East Coast Happenings

[sixdogsmom]

Prayers for you guys, this is pretty scary stuff!

[Diane Amberg]

Yes it is. We have an incredible specialist, but who know how it will all turn out? The little spring things that are part of the eye had erroded away and allowed the cataract implant from 1996 to actually flip over, come  completey loose and slide to the bottom of the back of the eye. Sounds really creepy! He said it was like having vaseline smeared over his eye...light, but no vision at all. Dr. Ko said those implants are no longer used because they tended to flip, but who knew back then? We are optimistic, but it's a complicated procedure. With those springy things useless, the whole business has to be stitched in.

[Diane Amberg]

So, at least my eye situation is improving as it should. No more eye shield at night and I'm down to just two different kinds of drops, twice a day. Anyone who has ever had cataract surgery will recognize this schedule.  I'm getting ready to drive Al to get a hair cut and see if I can get my Christmas stamps. If I can get organized I'll work on Christmas cards while I wait for his surgery to be completed tomorrow morning. We're supposed to have rain again, but it should be enough above freezing to avoid ice.
  According to Bullwinkle nobody comes on the forum to read what I have to say, so I guess I must be writing to myself.
I guess I should leave too, and leave all the posting to the Red's and Ross's and a few others who have taken over. I was going to make a donation to a current local project, but when someone tells me to keep my  Delaware money at home, well....

[Warph]

I was going to make a donation to a current local project, but when someone tells me to keep my  Delaware money at home, well....

Diane, take that Delaware money and put it to good use by donating it to the 'Naked Clowns Charity Organization for MS.' 

The dress code of these multiple sclerosis research fundraisers has been very lax; the hosts have taken to wearing socks now.  With a goal of raising $1,000,000 for donation to the cause of finding a cure for MS, the 'Naked Clowns' have been performing across America from 2008-2014.  Despite the attire of the 'Naked Clowns' during their performances, the shows themselves are completely harmless.  The 'Naked Clowns' take great efforts to ensure that neither their calendars nor their performances contain any instances of profanity, and the shows are of a nature one would find in any circus or clown street show except they are 'Naked.'  Overall, the 'Naked Clowns' seem to have mixed their inherent need of expression with marketing, the result being a virtuous cause to put an end to one of the world's worst diseases, Multiple Sclerosis.

Recently, the 'Naked Clowns' began 'the Naked Dream' program, which every month will award a cash grant to a single MS-afflicted child that wishes to pursue any given dream.  This enterprise seems to be expanding quite a bit, as the 'Naked Clowns' appear to have a booked performance calendar through 2057 and have even performed in New York's Time Square and the White House for President Obuma and his lovely wife Michael.

P.S. Hope your eye is doing better.  When I had my cataract surgery, my left eye developed a macular hole which took additional surgery.  It is about 80% now.  It should be 100% by the time I'm 90. LOL...   Warph

[Diane Amberg]

Actually, I already do donate to MS research. I have had five friends who had developed MS over the years.Only one is still living. They developed it young and it took them young. One is still doing very well, thank goodness.
My eyes are doing fine. Still doing the drop routine with the second one. I have another doc visit on the 23rd.
I'm sorry to hear you had complications with yours. Hopefully it will eventually heal completely.
Al had his much more serious surgery yesterday and I'll take him for his morning after visit shortly. He has a big pressure dressing over his left eye,(very uncomfortable), so he couldn't use his CPAP last night. He slept very peacefully though. He'll have many more  doc visits and won't be able to drive himself for at least a week or so.It's been fun juggling our schedules to make it all work. I still don't have my tree up and now I'm not sure if I'll get it done. He isn't allowed to lift and I'm not sure if I can manage it alone. Perhaps just a little wee tree? We'll see. Gotta go and head to Wilmington. More to follow. Have a good day.

[Diane Amberg]

Al had a very good follow up appointment yesterday. He's still very restricted of course and will be for some time. His eye is quite sore and very red, but everything is staying where it's supposed to be .Six weeks with his glasses or an eye shield, six weeks of eye drops and lots of return trips to see Dr. Ko. Worth every bit of it to save that eye. I just hope the weather holds.
We had to skip the fire company meeting and elections last night, but I think I'll take him to the firehouse kids' party for just a short time Sunday. I can drive him  and slip him home a couple of hours later. He enjoys the kids, but has no stamina for very much right now. His polo legs don't help either.  We have a friend's Christmas party to go to for awhile tonight. He'll like that. I'm doing well too, drops yet for a week or so yet, but since I can drive (but not lift),we're doing alright. It's very strange to have both of us with eye things going on at the same time.
According to that sterling Elk County representative, Bullwinkle, nobody reads me, ever, so I'll just write to myself.   I'm not sure what his problem is, with me I mean. Not that I care. His loss.

