A couple of weeks ago at work the topic of peacocks came up. An odd subject yes, but when you spend many many hours with the same people a pretty wide variety of discussions can arise. One of my fellow cart-pushers is Lyle and, like me, Lyle grew up on a farm. We had actually been talking about snakes when he mentioned that his folks had kept peacocks and guineas on their farm. This piqued my interest because Grandpa Pete and Grandma Gladys had peacocks on their place when I was a young boy, and while I never thought much about it back then, I have since wondered why they had them. I asked Lyle if peacocks ate snakes and he said he wasn’t sure but he thought that snakes didn’t like the sound peacocks make and thus stayed away.
From there, the conversation turned to other topics but the peacocks have been in the back of my mind ever since and today I finally got around to doing a little reading up on them. Peacocks, or Peafowl, are the largest members of the pheasant and turkey family. They originally came from the middle-east, primarily India where they are the national bird. They were brought to this part of the world and were something of a status symbol for the wealthy but eventually became more commonplace. According to what I read, they do indeed eat snakes as well as many types of bugs and are often kept on farms or ranches for that very purpose. Isn’t it interest that 30 years after the peacocks disappeared I finally found out why Grandma and Grandpa had them. I say “disappeared” because I don’t really remember what happened to them. It seems like after Grandma died in ’82 I just don’t remember them being around anymore. It just goes to show, you learn something every day.
In other news, I finally made an appointment to go to Omaha and get my fake eye. That will be on April 2. I had assumed this would take at least two trips to Omaha, one to get measured or whatever it is they do, and then another to have the finished eye inserted. However, I found out that this guy does it all in one day. I’ll see the doctor in the morning, he’ll make the eye right there that day in about 3 hours, then we’ll go back later on so he can put it in. I’m sure we can find something to do in Omaha for 3 hours while we wait. I keep calling this an eye but, as I may have mentioned before, it’s really no more than a lens or a covering. I have an eye-shaped implant in right now and that will stay. Since my surgery the implant has been covered by a clear lens, something like a very thick and hard contact lens. That lens will be removed, it just pops out like a contact, and will be replaced by a similar lens that will painted to match my good eye. Since the implant is attached to my own muscles, it moves with my good eye and so the prosthesis will move with it giving it what I am told will be a very natural look. Anyway it will be good to finally have that done.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. ESV
Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. ESV
Showing posts with label Omaha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Omaha. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Monday, December 10, 2012
Journal - More Eye Trouble
So on Monday I had a short shift at Walmart, 10am to 3pm. When I woke up that morning my eye was still sore and there was a noticeable spot almost directly on the center of the eye. Also there was a lot of redness around the eye. If you recall from my last post this was my left eye, the one I can’t see out of. Throughout my five hour shift that day my eye started hurting more and more and by the time I got off at 3:00 it was hurting quite a lot. While driving home I had to put on my sunglasses because the light was bothering me, something I haven’t had to do in a long time. My left eye has no light perception at all, but even when one eye is blind the eyes kind of work and react to things together.
As soon as I got home I took some Aleve for the pain and called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha. They scheduled me for an appointment for the next day, Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Dr. Feilmeier confirmed my suspicion that the eye was infected. He also confirmed what I already knew, that this was a particularly aggressive infection, having come on and advanced so quickly. I’ve had lots of eye infections but this one did come on rather suddenly. He put me on Trifluridine drops, which are specifically for the herpetic infection that I typically get and also Zymaxid, which is a more general type of antibiotic. He said he wanted to see me again on Saturday. Thinking this was an odd day for an appointment I questioned him and he said he was on call that day and would be seeing patients in the morning. Apparently his office keeps someone on call every weekend and it happened to be his turn. He also mentioned the possibility of coming in for surgery sometime to have my useless left eye removed completely. I didn’t like the sound of that very much but agreed to give it some thought, although frankly I wasn’t thinking about it very seriously and was more focused on getting this infection taken care of. Obviously this infection posed no direct threat to my vision but there is always the possibility of an infection moving from one eye to the other.
Wednesday I was off again, which was good. I had another short shift on Thursday and a long one on Friday. As we get nearer to Christmas business is picking up at Walmart so even the typically slow weekdays are getting kind of busy. I was still taking Aleve regularly during this time to keep the pain under control and so wasn’t really feeling it much.
On Saturday it was back to Omaha. Dr. Feilmeier said the infection was no better and maybe even worse. Since it wasn’t responding to the eye drops he took cultures of it. At this time he told me that we should get that surgery done as soon as possible, preferably early the following week. That really floored me as I had really thought I would have plenty of time to think that over and get my mind wrapped around it. It makes a lot of sense to have that eye removed; it will never see again and it will probably just sit there and cause me problems for as long as I have it. Also getting it removed and having a prosthesis put in would improve my appearance a lot although I’ve never been much bothered by that. It makes a lot of sense logically but still it bothered me a lot that I would be losing a part of myself. There was still a small part of me that was hoping for some medical breakthrough that would allow them to fix that eye someday. A longshot I know, but there it is. Having the eye removed sounded very final to me.
Well, that decision was taken out of my hands. This infection was very serious and Dr. Feilmeier was afraid it would go completely through the cornea and get inside the eye, which would cause even more serious complications. It needed to be done, and it needed to be done quickly. He said someone would get in touch with me early the following week to schedule the surgery.
Sunday I worked 12 to 5 and it was bitterly cold and windy. I did okay though. I had my overalls and a sweatshirt and coat. I wore my boots with thermal socks, kept my hood up to protect my ears, and had a neck warmer that I can pull up over my mouth and nose. My hands got a little cold, I may need better gloves for days like that, and by about 4pm my toes were getting cold, but I made it through. Oh, I also had some hot cider in a new thermos that I had bought just for the occasion. That helped a lot.
Today, Monday, I am off again and sure enough, they called at about 9:30am. I had been thinking they would want to schedule me later in the week, maybe Thursday or Friday, but no, they want me in on Tuesday, tomorrow. Wow. Completely discombobulated once again I asked if it could be later in the week and the nurse said she would check on it and call me back.
I took a few minutes to talk to Joni about it, and my mom, and to calm myself down. After that I figured it was pointless to fight the inevitable and we may as well get it over with. I’m as ready to do it as I will ever be, I only put the nurse off because I needed a little time. This has all happened so suddenly and I’ve never been very spontaneous. I like to think and plan.
Not much later, Dr. Feilmeier called me personally to urge me to get this done quickly. I told him I was okay with it, I had just needed a little time to think and talk with people. So it’s on for tomorrow at 1pm.
This afternoon I have to go to Kearney and get another pre-op physical. I called the Doctor and they can get me in at 2:30. In fact, I need to go get ready for that so I’ll sign off for now and hopefully write a little more later.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. ESV
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ESV
As soon as I got home I took some Aleve for the pain and called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha. They scheduled me for an appointment for the next day, Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Dr. Feilmeier confirmed my suspicion that the eye was infected. He also confirmed what I already knew, that this was a particularly aggressive infection, having come on and advanced so quickly. I’ve had lots of eye infections but this one did come on rather suddenly. He put me on Trifluridine drops, which are specifically for the herpetic infection that I typically get and also Zymaxid, which is a more general type of antibiotic. He said he wanted to see me again on Saturday. Thinking this was an odd day for an appointment I questioned him and he said he was on call that day and would be seeing patients in the morning. Apparently his office keeps someone on call every weekend and it happened to be his turn. He also mentioned the possibility of coming in for surgery sometime to have my useless left eye removed completely. I didn’t like the sound of that very much but agreed to give it some thought, although frankly I wasn’t thinking about it very seriously and was more focused on getting this infection taken care of. Obviously this infection posed no direct threat to my vision but there is always the possibility of an infection moving from one eye to the other.
Wednesday I was off again, which was good. I had another short shift on Thursday and a long one on Friday. As we get nearer to Christmas business is picking up at Walmart so even the typically slow weekdays are getting kind of busy. I was still taking Aleve regularly during this time to keep the pain under control and so wasn’t really feeling it much.
On Saturday it was back to Omaha. Dr. Feilmeier said the infection was no better and maybe even worse. Since it wasn’t responding to the eye drops he took cultures of it. At this time he told me that we should get that surgery done as soon as possible, preferably early the following week. That really floored me as I had really thought I would have plenty of time to think that over and get my mind wrapped around it. It makes a lot of sense to have that eye removed; it will never see again and it will probably just sit there and cause me problems for as long as I have it. Also getting it removed and having a prosthesis put in would improve my appearance a lot although I’ve never been much bothered by that. It makes a lot of sense logically but still it bothered me a lot that I would be losing a part of myself. There was still a small part of me that was hoping for some medical breakthrough that would allow them to fix that eye someday. A longshot I know, but there it is. Having the eye removed sounded very final to me.
Well, that decision was taken out of my hands. This infection was very serious and Dr. Feilmeier was afraid it would go completely through the cornea and get inside the eye, which would cause even more serious complications. It needed to be done, and it needed to be done quickly. He said someone would get in touch with me early the following week to schedule the surgery.
