Crazy month...

 On Aug. 31st, I had cataract surgery on my left eye, and the put in a stent to relieve the pressure - I only seem to have high pressure in that one eye right now.  Anyway, the next morning, the pressure was down in the normal range ("16"... it had been 40-ish.  They want it under 20 and get concerned when it reaches about 22 or 23...)  And wow, did it change the vision in that eye!  I couldn't wear my glasses as it made that eye hurt, and I could actually see the TV ok and I was ok to drive, even with my right eye still being so near-sighted!  But then came the holiday weekend.  I got up on Labor day and I could barely see out of the left eye.  It was like I was looking through a super thick fog.  I used my drops and it got a little better but not much.  I took a nap in the afternoon, and it got really bad again, so I called the vision doc's office, even though I had an appointment for surgery on the other eye the next morning.  My thought was "what if there's something I should do?  What if they tell me tomorrow, hey.. you should have called and we would have told you to do this or that?"  Of course, she just told me that they would check it in the morning before they decided if they would proceed with the surgery, and if I suddenly saw a lot of floaters or flashes of light to call back.

So when I went in on Tuesday, they checked the pressure and it was 63!!!!  YIKES.  I have a feeling that was scary-high.  So they put some drops in my eyes and they had me take a whopper dose of diuretics and checked it half an hour later and it came down to 50.  They sent me home (no surgery of course) with 9 days of those diuretics and had me come back Wednesday to check the pressure again, and this time it was down to 25.  They want me to keep taking them and will check it again on Tuesday and decide if/when they will do the other eye, or if they need to find another resolution to the pressure in that eye.  So I felt my life was kind of on hold for a while.  I didn't feel like I could work because a) I need to stay really close to the bathroom because of the diuretics, and b) they also lower my blood pressure, which makes me feel lethargic and (according to them) can even cause me to pass out.  Not a good thing when you are driving!  So I mostly stayed home for a week or so, feeling like no driving for 8 hours a day until I'm off the diuretics!  

Well, when I went back the next week, the pressure was still high, so the right eye is indefinitely on "hold" (which I think it may be by my own choice even when this is resolved) and they scheduled an appointment with a glaucoma specialist for the next week.  Who I really saw was the specialist's assistant, who decided I needed another surgery to remove the stent that isn't doing the job and to more or less remove some spongey material around the eye that they believe is "clogging up" and preventing the needed drainage.  Oh, but she was very careful to make it clear that "this may not work" and that other "procedures" may be necessary to get the pressure down.  In the meantime, of course, nerve damage is occurring... I'm going to call my regular eye doc today and ask just how much faith he has in this group of doctors because I'm feeling a lot less confident in their plan of attack.

Anyway, in the meantime, I decided to give working a try and it worked out just fine.  No need to stop more often for "bathroom breaks", no problem with drowsiness.  And it felt good to get back out there with my work peeps.  The surgery is scheduled for the 7th and I'm sure I'll have to take at least another week off for it.  **Sigh**  I just want this to be over with and get back to my regular life.  Not that it's really impeding my life a lot.  I just have this weird feeling of being in limbo.  I NEED MY GLASSES!!!  I hate not having my glasses and, like I've told friends, it feels like I'm leaving the house having forgotten to put on pants!  I feel naked...  My vision is "good enough" but it's not crystal clear like I'm used to.  Focusing is a chore with one eye with far sight and one with near sight.  I'm trying to keep in mind that if this is the worst life flings at me, I've really got it pretty good!  My hip has been better (knock on wood).  I still have rough days, but I've been having some pretty damn good day - there are times that I barely "gimp" at all!!  I still think I will go through one more round of Soft Wave just to promote continued healing...

Now, other things of concern.  And I'm going to say that this is probably a good problem to have.  I have an old high school friend who is in dire straits all the time.  It's just what her life has evolved to.  She's had a rough life.  Married a MUCH older man who she lost in the 90s which sent her into a spiral of alcoholism. (She has been sober now for years.) She has children and it sounds like she is alienated from at least one of them.  She lives with her only son, who has mental health issues of his own.  She has fibromyalgia and other health issues, a grandson with brain cancer.  It sounds like the house she and her son live in is in a constant state of disrepair, and there are always issues with their vehicle as well.  I'm painting the picture for a reason...

Well, probably a year or so ago, she put out an "SOS" on FB about needing help to get meds she really needed, but there was no money to buy them.  I Venmo'd her some money to help.  And I helped a few other times - no big amounts... most were $50 or less.  Well, the last couple months, she's been contacting me directly through FB and asking for money.  It's almost always "I need meds" or "I need meds and gas to go get the meds"... and it can be as little as $10 or as much as $50.  It's getting to be kind of a regular thing.  Well, I got to thinking about a friend here in Omaha who is also living by the skin of her teeth and she is on Medicaid and does not pay one red cent for anything medical, not even medicine.  No co-pays.  And even if my HS friend is NOT on Iowa's version of Medicaid (which I think there is a version of it even if you are on Medicare), she is definitely on Medicare.  I'm on Medicare and I know that if you're on expensive meds, then you meet your threshold and by this time, most pay nothing for their meds.  So I'm starting to wonder if I'm being played.  And it's not that I think she's out buying drugs or living lavishly on what I send... I'm sure she's "getting by."  She may think "needing meds" sounds more urgent than "hey, I can't pay my light bill".  But I guess I wonder if there may be a few of us that she's "using" to get by.  Like I said at the start of this narrative, this is probably a good problem to have because I can afford to help out.  But I guess I want to know I'm not a patsy!

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So I called my eye doctor and he was able to calm my nerves about this surgery.  He told me the doctor that's going to do this procedure is probably the best in the midwest, and that she knows her shit when it comes to glaucoma... that she talks internationally about it at medical symposiums.  And while I was waiting for him to call me (after having left a message), I thought I might call the institute where my friend Laurie had her cataract surgery done (it's right over here at Nebraska Medicine, literally blocks from my house).  She swears they are "top notch" and I thought I would ask how quickly I could see someone for a second opinion.  Well, when I looked them up, I saw they only had a 3.8 star rating, which seemed unimpressive.  And when I looked up mine (Vance Thompson Vision), it was 4.9 with a LOT more reviews.  Pretty good.  I feel better about it.

Anyway, I should get this one published.  Tomorrow I work the airport - I worked it last Friday, which was also rainy.  Tomorrow is supposed to be VERY rainy.  Goody...