There was a great deal of promise when I turned 44 last November.  I was having a very tough time seeing and surgery was scheduled for early December for a full cornea transplant or a partial cornea transplant (where only the endothelia is swapped out.)  The hope was for the endothelial transplant, but that was to be determined during surgery.  The surgeon was pretty optimistic that my vision would get to 20/100 or a tad bit better.

The result was the easier surgery, replacing only the endothelia, but vision that peaked at 20/200 in spring and then started going the wrong way by July.  I can now see 20/400 in my good eye and none of my ophthalmologists can tell me what the problem is now.  So the hopes and dreams from last Thanksgiving have been replaced by frustration and concern this year.

Then there is the business.  When I turned 44, I had absolutely no idea what was going to become of our business, Salon Supplies + Interiors (see the two previous paragraphs.)  Our lease at 1010 MacDade with the ganif (I am being too kind) was set to expire on 5 February.  Once my doctor informed me that the surgery was “a success,” we tried to negotiate a one year lease at a lower rent.  We were paying $3750 in rent, $1200 in taxes, and about $1100 for utilities on average per month.  (Utilities varied from $800 to $2000 and were billed by the ganif, not Peco.)

Now the question was to move or close.  I really wanted to launch ForYourSalon.com, which was suffering from massive delays (uh, yeah, my sight issues.)  Thankfully, Ken came on-board full time and got it moving again.  We looked at properties from the end of December to the third week in January, when we found our current location.  It was perfect!  It had a drive-in bay, a loading dock bay, and nearly 8,000 square feet.  This place could accommodate our cabinet shop, used equipment department, new equipment showroom, and beauty supplies department.  And the price was right too: $2,500 per month rent, no CAM charges, no taxes, and a utility bill that averages about $575 per month (highest was about $675 and lowest was about $350.)

We boxed all the supplies and moved everything in about five days.  We had everything setup in the new place in about three weeks, though we only closed for three days during the move (the last day at the old location and the first two days at the new location.)  The first few days at the new place were somewhat painful for me since we had so many different workers (moving temps, electricians, etc.)  While my staff knew to keep things off the floor and away from traffic areas, the others did not.  I walked into metal piping that was hanging out of the electricians truck by about three feet (the truck was parked in the warehouse.)  It literally brought me to my knees.

So our predicament is very similar this year.  Different building, different issues, with a move imminent.  This year there is greater worry.  The conditions of our “perfect” space began to worsen with every drop of rain that fell at the end of June.  As water poured in every day or two over the summer, the mold and fungus began thriving.  Samples taken by a mold remediation company in early November showed levels much higher than they should be.  We will be out of the space within weeks (hopefully two weeks.)

Besides my sight, my general health hasn’t been good over the past year.  I’ve had sinusitis multiple times since early summer.  Hmmm, I wonder if it has to do with the mold…  I am looking forward to evacuating that building and seeing if my health (and Eliz’s too) rebounds.

The immortal words of a great philosopher are always in the back of my mind, “It’s always something.  If it’s not one thing, it’s another…”  That said, I’m looking forward to a better year.  I’ll let you know right after I turn 46.

Goodbye 44! is a post from: ICantCU.com | © 2009, iCantCU.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Post tags: 2012, 44, 45, beauty supplies, cornea, cornea transplant, day, endothelia, full, good eye, hopes and dreams, ken, Mold, November, ophthalmologists, perfect, presidential, presidential election, remediation, rent, salon supplies, surgery, taxes, transplant, week in january, Year

I get called back and the “nurse” (she is more than a helper, but I doubt she is a nurse — please correct me if I’m wrong) puts up the eye chart.  I see the big E (20/400,) but not the SL (20/200.)  She drops the pinhole thingy over my eye and after some searching for the perfect pinhole, I see the SL line.  The OPLB line looks like some black blobs and I can’t make any of the letters out.  The “nurse” says, “Oh, that’s not so bad.  It’s only one line less.”  Really?  So if you are driving down the street, you don’t think seeing a sign with letters about 12 inches tall would be much easier to see than the sign with letters about six inches tall?  I’ve wasted a ton of money on signage then if it’s not that different.