Sunday I worked 12 to 5 and it was bitterly cold and windy. I did okay though. I had my overalls and a sweatshirt and coat. I wore my boots with thermal socks, kept my hood up to protect my ears, and had a neck warmer that I can pull up over my mouth and nose. My hands got a little cold, I may need better gloves for days like that, and by about 4pm my toes were getting cold, but I made it through. Oh, I also had some hot cider in a new thermos that I had bought just for the occasion. That helped a lot.
Today, Monday, I am off again and sure enough, they called at about 9:30am. I had been thinking they would want to schedule me later in the week, maybe Thursday or Friday, but no, they want me in on Tuesday, tomorrow. Wow. Completely discombobulated once again I asked if it could be later in the week and the nurse said she would check on it and call me back.
I took a few minutes to talk to Joni about it, and my mom, and to calm myself down. After that I figured it was pointless to fight the inevitable and we may as well get it over with. I’m as ready to do it as I will ever be, I only put the nurse off because I needed a little time. This has all happened so suddenly and I’ve never been very spontaneous. I like to think and plan.
Not much later, Dr. Feilmeier called me personally to urge me to get this done quickly. I told him I was okay with it, I had just needed a little time to think and talk with people. So it’s on for tomorrow at 1pm.
This afternoon I have to go to Kearney and get another pre-op physical. I called the Doctor and they can get me in at 2:30. In fact, I need to go get ready for that so I’ll sign off for now and hopefully write a little more later.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. ESV
Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” ESV
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Journal - Walmart Wanderings Week 6
Well I haven’t written for a while, have I? I keep telling myself that if I would just write a little a couple of times a week then I wouldn’t have to cover so much ground each time and I would be better able to remember what I’m trying to write about. Time just gets away from me, especially since I started working again.
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been working at Walmart for 6 weeks now. The first few weeks were pretty rough, as I have mentioned, with my legs being pretty sore all the time. During the last couple of weeks though, they have finally been catching up with the demand I’m placing on them. While I’m at work they don’t really bother me at all. As long as I keep moving that is. When I take my breaks and sit down for a few minutes then they hurt again when I get back up, but it only takes a minute for them to loosen up again. At home in the evenings they really tighten up on me and it hurts to walk but even that is getting better.
On the weekend of October 20 and 21 I started feeling a cold coming on. I was hoping to just get through Monday and Tuesday and then I had the day off on Wednesday. Well, I did get through and sure enough on Wednesday I felt pretty miserable. Unfortunately, I still felt pretty bad on Thursday and I had to call in sick. Thursday was one of our coldest days yet and I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to work in the cold all day when I was already sick. But after two days of Joni’s chicken-noodle soup I was ready to go back on Friday. I expected kind of a rough day on Friday but I actually felt pretty good that day and on Saturday as well. So I got over my cold without too much trouble.
I think it was that weekend that I started noticing a red spot in my eye. That didn’t concern me very much because that same spot gets red now and by the next day it’s usually gone. This time, however, the redness didn’t go away and by Tuesday I decided I better call the doctor. This was October 30. I called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha to find out what day he was coming in November and they said the 8th, more than a week away. I told them what was going on with my eye and the nurse said I should really get it checked out as soon as possible, but instead of asking me to come to Omaha, which is kind of what I expected, she offered to call the Kearney Eye Institute and see if someone there could get me in. She called me back a bit later and said she had gotten me an appointment with Dr. Vaughan, the same doctor who did my glasses back in July, on Thursday, November 1. That was fine with me as it saved me a trip to Omaha.
I saw Dr. Vaughan on Thursday and the report was good. There was no sign of any infection, and the sutures all looked okay. I had been thinking that one of those sutures came loose again and an infection was starting since that has happened before. Dr. Vaughan said the redness was because my eye is very dry. With cold weather coming on, the air is getting more and more dry all the time, and now that I’m working outdoors I’ll probably feel it even more this winter. Dr. Vaughan recommended some lubricant drops, commonly called “tears”, which you can get over-the-counter. Joni and I stopped at Walgreen’s on the way home and picked some up, both of us thinking that we had really dodged a bullet that time.
So all was well until Monday evening, the 5th of November. At a little after 5pm on Monday, one of Dr. Feilmeier’s assistants called from the office in Omaha. She said that Dr. Feilmeier had just seen the notes and results from my visit to Dr. Vaughan and he wanted to see me right away, as in the next day. I was so flabbergasted that I didn’t even think to ask her what Dr. Feilmeier had seen that got him so anxious. She wanted me to set an appointment for the next day but I honestly couldn’t think what to do. I was totally caught off-guard and I was supposed to work the next day and everything. I finally told her that I would call back in the morning. Mind you, I already had an appointment to see Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney on Thursday the 8th. Well I though it over for a couple of hours and finally decided I would have to go. Dr. Feilmeier hasn’t let me down yet and I trust him.
On Tuesday morning I called his office and told them I was on my way. Then I called in at Walmart yet again and we got ready to go. Dr. Feilmeier wasn’t in until 1pm that day so we didn’t have to hurry too much, but it was Election Day and I wanted to stop by and vote on our way out. The polling place for our area is about 7 miles east of our house so it wasn’t really out of the way that much. Also, up until this year, I have never voted before and really wanted to do it this time. I had wanted to in 2008 but didn’t get registered in time. We left the house at about 9:30am I think, stopped by to vote, and we were on our way.
This post is getting pretty long so I’ll cut to the chase. Dr. Feilmeier said pretty much the same thing Dr. Vaughan had said a few days before. We weren’t there very long and were back on the road heading home. In some ways it felt like a wasted trip, but some things are worth being extra careful with, and one of those things is your eyesight. So I have to keep putting those tears in my eyes several times a day, but everything is fine and my eyesight is still good. Today was my day off so I got to relax and do some fun things, which I will be writing about soon.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ESV
Matthew 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ESV
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been working at Walmart for 6 weeks now. The first few weeks were pretty rough, as I have mentioned, with my legs being pretty sore all the time. During the last couple of weeks though, they have finally been catching up with the demand I’m placing on them. While I’m at work they don’t really bother me at all. As long as I keep moving that is. When I take my breaks and sit down for a few minutes then they hurt again when I get back up, but it only takes a minute for them to loosen up again. At home in the evenings they really tighten up on me and it hurts to walk but even that is getting better.
On the weekend of October 20 and 21 I started feeling a cold coming on. I was hoping to just get through Monday and Tuesday and then I had the day off on Wednesday. Well, I did get through and sure enough on Wednesday I felt pretty miserable. Unfortunately, I still felt pretty bad on Thursday and I had to call in sick. Thursday was one of our coldest days yet and I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to work in the cold all day when I was already sick. But after two days of Joni’s chicken-noodle soup I was ready to go back on Friday. I expected kind of a rough day on Friday but I actually felt pretty good that day and on Saturday as well. So I got over my cold without too much trouble.
I think it was that weekend that I started noticing a red spot in my eye. That didn’t concern me very much because that same spot gets red now and by the next day it’s usually gone. This time, however, the redness didn’t go away and by Tuesday I decided I better call the doctor. This was October 30. I called Dr. Feilmeier’s office in Omaha to find out what day he was coming in November and they said the 8th, more than a week away. I told them what was going on with my eye and the nurse said I should really get it checked out as soon as possible, but instead of asking me to come to Omaha, which is kind of what I expected, she offered to call the Kearney Eye Institute and see if someone there could get me in. She called me back a bit later and said she had gotten me an appointment with Dr. Vaughan, the same doctor who did my glasses back in July, on Thursday, November 1. That was fine with me as it saved me a trip to Omaha.
I saw Dr. Vaughan on Thursday and the report was good. There was no sign of any infection, and the sutures all looked okay. I had been thinking that one of those sutures came loose again and an infection was starting since that has happened before. Dr. Vaughan said the redness was because my eye is very dry. With cold weather coming on, the air is getting more and more dry all the time, and now that I’m working outdoors I’ll probably feel it even more this winter. Dr. Vaughan recommended some lubricant drops, commonly called “tears”, which you can get over-the-counter. Joni and I stopped at Walgreen’s on the way home and picked some up, both of us thinking that we had really dodged a bullet that time.
So all was well until Monday evening, the 5th of November. At a little after 5pm on Monday, one of Dr. Feilmeier’s assistants called from the office in Omaha. She said that Dr. Feilmeier had just seen the notes and results from my visit to Dr. Vaughan and he wanted to see me right away, as in the next day. I was so flabbergasted that I didn’t even think to ask her what Dr. Feilmeier had seen that got him so anxious. She wanted me to set an appointment for the next day but I honestly couldn’t think what to do. I was totally caught off-guard and I was supposed to work the next day and everything. I finally told her that I would call back in the morning. Mind you, I already had an appointment to see Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney on Thursday the 8th. Well I though it over for a couple of hours and finally decided I would have to go. Dr. Feilmeier hasn’t let me down yet and I trust him.
On Tuesday morning I called his office and told them I was on my way. Then I called in at Walmart yet again and we got ready to go. Dr. Feilmeier wasn’t in until 1pm that day so we didn’t have to hurry too much, but it was Election Day and I wanted to stop by and vote on our way out. The polling place for our area is about 7 miles east of our house so it wasn’t really out of the way that much. Also, up until this year, I have never voted before and really wanted to do it this time. I had wanted to in 2008 but didn’t get registered in time. We left the house at about 9:30am I think, stopped by to vote, and we were on our way.
