The "Eyes" Have It (aka: Why I Would Never Suggest Lasik Surgery)

Peekers, peepers, baby blues, oculars, eyeballs.....whatever you call them, I think we'll all agree that they're important.  Really important.  Extremely, ostensibly, indubitably important.  You know the old saying, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"?  Well, in my next story, I'm sorry to say that you'll see how it's completely applicable.

I've been absent from my blog.  I've been absent due to something I mentioned in the first sentence of my last post.  "I had Lasik surgery."  Indeed, I had Lasik surgery that did not only fall short of eyesight perfection, but left me with horrific and terrifying side effects.  Some have subsided, and others remain.  The shortened version is that it's taken me this long (2.5 months) to be able to discuss what this surgery did to me.

I thought I waited long enough to undergo Lasik.  I had very poor eyesight (like -650 with extreme astigmatism in both eyes), but technology was finally where it needed to be to perfect my vision.  I went to an excellent surgeon (a premier corneal specialist at that) and this area's most reputable facility, which has been doing Lasik longer than any other group in town.  Without even asking opinions, schedulers and nurses volunteered that I was in the hands of a superb doctor.  And, finally, I had never, EVER heard anyone who had previously had the surgery say anything but awesome details about their perfected sight.  Everyone absolutely raved about the freedom it gave them.

Given all of that, I was ready.  Really ready and very excited.  I'd actually read through all of the brochures, watched the video, approached the doctor with a lot of questions, and wholeheartedly weighed possible dangers of the surgery against every positive outcome I had ever heard.  One of the bullet points in the pamphlets highlighted the fact that people with chronic illnesses should not undergo Lasik.  I was prepared to abandon surgery for this very reason considering my fibromyalgia.  But I point blank asked the doctor about this and he assured me that such a warning was for people with Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and the like.

Not only would I like to shout from the roof top that no one should ever have Lasik, but I feel I absolutely need to warn anyone with fibromyalgia or any sort of inflammatory, chronic, sensory, immune compromised or impaired immune system disease to not even consider the surgery.  Although the doctor did not get my eyesight to 20/20 (I'm left with 20/35 and 20/50), I don't believe my side effects have anything to do with his inability.  (However, I certainly didn't appreciate his cold demeanor once he knew how upsetting the difficulties were to me.  He didn't exactly emit a gracious or comforting bedside manor then.)  It seems to me that it was my body, specifically because of the fibro, which was unable to properly recover.

Side effects that have subsided in time included both dull and piercing pain, feelings of needles in my eye and behind my eye, extreme gritty feeling and terrible dryness.  However, besides having to still wear glasses, the lingering damage to my eyes comes in the form of not only halos with light, but strings of light that attach to one another (at night).  It's a very psychedelic, disorienting phenomenon.  Night driving has been absolutely horrifying on a couple of occasions.  Had I needed to go further than 2.5 miles, I don't think I could have proceeded.

Unfortunately, I immediately lost all of my close up vision (I was very near sighted) to about 12".  That means so long to seeing my face real well.  Seriously.  You should see me trying to pluck my eyebrows.  It's ridiculous.  (Upside: inability to properly view the onset of aging??)  This one makes me mad.  I asked both a nurse and the doctor about automatically losing close up vision and they both said it didn't happen.  The only thing they pointed out was that Lasik will not slow the hardening of one's cornea with age.  Therefore, after the age of 40, most people would still need reading glasses.  I, however, experienced what might not have genetically (based on my mom's need for "readers") happened for another 10 years or so in a matter of minutes.

Finally, I'm going to tell you about my light sensitivity.  To me this was the most terrifying part.  The first month I could literally not fully open my eyes.  The light from my computer was too much even with it at the lowest level.  Upon awakening each morning, I would have to wear sunglasses just to come into my kitchen, with all the blinds still closed.  My husband was traveling so I had to get the girls to/from school.  At first I had no glasses I could properly see out of (because the doctor actually thought driving was safe with fuzzy eyesight!), and I had to wear 2 pair of sunglasses in addition a hood around my face to shield any residual light.  I kept both car visors down, and yet I could barely look out of slits in my eyes.  I'd have to blink nonstop and squint like my life depended on it (I'll need Botox between my eyebrows in about 3 months due to that).  ALL THE WHILE, DRIVING MY CHILDREN!!!  I was furious and scared out of my mind that this scenario was one I was going to have to live with forever.