After waiting an unusually long time to see Dr. Ayers (a total of about an hour fifteen minutes,) he finally came into the room.  We exchanged pleasantries and then discussed my eyes.  I told him about my left eye and not seeing as good as I had been and I am now having greater difficulty reading on the computer.  As I put my head into the applanation tonometer (the machine with the blue light on it,) I mention that my right eye is bothering me.  He took a look at the right eye and mentioned things like corneal edema, bullae, and some other things to the “nurse” who was writing everything in my chart.  I kind of knew that I had some bullae (small, fluid-filled blisters ,) because I’ve had sinusitis and been on antibiotics for the past two weeks.  (This is the third time I’ve had sinusitis in the last four months, could it be the mold at the store?)  The problem with the bullae now though is that when they pop, the pain isn’t going away and any kind of light brings additional pain.  I thought I might have an infection in the eye.  Doc said no and to use this stuff called Muro 128, which is basically a kicked up saline solution.  It also comes in a gel that I usually use.  I suppose I could also go to the kitchen and throw some salt in my eye…

As he checked out my left eye, he noticed the “folds” straight away.  He then said the “folds” are Haab Striae and I’ve had them for a long time.  He then (tried to) show me the sketches he’s done of my eye at every visit.  He realized I couldn’t see it and told me each one has them (the striae) there.  He said my eye looks good.  My IOP was eight in the left, 16 in the right.  Wow, so everything is good!  I am so relieved.  But wait, I can’t see as well.  There’s got to be something going on.  I do have a cataract in there, but the doc says he doesn’t think it is time to remove it.  Besides, by taking that out, it may wreck the endothelia that was transplanted in December.  Dr. Ayers says, “But we could just do another one.”  He said I might be able to 20/70 or 20/80!  Of course he said I’d get to 20/100 by doing the endothelial transplant.  I guess I’ve got to wait more than 42 weeks after the surgery to get there.  He doesn’t think the cataract is the problem though.  Dr. Ayers then adds, “Whatever it is, it’s not an easy fix.”  House!  HOUSE!  Where the hell is that guy…  Oh, he’s not real?  I thought that show was one of those reality shows.

Speaking to my dad about the appointment last night, he said, “What are they gonna tell you?  They can’t fix it, it is the way it is.”  I should have listened to him.  I’d have saved a few hours and the copay.  Not too bad for a guy that only spent two weeks in high school.

I’d like to thank Ken for transporting me to my appointment.  Since Ginny and Scott aren’t with us at the store, we don’t have coverage for Eliz and I both to leave store.  Between the mold, the economy, and my vision, it might be time to get into something else.

Everything Looks Fine… is a post from: ICantCU.com | © 2009, iCantCU.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Post tags: applanation tonometer, appointment, cornea specialist, corneal edema, Dr. Ayers, eye, fluid-filled blisters, Ginny, glaucoma, glaucoma specialist, Haab Striae, I, infection, ken, line, Mold, muro 128, nurse, saline solution, Scott, sinusitis, the economy, time, visual acuity

This container was empty on Friday when we left for the weekend. Now it has about 10 inches of water in it.

Right side of the counter, from the customer's perspective, where the customers stand at checkout.

As promised, here are a few images of the water damage and mold at 617A Grant Road in the Delcroft Shopping Center, inside Salon Supplies + Interiors.  The carpet near the counter and display case seems wetter than in past storms.  The carpet is soaked almost to the rear of the checkout counter.  The display case countertop was wet this morning when we arrived.  There were also a couple more ceiling tiles that were wet by the entry door.  One was so wet it was sagging.  The floor below those tiles was wet too.