This post is getting pretty long so I’ll cut to the chase. Dr. Feilmeier said pretty much the same thing Dr. Vaughan had said a few days before. We weren’t there very long and were back on the road heading home. In some ways it felt like a wasted trip, but some things are worth being extra careful with, and one of those things is your eyesight. So I have to keep putting those tears in my eyes several times a day, but everything is fine and my eyesight is still good. Today was my day off so I got to relax and do some fun things, which I will be writing about soon.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ESV
Matthew 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ESV
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Journal - Fire and Rain
After working in and around the house on Monday, Joni and I took Tuesday to relax and rest in anticipation of our next trip to Omaha on Wednesday.
Wednesday morning was gray and rainy as we left at our usual time of about 7:15am. We drove in the rain until somewhere around Grand Island and the rest of the trip was cloudy but dry.
There wasn’t much news from the doctor that day. He said the spot in my eye was unchanged or maybe a little bit improved. His assistant called the lab to see if there were any results from the previous week’s cultures, but still nothing. He said I could stop using the Vancomycin and Viroptic drops. I was glad about that because that only left me with three different drops to use, and the two he discontinued were the most irritating of the lot. I’m now just using Natymycin, Pred-forte, and Zymaxid four times a day each. It was a quick visit and we were back on the road. Somewhere around Grand Island we found the rain again right where we had left it. The trip home was uneventful and we arrived at about 3:30pm, making pretty good time. During this trip, Joni and I finished an audiobook called “The Probability of Miracles” that we had been listening to in the car, and also go through a short play called “End Days”. Both were very good and you can find the reviews coming up soon at Audiobook-Heaven (wink).
The real excitement came later that evening. Joni and I stepped out the back door with Sassie for her last trip outside before bed. As we were waiting for Sassie to do her business we heard a pretty loud WOOMP sound. It sounded like a pretty big fire going up and we looked around to see what had happened. We have a neighbor just to the north of us and in his windows we saw the flames. It only took a moment to realize, however, that his house was not burning, the flames were actually being reflected in the glass from somewhere to our south. We went out toward the road and sure enough, there was a huge fire blazing about a quarter of a mile up the road although we couldn’t tell exactly what was burning. There is a house down there and a lot of woods. The fire looked to be near where we thought the house was but we just couldn’t tell.
I ran into the house for my phone and called 911 as quick as I could. I remembered a house fire we had witnessed not too far from here about a year and a half ago and remembered how long it took the fire department to get there, being several miles from the nearest town. I had a little trouble with 911. My call went through to Buffalo County emergency services but when I gave my address the lady had to transfer me to Kearney County. When Kearney County picked up I gave the information again and she said she would have to transfer me to Buffalo County. I started to tell her I had just spoken to them but the Buffalo County lady was still on the line. They discussed it for a minute deciding whose territory it was and finally decided to send units from Gibbon and Minden.
That taken care of, Joni and I hopped in the truck and drove down to the fire to see if any help was needed. As we approached, we saw a car crossing the road from the fire to the house on the other side so we pulled in behind it. I asked if everything was okay over there and he said yes, the guy was just burning his brush pile. At ten o’clock at night, apparently with a large amount of gasoline or something. Well it had rained a bit that day so I guess his brush pile was all wet. The man I was talking to said he had heard my call on the scanner and I suppose he went over there to warn the guy. I got the impression that they knew each other and that my call was probably not appreciated.
So we went on back home. 10 or 15 minutes later a police car came down the road, lights and siren blazing. A few minutes after that the fire trucks began to arrive from Gibbon. There were maybe 4 or 5 in all plus an ambulance. Minden never did arrive and I assume they were called off. Even though it was a false alarm of sorts, the trucks were up there for about 45 minutes before they started pulling away again. I don’t know if they waited for it to go down or if they put it out or what. I hope nobody got in trouble for any illegal burning or something, but I don’t feel sorry for calling. For all we knew that could have been his house blazing down there.
And that was our exciting day. Omaha seemed like something from a dream after all that. It was kind of a scary deal but God was watching over and everything turned out okay.
Psalms 3:3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. ESV
Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." ESV
Wednesday morning was gray and rainy as we left at our usual time of about 7:15am. We drove in the rain until somewhere around Grand Island and the rest of the trip was cloudy but dry.
There wasn’t much news from the doctor that day. He said the spot in my eye was unchanged or maybe a little bit improved. His assistant called the lab to see if there were any results from the previous week’s cultures, but still nothing. He said I could stop using the Vancomycin and Viroptic drops. I was glad about that because that only left me with three different drops to use, and the two he discontinued were the most irritating of the lot. I’m now just using Natymycin, Pred-forte, and Zymaxid four times a day each. It was a quick visit and we were back on the road. Somewhere around Grand Island we found the rain again right where we had left it. The trip home was uneventful and we arrived at about 3:30pm, making pretty good time. During this trip, Joni and I finished an audiobook called “The Probability of Miracles” that we had been listening to in the car, and also go through a short play called “End Days”. Both were very good and you can find the reviews coming up soon at Audiobook-Heaven (wink).
The real excitement came later that evening. Joni and I stepped out the back door with Sassie for her last trip outside before bed. As we were waiting for Sassie to do her business we heard a pretty loud WOOMP sound. It sounded like a pretty big fire going up and we looked around to see what had happened. We have a neighbor just to the north of us and in his windows we saw the flames. It only took a moment to realize, however, that his house was not burning, the flames were actually being reflected in the glass from somewhere to our south. We went out toward the road and sure enough, there was a huge fire blazing about a quarter of a mile up the road although we couldn’t tell exactly what was burning. There is a house down there and a lot of woods. The fire looked to be near where we thought the house was but we just couldn’t tell.
I ran into the house for my phone and called 911 as quick as I could. I remembered a house fire we had witnessed not too far from here about a year and a half ago and remembered how long it took the fire department to get there, being several miles from the nearest town. I had a little trouble with 911. My call went through to Buffalo County emergency services but when I gave my address the lady had to transfer me to Kearney County. When Kearney County picked up I gave the information again and she said she would have to transfer me to Buffalo County. I started to tell her I had just spoken to them but the Buffalo County lady was still on the line. They discussed it for a minute deciding whose territory it was and finally decided to send units from Gibbon and Minden.
That taken care of, Joni and I hopped in the truck and drove down to the fire to see if any help was needed. As we approached, we saw a car crossing the road from the fire to the house on the other side so we pulled in behind it. I asked if everything was okay over there and he said yes, the guy was just burning his brush pile. At ten o’clock at night, apparently with a large amount of gasoline or something. Well it had rained a bit that day so I guess his brush pile was all wet. The man I was talking to said he had heard my call on the scanner and I suppose he went over there to warn the guy. I got the impression that they knew each other and that my call was probably not appreciated.
So we went on back home. 10 or 15 minutes later a police car came down the road, lights and siren blazing. A few minutes after that the fire trucks began to arrive from Gibbon. There were maybe 4 or 5 in all plus an ambulance. Minden never did arrive and I assume they were called off. Even though it was a false alarm of sorts, the trucks were up there for about 45 minutes before they started pulling away again. I don’t know if they waited for it to go down or if they put it out or what. I hope nobody got in trouble for any illegal burning or something, but I don’t feel sorry for calling. For all we knew that could have been his house blazing down there.
And that was our exciting day. Omaha seemed like something from a dream after all that. It was kind of a scary deal but God was watching over and everything turned out okay.
Psalms 3:3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. ESV
Isaiah 43:2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." ESV
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Journal - Flat Tire
Last Thursday we were off to Omaha again for my next visit to the eye doctor. It had been a week since our last trip so we were feeling fairly rested and hopeful for a good report.
The day started off very, very foggy. We left at about 7:15am and had thick fog but it only lasted until around Grand Island, thirty minutes into our trip. Then it began to lift and the rest of the day was cloudy and cool.
We got to the doctor’s at about 10:45, just in time for my appointment. They took us in pretty fast so we didn’t have to wait around. The doctor took a look and said that the infection appears to be healing a little but it’s obviously not responding as quickly as he or I would like. He decided to take some more cultures. He’s already treating my eye for just about every possible problem, something that is called “throwing the kitchen sink at it” in medical jargon, but he just wanted to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. Unfortunately, one of the culture kits wasn’t present in the office at the time and someone had to go get one from one of the other offices he keeps hours in. That meant a wait of about an hour.
We had already eaten breakfast on the way there so we waited at the office, watching tv in the waiting area. I’m a little ashamed to say it but I started getting kind of grumpy as soon as Doc said we would have to wait. And as the hour passed my mood grew worse and worse. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, I just kept thinking how our long trip just got an hour longer.
Anyway, at 12:30 they called us back in and Doc took the cultures. If you’re unfamiliar with this process, as many of you are I suppose, this involves a numbing drop on the eye and then a physical rubbing or scraping over the infected spot with a tool called a spatula. Picture someone scraping your eye with a hamburger flipper. No, it’s not that bad, the spatula is small, about the size of an artist’s small paintbrush. He repeats the process four or five times to get multiple samples to send to the lab, then an iodine drop goes in to make sure the eye is disinfected. I don’t feel it at all, but after the numbing drop wears off my eye is pretty sore and irritated the rest of the day. That didn’t take very long and then we were on our way home.
