So, I called my Mom--it's my birthday, and she'd tried to call. So I called her back, I guess, is more accurate.
Let me back up.
My Mom told my sister that she didn't feel safe driving anymore. Truth be told, she's not been safe driving for decades, Especially at night. But now she says she won't do it, she can't see well enough. My sister says, "You know she had surgery for macular degeneration years ago."
Okay, stop. No she didn't. She didn't, because they don't DO surgery for macular degeneration. Well, except the super-experimental lens implantation stuff or the rare laser-stuff, which doesn't FIX things, and that wasn't that. No, she had cataracts, and they fixed them. Thirteen years or so ago.
I said, "No, not macular degeneration, it was cataracts. Ma didn't have MD then, and hopefully doesn't now."
Yeah.
Back to the phone call with my Mom. She says, "Not to ruin your birthday," meaning she's about to do exactly that, "but that thing you talked about the other day with my eyes? I can't remember the name?"
"Macular degeneration?"
"Yes, that's it. I have it. It's bad. The central vision in my right eye is gone, and it's going in the left."
No, Ma, that doesn't screw up my birthday at all. That you may never SEE my boy again didn't, in any way, make me sit there on the bed and cry my stupid eyes out after we finished talking.
Damn.
No idea at this point if it's "wet" or "dry," hoping the specialist she'll be seeing will provide some guidance on preventing further progression/deterioration. My money's on "wet." I think things have progressed quite a bit, at least in that one eye.
Hoping there's some way to make it so she can read her beloved mysteries again. Yes, there are books on tape. No, it's not the same. Hoping she can do her puzzles again. Hoping she can still play her games on the computer, which is becoming difficult.
Macular Degeneration cannot be reversed. But it can, with various treatments, often be arrested/slowed. My Mom has been sitting on this for a while now--over a year. Had she gone in for her annual eye exam these past two years, they'd have caught this a lot earlier.
Watch your folks. Watch your eyes. Watch your risk factors. Me?
I'm the poster child for future macular degeneration--I'm fat, almost fifty, have a family history, have cholesterol issues, am diabetic, and I smoked for decades. Yeah, baby--I'm prime.
And what do they recommend to prevent or arrest MD?
Fruits. Veggies (especially the dark green leafy variety). Fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains. Exercise. In other words, all those things I've been trying to be good about because of my triglycerides/cholesterol. So I guess that's what I just keep doing.
Now I have an even more immediate reason.
Sadness, huh?
If you're looking for more information about macular degeneration, check this link:
Let me back up.
My Mom told my sister that she didn't feel safe driving anymore. Truth be told, she's not been safe driving for decades, Especially at night. But now she says she won't do it, she can't see well enough. My sister says, "You know she had surgery for macular degeneration years ago."
Okay, stop. No she didn't. She didn't, because they don't DO surgery for macular degeneration. Well, except the super-experimental lens implantation stuff or the rare laser-stuff, which doesn't FIX things, and that wasn't that. No, she had cataracts, and they fixed them. Thirteen years or so ago.
I said, "No, not macular degeneration, it was cataracts. Ma didn't have MD then, and hopefully doesn't now."
Yeah.
Back to the phone call with my Mom. She says, "Not to ruin your birthday," meaning she's about to do exactly that, "but that thing you talked about the other day with my eyes? I can't remember the name?"
"Macular degeneration?"
"Yes, that's it. I have it. It's bad. The central vision in my right eye is gone, and it's going in the left."
No, Ma, that doesn't screw up my birthday at all. That you may never SEE my boy again didn't, in any way, make me sit there on the bed and cry my stupid eyes out after we finished talking.
Damn.
No idea at this point if it's "wet" or "dry," hoping the specialist she'll be seeing will provide some guidance on preventing further progression/deterioration. My money's on "wet." I think things have progressed quite a bit, at least in that one eye.
Hoping there's some way to make it so she can read her beloved mysteries again. Yes, there are books on tape. No, it's not the same. Hoping she can do her puzzles again. Hoping she can still play her games on the computer, which is becoming difficult.
Macular Degeneration cannot be reversed. But it can, with various treatments, often be arrested/slowed. My Mom has been sitting on this for a while now--over a year. Had she gone in for her annual eye exam these past two years, they'd have caught this a lot earlier.
Watch your folks. Watch your eyes. Watch your risk factors. Me?
I'm the poster child for future macular degeneration--I'm fat, almost fifty, have a family history, have cholesterol issues, am diabetic, and I smoked for decades. Yeah, baby--I'm prime.
And what do they recommend to prevent or arrest MD?
Fruits. Veggies (especially the dark green leafy variety). Fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains. Exercise. In other words, all those things I've been trying to be good about because of my triglycerides/cholesterol. So I guess that's what I just keep doing.
Now I have an even more immediate reason.
Sadness, huh?
If you're looking for more information about macular degeneration, check this link:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hubby got me an amazing, HEAVY bird bath for my birthday. I've been wanting one for years, since the tacky plastic one we had back in Utah, but I didn't want a plastic one. I wanted something with some heft, some muscle, something that looked old and could resist a wind.
Well, this one came in two parts (bath and pedestal), and weighs over two hundred pounds.
I love it. Thank you.
My boy got me the new Fall Out Boy CD. I knew they were back together, but didn't know they'd put out a new CD. He heard about it months ago, and he's been waiting for the chance to give it to me. I love his thoughtfulness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still no word from the Landlord. Day 11 and counting. Goodness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now, let's see if I can find something truly awful on the home decor/paneling/wallpaper front:
 |
| Wow, that's practically transcendental in its craziness! Talk about new heights! |
I should send you picture of our house. It would fit right into your collection. Oh well, when it is on the market there will be pictures. Paneling and all! No I don't love the paneling, but it is there and we are not replacing that! We have spent well over 100K on upgrades, and repairs. We have to stop somewhere.
ReplyDeleteOur old place was a disaster of paneling, carpeted kitchen and bath, and black mold in the basement eating away the paneling. I actually don't hate paneling in small doses, and I understand that a lot of places are loaded with it because that was the thing 40 years ago. But this particular pic is great to me because it's so busy, so frantic, and the mannequin with the fancy velvet furniture makes it perfect :-)
DeleteI was just talking about this subject with someone else. I think all older people do this! My father in law was famous for it. He'd tell us that he was not feeling very good, but not to worry, he was fine, he'd been to the doctor, whatever we needed to hear. It was all lies. He only went to the doctor while his wife was alive, he stopped filling all prescriptions and hadn't been to see one in six years before he passed away. We didn't think of checking up on him because he kept his old medicine bottles arranged in their usual place and talked about taking them just as if he were actually keeping up on it.
ReplyDeleteJust this week my mom told me she wasn't feeling well and based on her symptoms, it sounded like something she should get checked out. So I keep asking her about it and she says she's better and that the symptoms went away on their own. But I worry. I think that they just want to keep their independence and feel a little humiliated when their children have to take care of them. I hope that when I'm older I can ask for help if I can't take care of myself. I'm trying to cultivate a relationship with my nieces and nephews because I won't have any kids to lean on when that time comes, hehe.
My neighbor had that same coffee table!