Currently, I have chosen to forego enhancement surgery.  I think it would be foolish of me to attempt to successfully get through without additional and/or more severe long term damages.  Halos and night vision difficulties still remain, but I hope that even in a year they will diminish some.  I am still more sensitive to light, but nothing like it was.  For that, I am so grateful.  I'm hoping like everything that, in time, my body will be able to further heal.

So, for today, RIGHT now even, take a moment to be thankful of all your working body parts.  Because they are more important than anything else in life, except for your kids and their working body parts.

I hadn't wanted to start 2011 out with a post like this, but I felt it was necessary considering my long absence.  More upbeat posts to come.  I promise!

Just a few of the items I poured into my eyes in the last couple months, including steroids. The pink "readers" looked cool, but they were useless to me.....unless I put them over my regular glasses. How lovely that was.

Garbage Bag Witch

Yesterday I had Lasik surgery, so I am laying low yet today.  Meanwhile, here's a re-post from last year.  I had fun making this smart gal.  Maybe you'll be tempted after your own leaf-raking this weekend......


Last week my husband raked leaves and mowed the lawn for the final time this year. He bagged the clippings and prepared them for the next garbage pick-up. I walked by the bags as I took my daughter to the bus stop, and when I met her upon arrival home from school. I walked by the bags on my way to and from the mailbox. Something tugged at me each time. As if a spell had come over me, I felt compelled to create! I'm sure the possibilities are endless, but here's what transpired.

Boring bag of clippings/leaves

Roll of white paper and double-wide construction paper

Introducing Ms. Witch!

I didn't use any patterns...just drew on the construction paper freehand. And everything you see is from construction paper except the witch's hat that I got on clearance two years ago for $.19.

What Did You Do? Wednesdays - No Purchase Necessary

I like stuff.  I like stuff a LOT.  No, I actually think I love stuff.  They say "things" can't make you happy.  But I believe I would beg to differ.  Shopping for the stuff has actually made me VERY, VERY happy.  It's one of the few things I'm quite good at.  Ahhhhh, shopping.  And it's not just going to a store and laying out bookoo bucks for something.  For me, it's the bargain searching, the clearance finds, the garage sale treasures, the discovering the last one left, the thrill of the hunt....you get my drift?  I'd never feel good about an expensive purchase on, say, a pair of boots.  What I would feel pleased as punch about is the excellent sale plus coupon plus rewards I used to get a zillion dollars off that pair of boots.  Do you do the same thing at all?  I think many of you bloggers do.  We're a thrifty bunch with some seriously shrewd spending habits.

But here's where it got me in trouble.  That stuff I love has, over time, brought me down to the point of being really kind of miserable.  I'm not a serial shopper.  I'm not out there every day shopping and only shopping.  It's actually not even that often that I go, but like I said, when I go......I'm goooood.  And it's hard for me to turn down a good garage sale, or go to Super T A R G E T and come away with things I really only needed.  I mean, come on ~ the other day they were changing out aisles of merchandise.  We're talkin' shiny, new STUFF here folks!  THAT'S exciting!

However, after looking closely at my basement.....and closer and closer still, I sheepishly admit that I am embarrassed.  I can laugh about it, and I can get rid of it, but I truly do know that I have an addiction.  I'm also not one to waste, so many items I think I can fix or do up pretty like so many on the blog-o-sphere can.  Truth is, some of it I could put a snazzy touch on, and other things I couldn't.  I guess because I don't have the space, the time or the talent.

My goal, in the next year, is to comb through my belongings with a fine tooth comb, so to speak, and be wary of all things I purchase and where the money actually goes.  My mom had a great idea for me:  keep a list of all the things I didn't buy, and keep that money separate in a special fund.  What a motivator to know how much I would have spent on stuff crap I just. didn't. NEED!

I think it might be a little hard considering we're approaching the biggest sale season of the year, but staying out of stores in general, sticking to my list of necessary items when I do go, and keeping track of the money I saved when I didn't buy all seem like a good plan.  See?  Money in my pocket for vacations or all new flooring or a kitchen remodel....no purchase necessary.

What do you think?  Anybody with me on this one?

**This post brought to you by a bin of 20 childrens', clearance Valentine's boxes.  (For the record, I have 2 children, not 20.)