The trip home was fine up until about 20 miles east of York when we got a flat. We heard a loud noise coming from the rear of the car and Joni got us pulled over right away but of course the tire was already completely shredded. Not much you can do about that at 70 miles per hour. We got out and I put the spare on, about another 30 minutes of delay. Friendly reminder here folks, if you see a car in the break-down lane changing a tire, please pull over into the passing lane. The spare felt a little low and that caused me a few moments of disquiet, but it got us the remaining 20 miles into York where we stopped and filled it up proper. Another friendly note, the Shell station at York has free air, something you hardly ever see these days. Tire taken care of, we filled up the gas tank and grabbed a bite to eat. Then we crossed our fingers that the spare would get us the remaining hour of our journey home, which it did with no problem at all.
So our long day ended. With the day behind me I finally had time to stop and reflect on things a little bit; put things in perspective. I can think of about a hundred different things that could have made that day so much worse. A flat spare, no spare, a broken jack, an accident during the tire change, I could go on and on. God delivered us from all of that. As I thought about that I started feeling pretty bad about my sour mood over the hour wait at the doctor. God is always pretty good about helping us keep things in perspective. What an awesome God He is!
Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand." ESV
Isaiah 40:28 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable." ESV
The day started off very, very foggy. We left at about 7:15am and had thick fog but it only lasted until around Grand Island, thirty minutes into our trip. Then it began to lift and the rest of the day was cloudy and cool.
We got to the doctor’s at about 10:45, just in time for my appointment. They took us in pretty fast so we didn’t have to wait around. The doctor took a look and said that the infection appears to be healing a little but it’s obviously not responding as quickly as he or I would like. He decided to take some more cultures. He’s already treating my eye for just about every possible problem, something that is called “throwing the kitchen sink at it” in medical jargon, but he just wanted to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. Unfortunately, one of the culture kits wasn’t present in the office at the time and someone had to go get one from one of the other offices he keeps hours in. That meant a wait of about an hour.
We had already eaten breakfast on the way there so we waited at the office, watching tv in the waiting area. I’m a little ashamed to say it but I started getting kind of grumpy as soon as Doc said we would have to wait. And as the hour passed my mood grew worse and worse. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, I just kept thinking how our long trip just got an hour longer.
Anyway, at 12:30 they called us back in and Doc took the cultures. If you’re unfamiliar with this process, as many of you are I suppose, this involves a numbing drop on the eye and then a physical rubbing or scraping over the infected spot with a tool called a spatula. Picture someone scraping your eye with a hamburger flipper. No, it’s not that bad, the spatula is small, about the size of an artist’s small paintbrush. He repeats the process four or five times to get multiple samples to send to the lab, then an iodine drop goes in to make sure the eye is disinfected. I don’t feel it at all, but after the numbing drop wears off my eye is pretty sore and irritated the rest of the day. That didn’t take very long and then we were on our way home.
The trip home was fine up until about 20 miles east of York when we got a flat. We heard a loud noise coming from the rear of the car and Joni got us pulled over right away but of course the tire was already completely shredded. Not much you can do about that at 70 miles per hour. We got out and I put the spare on, about another 30 minutes of delay. Friendly reminder here folks, if you see a car in the break-down lane changing a tire, please pull over into the passing lane. The spare felt a little low and that caused me a few moments of disquiet, but it got us the remaining 20 miles into York where we stopped and filled it up proper. Another friendly note, the Shell station at York has free air, something you hardly ever see these days. Tire taken care of, we filled up the gas tank and grabbed a bite to eat. Then we crossed our fingers that the spare would get us the remaining hour of our journey home, which it did with no problem at all.
So our long day ended. With the day behind me I finally had time to stop and reflect on things a little bit; put things in perspective. I can think of about a hundred different things that could have made that day so much worse. A flat spare, no spare, a broken jack, an accident during the tire change, I could go on and on. God delivered us from all of that. As I thought about that I started feeling pretty bad about my sour mood over the hour wait at the doctor. God is always pretty good about helping us keep things in perspective. What an awesome God He is!
Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand." ESV
Isaiah 40:28 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable." ESV
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Journal - Infection
I guess I have a little catching up to do, so here goes.
I had an appointment with Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney on March 8. Two or three days before that I started noticing some things in my eye. I’ve been down the infection road quite a few times and know most of the signs by heart: a little more redness than usual, a little more light sensitivity than usual. So I was pretty sure there was an infection starting up but since I already had an appointment I decided to wait until then and let Doc take a look at it.
On March 8, Doc confirmed my suspicions and said that one of my sutures had loosened and allowed an infection to set in. We are now five months out from surgery and under normal circumstances the sutures would have probably been out by now, but Doc had told me right from the start that he would leave mine in much longer to give the cornea some extra stability while it healed completely. This being because of my history of problems and the fact that I only have one eye, “Driving on the spare.” As Doc so eloquently phrases it,
Doc gave me two new eye drops to use, Zymaxid and Vancomycin. Zymaxid is kind of a general bacterial antibiotic which I had used for a while following surgery. Vancomycin is a bit more potent and is also used to treat bacterial infections. The Zymaxid is common and can be picked up at most any pharmacy but the Vancomycin is a special solution that has to be made to order. The doctor’s assistant called around Kearney and couldn’t find any pharmacist that could make it but finally found one in Holdrege so we had to drive over to Holdrege to pick that one up.
After giving me my instructions Doc said he wanted to see me again the following Monday (as I expected) which meant a trip to Omaha. I further expected that it would take more than just one trip to Omaha but that remained to be seen.
So on Monday the 12th we headed out bright and early for the big city. Not quite bright and early enough though, we got there half an hour late for my appointment and the doctor had already left the office. Dr. Feilmeier keeps hours at three different offices in Omaha, all Midwest Eye Care locations. Two are in Omaha and the other is across the state line in Council Bluffs. The Council Bluffs location is where he had afternoon hours that day so we made arrangements to go over there and see him. Luckily that office is only another 8 miles east of where we were.
We got there with no trouble and Doc took a look at my eye. He said things didn’t look much better but not much worse either. He made some slight adjustments to my regimen of drops and said to come back on Wednesday. I like Dr. Feilmeier a lot, he always seems so apologetic knowing that these are long trips for us, but he is very frank about the need to get things under control as quickly as possible and I agree with him completely on that. He’s a good doctor and it’s clear to me that he really cares about the outcome of all this.
Wednesday morning we left early again and made it on time for my appointment. On this visit Doc told me that in addition to the cold sore virus there was another spot in my eye and he wasn’t really sure what it was. He took some cultures of it to send to the lab to be identified. In the meantime he gave me a prescription for another drop called Viroptic, the generic form being Trifluridine, which I am very familiar with. The infection that I had a lot of trouble with several years ago was a herpes simplex virus. It’s not the sexually transmitted type of herpes, but rather the kind that causes cold sores. Trifluridine is used to combat that type of virus. As was explained to me years ago, there’s no cure for this type of virus, all you can do is try to keep it from flaring up. Since my surgery in October, I’ve been taking a pill called Acyclovir for that very reason. I was taking 400mg twice a day, so on this visit Doc upped it to 800mg five times a day. So by this time I had four kinds of drops and the pills. Doc said he wanted to see me again on Wednesday so we trudged home knowing that we would be back in two days. On our way, we stopped at the University pharmacy to pick up the Trifluridine. That was only a few blocks from the office.
By then Joni’s back was starting to give her some trouble so I made arrangements with Mom so she could drive me on Friday. On this day Doc said that the herpetic virus was completely cleared up, but the other spot was still there, no better and no worse. He called the lab to see if there were any results on the cultures yet, but so far nothing. He said those can take up to two weeks to show anything. By this time he was thinking that this other spot might be fungal so he gave me two more prescriptions: a drop called Natycyn and a pill called Doxycycline, both of which are for fungal infections. That brought the total up to five drops and two pills, the drops being used 6 times a day each. Quite a regimen. We stopped at the pharmacy again to pick those up and then headed back home with another appointment for the following Monday.
On Monday the 19th there was still no change and still no results from the cultures. Doc reduced all my drops to four times a day and sent us home with an appointment for Thursday.
On Tuesday, the doctor’s scheduler called and said he would have an emergency surgery on Thursday morning and that we would have to reschedule. So the appointment got pushed back to Friday at 11 am.
Friday came and still no change and still no culture results. Doc seemed okay with the fact that the spot was not going away because it wasn’t getting any worse either. As far as the cultures went, even though it hadn’t been two weeks yet, he seemed satisfied that this was probably not fungal in nature and said that it may just be an inflammatory reaction due to my allergies and such, this being allergy season. So out came the old prescription pad once again, this time for Prednisone, which I have talked about before. Prednisone reduces inflammation and is very good for clearing up my lungs, sinuses, and skin, although I’ve never had it prescribed for my eyes before. Since everything seemed stable, my next appointment is for Thursday the 29th.
We always stop at York on the way home for a late lunch or early supper, but since Friday was Joni’s 32nd birthday, she wanted to stop at the York Walmart as well to spend some of her birthday money. We dropped off my prescription at the pharmacy and then shopped for a bit. Joni got herself some flowers to plant outside, and she also bought t-shirts and work gloves for Adam and me. Apparently what she really wanted for her birthday was for me and Adam to be comfortable while we work out in the yard.