I’ve emailed the property management company, Goel Enterprise, but haven’t heard a word yet.  It appears they are just going to string me along until the end of the lease on 31 January 2009.  Very frustrating…

New Images of Water Damage and Mold is a post from: ICantCU.com | © 2009, iCantCU.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Post tags: alignleft, attachment, caption, caption area, ceiling tiles, Grant Road, Images, Mold, property management company, Water Damage

For those of you who are friends on Facebook, sorry to repeat the mold story.  For those of you who’d like to be my friend, go to www.facebook.com/davidbenj.  Since mid-June, water has been leaking into our business, Salon Supplies + Interiors, located in the Delcroft Shopping Center in Folcroft, PA.  At first, it wasn’t that bad.  With each rain storm, however, it has grown worse.  Since we’ve had about 10.29 inches of rain in August, and there were a couple of bad storms the last week of July, some of the carpet hasn’t been dry in over a month!  Over the past two or three weeks, the mold and fungus have really exploded on the walls, floor (both carpet and linoleum,) and ceiling tiles.  I’ll be taking some new pics tomorrow, to document the additional damage from the storms on Friday and Saturday.  I’ll post them here sometime tomorrow.

Since early or mid-July, I’ve been congested.  When I went to the doctor in late July, she asked me if I have any allergies.  I told her I was tested about 10 years ago and nothing registered.  She had a look in my throat and said it was a little puffy.  (She gave me a prescription for Nasonex, but I haven’t started using it yet.  More on that in a second.)  Over the weeks, my congestion seems to have grown worse.  I have trouble hearing out of my right ear (which is really bad, since I can’t see at all out of my right eye…)  Could it be from the mold?  Is H1N1?  Or, does some of it have to do with the new cholesterol drug I was prescribed at the same appointment?  My bet is the mold.  I will start with the Nasonex tomorrow or Tuesday.  I’ve been waiting to use it because I didn’t want to start two new meds at the same time, in case I had a reaction or side effect.

The frustrating thing with the condition of the building is how bad it makes us look.  We’ve had to move product from a storage room that gets a bunch of water with every rain.  There is now cases of product in our showroom, which looks so bad I can’t stand it.  We’ve also had to move product into Eliz’s office, so we now have nowhere in the building to meet with vendor reps.  Ken’s desk is also covered with cases of product.  He now works from home.  If I were a customer looking to open a salon and saw the disarray going on, I don’t know if I’d make a purchase.  This problem has taken our focus off operating the business.  Up to this point, the property management company has done nothing to help us.  I’ll update on the condition of the building tomorrow.

On to some better news: we are dog sitting!  Eliz’s sister’s family is in DisneyWorld for a week, so we are watching Misty.  She is a two to three year old Golden Retriever.  We’ve had her since Friday night, and so far so good.  She seems to like Eliz better than any of us.  We’ve taken her on walks each night, after dinner.  It’s made us miss having Zammy around (he died on 3 August 2004.)  He would have been 12 this coming Wednesday.

Lastly, a quick eye update.  This coming Friday, it will be 10 months since the partial cornea transplant.  My vision has been giving me a bit of trouble over the last few weeks to a month.  I don’t know if it is mold/allergies, the new cholesterol med, or a cornea/glaucoma issue.  Eliz and the kids go to our local ophthalmologist on Tuesday, so I’ll see if I can get in on that.  If not, I go to Wills on 17 September.  It seems like there is a large “hole” (blind spot) in the northeast area of my vision (in my “good” eye — the left eye.)  At times, when I am looking at someone, it almost seems like I am seeing through part of them.  Same thing when I am reading on the computer.  It is not constent though.  I’ve also noticed that while riding a car at night, I see blue (almost indigo) from other cars lights (both headlights and taillights.)  Whatever is wrong, I’m sure it can’t be fixed…

Misty & Mold is a post from: ICantCU.com | © 2009, iCantCU.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Post tags: bitchin and moanin, ceiling tiles, cholesterol drug, eye, Facebook, ken, Misty, Mold, tomorrow