What Did You Do? Wednesdays - Back In The Saddle

Well folks, I think I'm getting back on track with some things after a full and fun summer, and after the start of the school year (one started preschool, the other started in a new school district). I've had my nose in my Google reading list regularly, and had a ton of posts swirling around in my head. But by the time I actually had time to focus for more than 3 minutes to write for my own blog, I was way too tired. (Again, thank you CFS...always at my side, aren't you?)

Anyway, I've missed you and I see from the ol' blog site posts that yesterday was my one year anniversary. Go figure. Just 6 short months of that, I'd have told you that I had zero interest in writing a blog. However, THAT was before I knew about "all ya' all".  So, in one word....WOW to you, and you, and you, and you, and......    such creativeness.  I just swoon over it.

Also, I'm personally hoping to keep things rolling here on a more regular schedule.  My biggest problem is overcoming the perfection I want to achieve in each and every post.  Do you experience that too?  I want it to be the funniest, the most thought provoking, the most helpful, the most interesting, the wittiest, the most photogenically awesome.....and the list goes on.  Instead, the reality is that sometimes it won't be any of those, and my pictures will most likely stink.  (I am seriously trying to improve those....might mean a new camera, which probably means that it'll be awhile on the awe-inspiring photos.)  But I'm thinking you can always rely on honesty, humor and desire to improve.  I wholeheartedly thank each one of you who have chosen to read along!  I'm honored to have you share my journey with me.

Not yet Practically Spent?  Do so in a reader or via e-mail.

Egg Cups

I probably shouldn't label posts like these as recipes.  Recipes are exact, measurement-by-measurement, precise instructions.  However, the label "recipes" is a lot shorter than "I made this up and threw in a bunch of ingredients about 10 minutes before I knew people in this house were REALLY going to want to start gnawing on some type of food unit and going to get super grumpy".  So, off we go with easy egg cups.

It's kind of WYSWYG...what you see is what you get, but I made them kind of Tex-Mex, so I'll fill you in a bit.  First I put a piece of roast beef (Healthy Ones brand at Super Target doesn't have any nitrates ~ hooray.) in some of the muffin cups. And let me tell you, after having cooked some without such a base, DO NOT DO THAT in metal. Without the meat "crust", it ate my muffin tin in a way that I could not have imagined egg would be capable of doing. So, Mr. Egg obviously needs some sort of security blanket, or he gets very angry and does naughty things.

So back to the roast beef base, or ham or whatever you want....even a rolled out English muffin works...   In a bowl I combined some black beans (canned), along with fresh diced tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, black pepper (or cayenne pepper), garlic powder, and a dash of sea salt.  I added that next to the muffin cups.  Finally, I just cracked an egg on the top of each one and sprinkled shredded cheese to finish it off.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, serve with a veggie and some yummy, crusty bread if you like and you have, once again, fed the troops.

See? Egg eyes and avocado nose and mouth. Yeah, I know. I'm easily amused.

The Last Hurrah of The Birthdays

 

Seven.

7.

We have 4 birthdays almost back-to-back in our small family. My oldest daughter's always marks the end of our "birthday season". Seven is an exciting age to me. I remember seven, and I really liked it. As my friend Kim said, at this age they're not even little kids anymore. They're just kids. I can see where growing up really begins to occur around this time. It's bittersweet.

Seven years ago you changed my entire life in a way that I could have never, ever imagined. You were the missing piece to my puzzle of life.  You are one of the most unique, resourceful, witty and all-around fun people I have ever met.  May you always be as passionate and determined as you are now, for it will take you as far as you choose to go in life.  Although, you're already at the top in my book.

Happy Birthday, kiddo.  I love ya'!!

Thank You For Being A Friend

See this beautiful lady?

This is my mom, and today was her birthday.

I recently read a parenting book that made the point, during one chapter, that parents should not be their childrens' friends. I guess I understood the logic behind it as the author laid out his argument. But I've got to tell you, I don't really believe it. My mom is my best friend, and she has been for as long as I can remember.

I'd have been lost time and time again had it not been for you, Mom. You've provided me with everything I could have ever needed...physically, emotionally and mentally.  I look up to you....always have.  I admire your class, enjoy your humor, appreciate your love, marvel at your abilities, cherish your advice and value our times together.  I'm just so very proud to be your daughter, and I love you more than I'll ever really be able to tell you.

So, today especially, Mom, my hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow.  Thank you for being a friend!!  (click for cute tribute)  Here's to a year of easy sailing, great times and good health!!

Makes my heart smile.....