So that’s where we stand right now. Through all this God has been with us, giving us safe travels, keeping our aging car running beautifully, and providing financial help for all that gas through family and church. I am confident that he has a purpose in al this, maybe just to remind us that He is always in control, a reminder that I seem to need rather frequently. Whatever the case may be, I know that everything is working out according to His plan and that He will take care of everything as He always does.
Psalms 136:16 "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." ESV
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
I had an appointment with Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney on March 8. Two or three days before that I started noticing some things in my eye. I’ve been down the infection road quite a few times and know most of the signs by heart: a little more redness than usual, a little more light sensitivity than usual. So I was pretty sure there was an infection starting up but since I already had an appointment I decided to wait until then and let Doc take a look at it.
On March 8, Doc confirmed my suspicions and said that one of my sutures had loosened and allowed an infection to set in. We are now five months out from surgery and under normal circumstances the sutures would have probably been out by now, but Doc had told me right from the start that he would leave mine in much longer to give the cornea some extra stability while it healed completely. This being because of my history of problems and the fact that I only have one eye, “Driving on the spare.” As Doc so eloquently phrases it,
Doc gave me two new eye drops to use, Zymaxid and Vancomycin. Zymaxid is kind of a general bacterial antibiotic which I had used for a while following surgery. Vancomycin is a bit more potent and is also used to treat bacterial infections. The Zymaxid is common and can be picked up at most any pharmacy but the Vancomycin is a special solution that has to be made to order. The doctor’s assistant called around Kearney and couldn’t find any pharmacist that could make it but finally found one in Holdrege so we had to drive over to Holdrege to pick that one up.
After giving me my instructions Doc said he wanted to see me again the following Monday (as I expected) which meant a trip to Omaha. I further expected that it would take more than just one trip to Omaha but that remained to be seen.
So on Monday the 12th we headed out bright and early for the big city. Not quite bright and early enough though, we got there half an hour late for my appointment and the doctor had already left the office. Dr. Feilmeier keeps hours at three different offices in Omaha, all Midwest Eye Care locations. Two are in Omaha and the other is across the state line in Council Bluffs. The Council Bluffs location is where he had afternoon hours that day so we made arrangements to go over there and see him. Luckily that office is only another 8 miles east of where we were.
We got there with no trouble and Doc took a look at my eye. He said things didn’t look much better but not much worse either. He made some slight adjustments to my regimen of drops and said to come back on Wednesday. I like Dr. Feilmeier a lot, he always seems so apologetic knowing that these are long trips for us, but he is very frank about the need to get things under control as quickly as possible and I agree with him completely on that. He’s a good doctor and it’s clear to me that he really cares about the outcome of all this.
Wednesday morning we left early again and made it on time for my appointment. On this visit Doc told me that in addition to the cold sore virus there was another spot in my eye and he wasn’t really sure what it was. He took some cultures of it to send to the lab to be identified. In the meantime he gave me a prescription for another drop called Viroptic, the generic form being Trifluridine, which I am very familiar with. The infection that I had a lot of trouble with several years ago was a herpes simplex virus. It’s not the sexually transmitted type of herpes, but rather the kind that causes cold sores. Trifluridine is used to combat that type of virus. As was explained to me years ago, there’s no cure for this type of virus, all you can do is try to keep it from flaring up. Since my surgery in October, I’ve been taking a pill called Acyclovir for that very reason. I was taking 400mg twice a day, so on this visit Doc upped it to 800mg five times a day. So by this time I had four kinds of drops and the pills. Doc said he wanted to see me again on Wednesday so we trudged home knowing that we would be back in two days. On our way, we stopped at the University pharmacy to pick up the Trifluridine. That was only a few blocks from the office.
By then Joni’s back was starting to give her some trouble so I made arrangements with Mom so she could drive me on Friday. On this day Doc said that the herpetic virus was completely cleared up, but the other spot was still there, no better and no worse. He called the lab to see if there were any results on the cultures yet, but so far nothing. He said those can take up to two weeks to show anything. By this time he was thinking that this other spot might be fungal so he gave me two more prescriptions: a drop called Natycyn and a pill called Doxycycline, both of which are for fungal infections. That brought the total up to five drops and two pills, the drops being used 6 times a day each. Quite a regimen. We stopped at the pharmacy again to pick those up and then headed back home with another appointment for the following Monday.
On Monday the 19th there was still no change and still no results from the cultures. Doc reduced all my drops to four times a day and sent us home with an appointment for Thursday.
On Tuesday, the doctor’s scheduler called and said he would have an emergency surgery on Thursday morning and that we would have to reschedule. So the appointment got pushed back to Friday at 11 am.
Friday came and still no change and still no culture results. Doc seemed okay with the fact that the spot was not going away because it wasn’t getting any worse either. As far as the cultures went, even though it hadn’t been two weeks yet, he seemed satisfied that this was probably not fungal in nature and said that it may just be an inflammatory reaction due to my allergies and such, this being allergy season. So out came the old prescription pad once again, this time for Prednisone, which I have talked about before. Prednisone reduces inflammation and is very good for clearing up my lungs, sinuses, and skin, although I’ve never had it prescribed for my eyes before. Since everything seemed stable, my next appointment is for Thursday the 29th.
We always stop at York on the way home for a late lunch or early supper, but since Friday was Joni’s 32nd birthday, she wanted to stop at the York Walmart as well to spend some of her birthday money. We dropped off my prescription at the pharmacy and then shopped for a bit. Joni got herself some flowers to plant outside, and she also bought t-shirts and work gloves for Adam and me. Apparently what she really wanted for her birthday was for me and Adam to be comfortable while we work out in the yard.
So that’s where we stand right now. Through all this God has been with us, giving us safe travels, keeping our aging car running beautifully, and providing financial help for all that gas through family and church. I am confident that he has a purpose in al this, maybe just to remind us that He is always in control, a reminder that I seem to need rather frequently. Whatever the case may be, I know that everything is working out according to His plan and that He will take care of everything as He always does.
Psalms 136:16 "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." ESV
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Journal - Last Trip to Omaha
And then on Wednesday, it was back to Omaha once again. My appointment was for 3pm, but they’ve always been good about just taking us in whenever we get there, knowing that we have a long drive. So we left at about 10am Wednesday morning, knowing that we would probably get there at about 1 in the afternoon. We weren’t sure what to expect weather-wise; they were calling for possible wind and rain, and I think there was even a slight chance of snow. Luck was with us, however. It was cloudy all the way there, but no rain at all and the wind was blowing but not too bad. We arrived at Dr. Feilmeier’s office right at 1 o’clock.
As usual, we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes. We went to the exam room, and the assistant pulled up the old eye chart. My vision isn’t really good enough right now to read much on the chart. I can get the big “E” at the top, but that’s about it. But on the pinhole test, I got all the way down to the 20/60 line, my best yet. If you don’t know what a pinhole test is, it’s just where you look at the chart through tiny little pinholes. It makes the letters on the chart come in much clearer. It’s really the only way to gauge the progress in patients with low vision like myself. After that, the assistant checked my pressure, which is still normal, then she went for the doctor.
Dr. Feilmeier was very pleased with what he saw as he examined my eye. He said everything is looking great, and that 20/60 is remarkably good only two weeks out from surgery. He had brought in an intern with him, so they both spent a few minutes checking out my eye while Dr. Feilmeier filled the intern in on some of my history. When they were done looking, Doc said to just keep doing what I am doing: no lifting, no touching the eye, wear the shield at night, no change in drops. I asked him if I could start exercising again, and he said I could as long as I don’t push too hard. Then I asked about my sax, but he said no sax for at least another month. That won’t leave much time for me to practice for Christmas so there may not be a Christmas concert this year. That’s okay though, I guess that’s a small price to pay. The best news of all is that we don’ have to go back to Omaha again. My next appointment will on November 18 in Kearney. That’s good because we are tired of driving to Omaha, and also because he thinks I am doing well enough to go without a checkup for almost a month. Of course, if there are any problems I can always call him up and get it checked out. I’ve been through enough eye problems that I’m confident that I will be able to tell if something is not right.
And that was it. We got in an out, and were back on the road by 2pm. We stopped in Yolk, I mean York, for a bite to eat at Wendy’s, an to fill up the gas tank. By then it was 4 o’clock, so just before we left York, Joni called Adam at home to make sure he got home from School okay, which he did. Then we hit the road again and were home by about 5:30. It was another long day, but it’s a relief to know that we can just stay home and rest now.
Psalms 6:2 "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.”
Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise."
As usual, we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes. We went to the exam room, and the assistant pulled up the old eye chart. My vision isn’t really good enough right now to read much on the chart. I can get the big “E” at the top, but that’s about it. But on the pinhole test, I got all the way down to the 20/60 line, my best yet. If you don’t know what a pinhole test is, it’s just where you look at the chart through tiny little pinholes. It makes the letters on the chart come in much clearer. It’s really the only way to gauge the progress in patients with low vision like myself. After that, the assistant checked my pressure, which is still normal, then she went for the doctor.
