low vision Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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