[Diane Amberg]

Al is getting better day by day. He is still not allowed to drive, but his vision is improving slowly.  He had to rig up something so his eye shield and C-PAP work together at night, but he managed to do it. I'm sleeping better too. I have another eye appointment myself next week, and hope it will be the last for about six weeks.
I still need to find time for my car inspection, driver's license renewal, and bone density scan.
Last night was our fire chief's fire service open house and about 200 people from many surrounding fire companies came for good food and holiday fun. It was great to see some friends I hadn't seen for awhile. They went through 40 pounds of my famous stuffed mushrooms. It made up 9 large pizza trays of beautiful snow white "specials," big stuffing mushrooms.They came fresh picked for us from Catone's Mushroom Farms in nearby Avondale PA. We have one more neighborhood party two doors away on Saturday and then Christmas at a neighbors across the street. I still have to find out what I'm to bring, but I know Al will be part of the clean up crew as always. All his years of working in the fire house kitchen, and being tall means he knows how to make the clean up fly. I'm thinking he'll be doing very well by Christmas.
We finally decided to skip the tree this year. Neither of us can lift yet and it's just too much to to do.I'm behind on my cards too so I better go work on them now.
   Hang in there friends. Don't let the unending ridicule and sarcasm spoil your postings. After all, free speech means you too. There will always be insecure people who don't know any other way to express themselves.
Have a great day.

[Mom70x7]

Thanks for your updates. I'm one of the non-posters now, at least most of the time. Just got tired of the bullying. I do read, however, and appreciate you and your comments. Merry Christmas!

[Wilma]

I'm with Mom.  I enjoy the daily doings of other people and abhor the bullying.  This is one thread that I can enjoy reading.  Diane, you and Al are going through where I have been.  My eye problems weren't as serious as yours, but I know the frustration of not being able to see.  Plus, you are so active and having your activities curtailed because of your eyes just adds to the frustration.

You are wise to forego the tree this year.  If you find that you just absolutely have to have one with lights, I am sure you can find a small artificial one with the lights already in place.  I even decided against the little 18" one that I usually put up because of the painstaking patience that it takes to put the little decorations on it, then disassembling it to put it away.  The older I get, the more I can do without. 

Merry Christmas to all and may your streets stay dry.

[Diane Amberg]

Thanks to you both. Unfortunately the folks on the dark side don't see themselves as bullies.They just don't get it. Every one of us is supposed to turn the other cheek, no matter how rude they are, except them.  (For some reason they have much higher standards of decorum that we are expected to adhere to.) It is not an even playing field, not that what they are doing is a game. After all, they are just telling it the way they want it to be in their own little narrow world.
They will not understand that people have the answers to many of their questions, but know better than to engage them because they know what will happen.Why any sane person would put up with being on the receiving end of more than a few insults and put downs is beyond me. So, they interpret the silence any way they want to....if they only knew! Even Teresa doesn't post here any more. They truly aren't interested in any opinion other than their own, and if we can manage to figure out what they are trying to say, that's good enough for them.
I rather suspect they are totally different away from the forum. They know they can get away with anything on here and not get punched out for it.
  I'll gladly skip the tree this year if it means less work for Al. He is beginning to show great improvement now.Bright light doesn't hurt any more and although his vision is still not clear, he can see much better. I  take him back on Monday and I expect to hear good things from Dr. Ko.
I go back on Tuesday for what I suspect will be the last check up for quite some time. Perhaps I can get off all the eye drops by then.
Wilma, I'm sorry you had hard times with your eyes also. Mine were just very ordinary cataracts with one astigma correction too. Not a big deal, just time consuming. Al's problem was the bad one, but it looks like he'll be just fine in due time.  So far the weather is holding for us, just rain, no ice or snow.  He 'll be happy to be able to drive again.  I think he misses his independence.
Time to take the pork roast out of the oven. Have a nice evening !