Dr. Feilmeier was very pleased with what he saw as he examined my eye. He said everything is looking great, and that 20/60 is remarkably good only two weeks out from surgery. He had brought in an intern with him, so they both spent a few minutes checking out my eye while Dr. Feilmeier filled the intern in on some of my history. When they were done looking, Doc said to just keep doing what I am doing: no lifting, no touching the eye, wear the shield at night, no change in drops. I asked him if I could start exercising again, and he said I could as long as I don’t push too hard. Then I asked about my sax, but he said no sax for at least another month. That won’t leave much time for me to practice for Christmas so there may not be a Christmas concert this year. That’s okay though, I guess that’s a small price to pay. The best news of all is that we don’ have to go back to Omaha again. My next appointment will on November 18 in Kearney. That’s good because we are tired of driving to Omaha, and also because he thinks I am doing well enough to go without a checkup for almost a month. Of course, if there are any problems I can always call him up and get it checked out. I’ve been through enough eye problems that I’m confident that I will be able to tell if something is not right.
And that was it. We got in an out, and were back on the road by 2pm. We stopped in Yolk, I mean York, for a bite to eat at Wendy’s, an to fill up the gas tank. By then it was 4 o’clock, so just before we left York, Joni called Adam at home to make sure he got home from School okay, which he did. Then we hit the road again and were home by about 5:30. It was another long day, but it’s a relief to know that we can just stay home and rest now.
Psalms 6:2 "Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.”
Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise."
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Journal - Omaha Again
On Monday, it was back to Omaha again for the third time in a week. It’s kind of hard to believe that I only had my surgery one week ago. Well, I had noticed quite a bit of improvement in my eye over the weekend so I was really hoping for, and expecting, a good report. My appointment was at 1:50pm so we didn’t have to get up early or anything. I got up at about 8:30, only half an hour earlier than my usual time. I took care of a few things over at Audiobook Heaven, had a bite to eat, and we were on the road at about 10:00.
It was a good trip there, cloudy but not rainy until we were pretty close to Omaha. It started out pretty light, but by the time we got into the city it was coming down pretty steady. I’m pleased to report that we made it to the doctor’s office without making a single wrong turn; I think that’s a first. We arrived at 1pm, only a three hour trip. We were an hour early, but Dr. Feilmeier always takes us in as soon as we get there, and he did that today as well.
I knew right away that the doctor was pleased with what he saw as he began to examine my eye. As he was looking, he murmured things like “Uh huh”, and “Yeah.” Those are always encouraging things to hear from your doctor. He told us that the eye was looking much better than it had on Friday, and my pressure was up to 12, well within the normal range. He kept all my meds and drops the same and said he would like to see me again in ten days. That means another trip to Omaha next Wednesday, but if things still look good it should be the last time and we can just see him in Kearney on a monthly basis after that. We were only in his office for about 20 minutes, if even that, and then we were off again. We stopped to fill up the gas tank and were on the road again by about 2pm.
The trip home went well too. It was still raining in Omaha when we left, but we came out of it just a bit west of the city. From there to York it was cloudy but dry. We stopped at York for a bite to eat, and left there at about 4pm. From there on, we hit some showers here and there, but nothing too heavy. We got home at about 5:30.
Joni andI are both pretty exhausted after the week we’ve had: the excitement, the driving, the time away from home. After we got home and settled in a bit, I decided to relax with another movie and picked out Toy Story 3. I got that for Joni last Christmas, and we all watched it, but of course I couldn’t see it. Later on I downloaded the DVS version of it and so was able to get a little more of the story, but I was anxious to see it for myself. Joni decided to watch with me so we popped the DVD into the laptop, flopped onto the bed, and just relaxed with a good movie for a couple of hours. It’s an excellent movie by the way; if you’ve never seen it I highly recommend it. But don’t forget the Kleenex, the ending is a tear jerker.
And that was our day. I’m really looking forward to several days of rest and relaxation before we head back to Omaha next week, and I know Joni is too. She’s been a real trooper through all of this and deserves a break.
Psalms 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. "He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” ESV
It was a good trip there, cloudy but not rainy until we were pretty close to Omaha. It started out pretty light, but by the time we got into the city it was coming down pretty steady. I’m pleased to report that we made it to the doctor’s office without making a single wrong turn; I think that’s a first. We arrived at 1pm, only a three hour trip. We were an hour early, but Dr. Feilmeier always takes us in as soon as we get there, and he did that today as well.
I knew right away that the doctor was pleased with what he saw as he began to examine my eye. As he was looking, he murmured things like “Uh huh”, and “Yeah.” Those are always encouraging things to hear from your doctor. He told us that the eye was looking much better than it had on Friday, and my pressure was up to 12, well within the normal range. He kept all my meds and drops the same and said he would like to see me again in ten days. That means another trip to Omaha next Wednesday, but if things still look good it should be the last time and we can just see him in Kearney on a monthly basis after that. We were only in his office for about 20 minutes, if even that, and then we were off again. We stopped to fill up the gas tank and were on the road again by about 2pm.
The trip home went well too. It was still raining in Omaha when we left, but we came out of it just a bit west of the city. From there to York it was cloudy but dry. We stopped at York for a bite to eat, and left there at about 4pm. From there on, we hit some showers here and there, but nothing too heavy. We got home at about 5:30.
Joni andI are both pretty exhausted after the week we’ve had: the excitement, the driving, the time away from home. After we got home and settled in a bit, I decided to relax with another movie and picked out Toy Story 3. I got that for Joni last Christmas, and we all watched it, but of course I couldn’t see it. Later on I downloaded the DVS version of it and so was able to get a little more of the story, but I was anxious to see it for myself. Joni decided to watch with me so we popped the DVD into the laptop, flopped onto the bed, and just relaxed with a good movie for a couple of hours. It’s an excellent movie by the way; if you’ve never seen it I highly recommend it. But don’t forget the Kleenex, the ending is a tear jerker.
And that was our day. I’m really looking forward to several days of rest and relaxation before we head back to Omaha next week, and I know Joni is too. She’s been a real trooper through all of this and deserves a break.
Psalms 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. "He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” ESV
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Journal - Complications
On Thursday morning, the day after we came home from Omaha, I awoke and knew right away that something was wrong. My right eye was watering a lot, and when I took off my shield, I could tell that my vision was not as good as it had been on the first two days after surgery. It was blurrier, and there were lots of funny shapes and patterns in my vision: light spots, dark spots and sparkly areas. This was a little bit alarming of course, but I didn’t let myself get too upset about it because I knew we were going to see the doctor that afternoon.
At 3pm, we were at the Kearney Eye Clinic for my appointment. Dr. Feilmeier didn’t like what he saw. The pressure in my right eye was dangerously low; the reading they got was 5. Normal eye pressure is 15, with anywhere from 10 to 20 being acceptable. Doc asked me again and again if I had bumped my eye or strained myself in any way, but I really hadn’t. I guess there’s no way to know for sure what happened, but he surmised that I may have slept on it just right (or wrong) and even with the shield on it had put pressure on the eye causing a leak around the cornea graft.
Whatever the case may be, it was something that would require close monitoring. Doc said we would need to go see him in Omaha on Friday. He said there was a good chance that the eye would stabilize overnight and nothing further would be required. But if the pressure was still very low on Friday, we may need to go back into the operating room to see what’s going on.
So on Friday, we got up early and headed for Omaha once again, arriving at Dr. Feilmeier’s office at about 10:30am. They took us in right away, and before too long the doctor came in.
Dr. Feilmeier spent quite a bit of time examining my eye, poking and prodding and studying. The pressure was still low, and my vision hadn’t improved from Thursday, but he was unable to find any leaks around the graft at all. He even had a glaucoma specialist come in and take a look. Eventually, they both agreed that the graft looked good and there was nothing much to be gained by further surgery. Whew!
And that was about it. Dr. Feilmeier went over all the rules with me again: no touching the eye, no lifting of anything more than 5 pounds, keep it shielded at all times, and drops drops drops. I already had three different eye drops that I was using at regular intervals throughout the day, plus one pill twice a day. At this time, Doc added one more drop, and some steroid pills, not Prednisone this time but something I’ve never heard of. Steroids help to keep inflammation down which is why they are such wonderful healing drugs, but I also know that they can reduce your body’s ability to fight infection. I asked Doc about that because infection is a very real concern and something I have had a lot of problems with in my eyes. He said this was a very light dose and I didn’t need to worry about that, so I won’t. Anyway, we will still need to keep a close eye on things, so he made us an appointment for Monday (yes, back to Omaha again) and we were on our way.
We made it home in pretty good time, arriving back at about 2:30pm, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Today when I woke up, I looked around and felt like my eye was a little better. Still not as good as Tuesday and Wednesday, but better than Thursday and Friday. It’s not quite as blurry, and most of the patterns and sparklies are gone, although not completely. I’ll be hoping for a good report on Monday. He’ll probably still want to check up on me before November 18, his next visit toKearney, but maybe we can at least wait a whole week. But hey, it’s all in God’s hands anyway so that’s all right with me.
