Its all about the journey...: Another Surgery Under My Belt!!

So, I guess I have been on a blog vacation. Although I absolutely love sharing my thoughts and experiences through my blog, I have been VERY busy since August. For starters, the school year started and I was allowed to start the school year! I was bombarded the first part of August with 25 eager 4th graders that needed a lot of my time and attention inside and out of the classroom to start the year off right. Second, my children are active 1st graders that seem to have one activity after another filling up our schedule. Third, my sister and I planned a wonderful celebration in honor of our parents 40th wedding anniversary. So, as you can see... my blog had to take a back seat for awhile.

My appointment in Memphis was amazing. I was armed with a lot of new ideas and information. The doctors there believe that yes I do have M.S. but that it may not be the only cause of my vision loss. They began the process of attempting to identify if I have a rare disease or infection that I may have carried since childhood. Since I have not traveled to a third world country, that eliminates a lot of ideas. However, you would be amazed at how many things you could contract from domestic animals. I am pleased to confirm however that all of our family pets have been eliminated as suspects! lol To further explain this, being a cat owner comes with several risks. Cats can carry several diseases that may affect vision. Although they are all treatable, they can be difficult to diagnose without very specific testing and blood work. So, now that the animal route has been cleared we are still testing and sorting through ideas.

I was put on a new drug, it is called Methotrexate. It is a oral drug that is widely used for the treatment of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. Since I have not been responding well to the use of steroids and they have been deemed ineffective at treating the inflammation on my left eye, they hope this medication will step in and work. I also get another new doctor, a Rheumatologist, while taking this med and he is very informative and great. His job is to monitor my blood work to make sure that my liver and kidneys continue to function properly as I take this medication.

I had surgery this past Monday to remove a cataract in my right eye (the good eye) and I am pleased to report it was a great success!! Although I have to be off work for a little while to heal from the surgery I can see 20/20 in distance vision from my right eye. I have not been able to see distance for many years without the use of glasses or contacts. The only drawback of the new lens that has been placed is that I lost my near vision. I cannot read or see up close without readers. And, I can still see only light and movement from my left eye. So, I guess I will be like my mom and dad and be searching for my cheaters to read anything or see who is calling me on my phone!! Although I know I am addicted to texting, it has been awful to not be able to read or respond to my friends that have text to check on me!! I had my friend set up an automatic response today that said I cannot read texts. Tragic! Hopefully as the eye heals I will be able to resume my communication with the outside world. Here is a pic of my in my cool eye shield after surgery. I know you are jealous of my hair net, but hey I am still smiling!

On a family note, my parents party was a great time! I am proud that my parents have made it 40 years. These days that seems to be hard to find. It was great to gather with family and friends to celebrate this occasion. The food was great and so was the company! We even had friends from Kansas that made the trip!! So... congrats Mom and Dad, I love you both. And, thank you to my wonderful sister... I loved planning this event with you and getting to spend some quality "sister time" together!

This is the key to making it 40 years... wear matching outfits!