1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ESV
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. ESV
At 3pm, we were at the Kearney Eye Clinic for my appointment. Dr. Feilmeier didn’t like what he saw. The pressure in my right eye was dangerously low; the reading they got was 5. Normal eye pressure is 15, with anywhere from 10 to 20 being acceptable. Doc asked me again and again if I had bumped my eye or strained myself in any way, but I really hadn’t. I guess there’s no way to know for sure what happened, but he surmised that I may have slept on it just right (or wrong) and even with the shield on it had put pressure on the eye causing a leak around the cornea graft.
Whatever the case may be, it was something that would require close monitoring. Doc said we would need to go see him in Omaha on Friday. He said there was a good chance that the eye would stabilize overnight and nothing further would be required. But if the pressure was still very low on Friday, we may need to go back into the operating room to see what’s going on.
So on Friday, we got up early and headed for Omaha once again, arriving at Dr. Feilmeier’s office at about 10:30am. They took us in right away, and before too long the doctor came in.
Dr. Feilmeier spent quite a bit of time examining my eye, poking and prodding and studying. The pressure was still low, and my vision hadn’t improved from Thursday, but he was unable to find any leaks around the graft at all. He even had a glaucoma specialist come in and take a look. Eventually, they both agreed that the graft looked good and there was nothing much to be gained by further surgery. Whew!
And that was about it. Dr. Feilmeier went over all the rules with me again: no touching the eye, no lifting of anything more than 5 pounds, keep it shielded at all times, and drops drops drops. I already had three different eye drops that I was using at regular intervals throughout the day, plus one pill twice a day. At this time, Doc added one more drop, and some steroid pills, not Prednisone this time but something I’ve never heard of. Steroids help to keep inflammation down which is why they are such wonderful healing drugs, but I also know that they can reduce your body’s ability to fight infection. I asked Doc about that because infection is a very real concern and something I have had a lot of problems with in my eyes. He said this was a very light dose and I didn’t need to worry about that, so I won’t. Anyway, we will still need to keep a close eye on things, so he made us an appointment for Monday (yes, back to Omaha again) and we were on our way.
We made it home in pretty good time, arriving back at about 2:30pm, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing.
Today when I woke up, I looked around and felt like my eye was a little better. Still not as good as Tuesday and Wednesday, but better than Thursday and Friday. It’s not quite as blurry, and most of the patterns and sparklies are gone, although not completely. I’ll be hoping for a good report on Monday. He’ll probably still want to check up on me before November 18, his next visit toKearney, but maybe we can at least wait a whole week. But hey, it’s all in God’s hands anyway so that’s all right with me.
1 Peter 5:6-7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ESV
Hebrews 12:11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. ESV
Monday, October 10, 2011
Journal - Greetings from Omaha!
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful. Ha ha, just a little post card humor for you there. greetings from the Comfort Inn on West Dodge Road in omaha!
Well, let's see, where did i leave off? Saturday night it took me a little while to get to sleep even though I didn't go to bed until 12pm. But once I got there, I slept pretty well until 8 when Joni woke me up for church.
I'm glad we decided to go ahead and go to church Sunday morning. We got some nice prayers from a couple of pastors, and lots of well wishes from friends. I confess that i had a hard time paying attention to the sermon though.
After church, we went home and packed our last few items, made sure everything was turned off and locked up, said goodbye to Sassie (poor thing), and hit the road. We were on I-80 by a quarter to one.
it was raining when we left, but not a downpour thank goodness. It didn't last too long either; we passed out of it just a little east of Grand Island. We stopped in york for a late lunch at Wendy's, and the rain caught up with us again. So we had a little more rain leaving york, but soon passed out of it again. That reminds me of something I've been wondering about. If Norfolk is pronounced Norfork, should york be pronounced yolk? And what about polk?
anyway, from there we made pretty good time to Omaha, and found our hotel without much difficulty. We got settled in, made our necessary phone calls, and then made the most important phone call of all: the Chinese restaurant! We used to get Chinese delivered to our apartment in Dallas now and then, but haven't had any since we moved to Nebraska, so I was really looking forward to that. We got our food at about 7pm and I stuffed myself silly with General Tso's chicken, rice, and egg rolls. Gosh that was good!
Anyway, after that I took a shower and we all got ready for bed. We turned in early, 9pm, since we would be getting up at 3am Monday morning.
It was a big day, with an even bigger one to come. I have more to write, but I'm a little tired right now so I think I'll finish up later.
Well, let's see, where did i leave off? Saturday night it took me a little while to get to sleep even though I didn't go to bed until 12pm. But once I got there, I slept pretty well until 8 when Joni woke me up for church.
I'm glad we decided to go ahead and go to church Sunday morning. We got some nice prayers from a couple of pastors, and lots of well wishes from friends. I confess that i had a hard time paying attention to the sermon though.
After church, we went home and packed our last few items, made sure everything was turned off and locked up, said goodbye to Sassie (poor thing), and hit the road. We were on I-80 by a quarter to one.
it was raining when we left, but not a downpour thank goodness. It didn't last too long either; we passed out of it just a little east of Grand Island. We stopped in york for a late lunch at Wendy's, and the rain caught up with us again. So we had a little more rain leaving york, but soon passed out of it again. That reminds me of something I've been wondering about. If Norfolk is pronounced Norfork, should york be pronounced yolk? And what about polk?
anyway, from there we made pretty good time to Omaha, and found our hotel without much difficulty. We got settled in, made our necessary phone calls, and then made the most important phone call of all: the Chinese restaurant! We used to get Chinese delivered to our apartment in Dallas now and then, but haven't had any since we moved to Nebraska, so I was really looking forward to that. We got our food at about 7pm and I stuffed myself silly with General Tso's chicken, rice, and egg rolls. Gosh that was good!
Anyway, after that I took a shower and we all got ready for bed. We turned in early, 9pm, since we would be getting up at 3am Monday morning.
It was a big day, with an even bigger one to come. I have more to write, but I'm a little tired right now so I think I'll finish up later.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Journal - Good News
As promised, Eleanor called this morning to let me know how the testing went on the cornea. The call came at about 9:30 this morning, and the news was all good. On Sunday, we’ll be on our way to Omaha.
Mom had told me yesterday that she wanted me to call her at work as soon as I knew something, rather than wait for her lunch break, so I did. I think she was happy for me, although it’s always so hard to tell with Mom the way she hides her feelings and all.
After that, I called the hotel in Omaha to make a reservation. Eleanor had already provided us with a map of the area surrounding the hospital, with some different hotels and restaurants marked on it. Joni and I had already discussed which hotel to stay in, so all I had to do was call them up and book a room. Joni’s mother had given us her credit card number several weeks ago and told us to use it for our hotel. I wasn’t sure how that would work. I knew I could book a room with it, but I was afraid they would want us to present the card when we checked in or something. I asked them about it though, and they said it was no problem. So that was a pretty big load off my mind, knowing that the hotel would be paid for.
Not too long after that, a nurse called from the hospital where my surgery will be, the Methodist Hospital in Omaha. Eleanor told me someone would call today or tomorrow to go over some things. I’m sorry to say that I can’t remember the lady’s name, but she was really super nice. We went over my medical history, medications I’m taking, and all kinds of stuff. She told me not to eat or drink anything after 11pm the night before, and to be at the hospital at 5:30am on Monday. The hospital has free valet parking which was a pleasant surprise. Also, she asked me to bring in all the prescription medications I’m currently using so they could check the strengths and dosages. She didn’t know that I was completely blind, and when I told her she said she would say an extra prayer for me. It seems like God is using every available resource to remind me that He is in control.
After that, I went downstairs for my workout on the exercise bike, which I am still keeping up with, but will probably have to abandon for a few weeks after surgery.
Then this afternoon I called the hotel again to confirm our reservation. When I called this morning, they transferred me to some service they use that handles their reservations. Even though I dialed the hotel direct, I ended up talking to a guy who was asking me what city I wanted to stay in. Also, he called it a Quality Inn, rather than a Comfort Inn which did not fill me with confidence. So anyway, I called the hotel direct again and asked to confirm the reservation, and they said everything looked fine. I asked about the credit card again also, and she said it was no problem.
So it was a busy day, but a good one. I exchanged emails with various members of my family, and even managed to get a couple of book reviews written. A pretty productive day. I had a little trouble sleeping last night, but I’m thinking that I’ll be okay tonight. We crossed a major hurdle today, and while I’m still nervous about the outcome, at least things are moving forward. Sunday will be here before we know it.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ESV
Psalms 13:2-3 "How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,” ESV
Mom had told me yesterday that she wanted me to call her at work as soon as I knew something, rather than wait for her lunch break, so I did. I think she was happy for me, although it’s always so hard to tell with Mom the way she hides her feelings and all.
After that, I called the hotel in Omaha to make a reservation. Eleanor had already provided us with a map of the area surrounding the hospital, with some different hotels and restaurants marked on it. Joni and I had already discussed which hotel to stay in, so all I had to do was call them up and book a room. Joni’s mother had given us her credit card number several weeks ago and told us to use it for our hotel. I wasn’t sure how that would work. I knew I could book a room with it, but I was afraid they would want us to present the card when we checked in or something. I asked them about it though, and they said it was no problem. So that was a pretty big load off my mind, knowing that the hotel would be paid for.
Not too long after that, a nurse called from the hospital where my surgery will be, the Methodist Hospital in Omaha. Eleanor told me someone would call today or tomorrow to go over some things. I’m sorry to say that I can’t remember the lady’s name, but she was really super nice. We went over my medical history, medications I’m taking, and all kinds of stuff. She told me not to eat or drink anything after 11pm the night before, and to be at the hospital at 5:30am on Monday. The hospital has free valet parking which was a pleasant surprise. Also, she asked me to bring in all the prescription medications I’m currently using so they could check the strengths and dosages. She didn’t know that I was completely blind, and when I told her she said she would say an extra prayer for me. It seems like God is using every available resource to remind me that He is in control.
After that, I went downstairs for my workout on the exercise bike, which I am still keeping up with, but will probably have to abandon for a few weeks after surgery.
Then this afternoon I called the hotel again to confirm our reservation. When I called this morning, they transferred me to some service they use that handles their reservations. Even though I dialed the hotel direct, I ended up talking to a guy who was asking me what city I wanted to stay in. Also, he called it a Quality Inn, rather than a Comfort Inn which did not fill me with confidence. So anyway, I called the hotel direct again and asked to confirm the reservation, and they said everything looked fine. I asked about the credit card again also, and she said it was no problem.
So it was a busy day, but a good one. I exchanged emails with various members of my family, and even managed to get a couple of book reviews written. A pretty productive day. I had a little trouble sleeping last night, but I’m thinking that I’ll be okay tonight. We crossed a major hurdle today, and while I’m still nervous about the outcome, at least things are moving forward. Sunday will be here before we know it.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ESV
Psalms 13:2-3 "How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,” ESV
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Journal - Surgery Discussions
Today, I got a couple of phone calls from the doctor’s office in Omaha.
The first call was from Denise who is in the billing office. I had spoken to her a couple of weeks ago about how I would pay for my surgery. Medicare only pays 80%, and Denise said that would leave me with about $3000 to cover, with $1500 being due up front. She called today just to confirm that I was aware of how much money I would need to come up with, although I’m thinking that this time she said $1000 was due up front. Anyway, I told her that I was aware.
The second call came a few minutes later. This one was from Elinore who is the transplant coordinator. There are a lot of different things that need to happen before surgery, and Elinor’s job is to make sure they all happen. Elinore told me a lot about how the process works, some of which I knew from my transplant seven years ago, and some of which I didn’t.
She said that once the doctor is informed that there is a cornea available, they basically have five days to get it in my eye, and a lot has to happen in those five days. The cornea is shipped to the doctor in Omaha. The doctor sends it to a lab in Denver to be tested; a lot of tests have to be performed on the cornea to make sure it is healthy. Then the cornea goes back to Omaha for the surgery. Elinore also told me that there’s always the possibility that the cornea will not pass all the tests, in which case the surgery has to be called off until another cornea is available, something I had to learn the hard way seven years ago. I asked her why they can’t just wait until the cornea is cleared before they notify me, and she said it’s because the time-frame is so short. As soon as they know there is a cornea, they go ahead and schedule the surgery to make sure the necessary staff and facilities will be available. They also will notify me at that time to make sure I’m available. If they waited until the cornea was tested and cleared, there just wouldn’t be enough time to pull everything together.
Back on May 9th, when I saw Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney, he had told me they would probably do my cataract surgery first, and then the cornea later. Since Elinore was telling me all about the transplant and hadn’t mentioned the cataract, I asked her about that. I think that caught her by surprise a little bit, but she looked at the doctor’s notes and said it looked like he was planning to do both at the same time. She admitted that the notes were not perfectly clear, however, so she said she would check on that and let me know. I always thought it would make sense to do both since the only way to get to the cataract is through the cornea anyway, but when I asked the doctor about that in May, he said the cataract is handled through a small incision on the outer edge of the cornea, rather than removing the cornea completely. That was an interesting bit of information. It would be nice to get both things done at the same time, but I suppose the more things they mess with, the more chance there is of complications. Well, I’m willing to trust the doctor’s judgement on that.
I asked Elinore if the surgery would be in the morning and she said there was really no way to tell. I was wondering because if it’s early, we’ll probably have to go to Omaha the day before. I know we’ll have to spend the night the day of the surgery, because I have to go back the next day for a follow-up. After that, my follow-ups can be in Kearney unless the doctor sees something he doesn’t like. They have a doctor in this area every two weeks so it just depends on if he’s comfortable letting me go that long.
And that’s about it. Elinore is sending me maps and information. She said that sometime before surgery I’ll have to get a physical, but they’ll let me know when it’s time for that. Not a bad idea since I haven’t had one for about 20 years. Oh, she also told me that there’s a hotel near the surgical center that gives a discounted rate to surgery patients, although at $45 a night the rate didn’t sound that special to me. Still, it would be nice to be close and not have to do a lot of driving around in the city. Hey, if the surgery goes well, maybe I can drive us home! Just kidding Mom, I knew that would get a rise out of you. I don’t even have a license.
Well, I think that’s about it. It’s starting to sound like this might actually happen. That’s a little scary for a lot of reasons.
Luke 11:34-35 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ESV
Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. KJV
The first call was from Denise who is in the billing office. I had spoken to her a couple of weeks ago about how I would pay for my surgery. Medicare only pays 80%, and Denise said that would leave me with about $3000 to cover, with $1500 being due up front. She called today just to confirm that I was aware of how much money I would need to come up with, although I’m thinking that this time she said $1000 was due up front. Anyway, I told her that I was aware.
The second call came a few minutes later. This one was from Elinore who is the transplant coordinator. There are a lot of different things that need to happen before surgery, and Elinor’s job is to make sure they all happen. Elinore told me a lot about how the process works, some of which I knew from my transplant seven years ago, and some of which I didn’t.
She said that once the doctor is informed that there is a cornea available, they basically have five days to get it in my eye, and a lot has to happen in those five days. The cornea is shipped to the doctor in Omaha. The doctor sends it to a lab in Denver to be tested; a lot of tests have to be performed on the cornea to make sure it is healthy. Then the cornea goes back to Omaha for the surgery. Elinore also told me that there’s always the possibility that the cornea will not pass all the tests, in which case the surgery has to be called off until another cornea is available, something I had to learn the hard way seven years ago. I asked her why they can’t just wait until the cornea is cleared before they notify me, and she said it’s because the time-frame is so short. As soon as they know there is a cornea, they go ahead and schedule the surgery to make sure the necessary staff and facilities will be available. They also will notify me at that time to make sure I’m available. If they waited until the cornea was tested and cleared, there just wouldn’t be enough time to pull everything together.
Back on May 9th, when I saw Dr. Feilmeier in Kearney, he had told me they would probably do my cataract surgery first, and then the cornea later. Since Elinore was telling me all about the transplant and hadn’t mentioned the cataract, I asked her about that. I think that caught her by surprise a little bit, but she looked at the doctor’s notes and said it looked like he was planning to do both at the same time. She admitted that the notes were not perfectly clear, however, so she said she would check on that and let me know. I always thought it would make sense to do both since the only way to get to the cataract is through the cornea anyway, but when I asked the doctor about that in May, he said the cataract is handled through a small incision on the outer edge of the cornea, rather than removing the cornea completely. That was an interesting bit of information. It would be nice to get both things done at the same time, but I suppose the more things they mess with, the more chance there is of complications. Well, I’m willing to trust the doctor’s judgement on that.
I asked Elinore if the surgery would be in the morning and she said there was really no way to tell. I was wondering because if it’s early, we’ll probably have to go to Omaha the day before. I know we’ll have to spend the night the day of the surgery, because I have to go back the next day for a follow-up. After that, my follow-ups can be in Kearney unless the doctor sees something he doesn’t like. They have a doctor in this area every two weeks so it just depends on if he’s comfortable letting me go that long.
And that’s about it. Elinore is sending me maps and information. She said that sometime before surgery I’ll have to get a physical, but they’ll let me know when it’s time for that. Not a bad idea since I haven’t had one for about 20 years. Oh, she also told me that there’s a hotel near the surgical center that gives a discounted rate to surgery patients, although at $45 a night the rate didn’t sound that special to me. Still, it would be nice to be close and not have to do a lot of driving around in the city. Hey, if the surgery goes well, maybe I can drive us home! Just kidding Mom, I knew that would get a rise out of you. I don’t even have a license.
Well, I think that’s about it. It’s starting to sound like this might actually happen. That’s a little scary for a lot of reasons.
Luke 11:34-35 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ESV
Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. KJV
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Journal - Another Doctor Visit
On Monday, I had an appointment with Dr. Feilmeier (pronounced file-myer) at the Kearney Eye Institute. Dr. Feilmeier’s office is actually in Omaha, but he comes to Kearney once a month since there aren’t a lot of cornea specialists around here. Joni and I arrived in time for the 10:30am appointment.
At about noon, we finally got to see the doctor. He took a quick look at my eyes through the microscope, check the pressure, and did all the basic things that happen during any visit to the eye doctor. Then we talked about surgery for a few minutes, and some of the risks involved. He told me that any surgery I get would be done in Omaha, and probably the first couple of follow-ups, but anything after that could probably be handled in Kearney. I already knew that, but he did tell me a couple of things I didn’t know.
First, he said they would probably do cataract surgery first, then the cornea transplant at another time, rather than doing both at the same time like I thought. I assumed that since they have to go through the cornea to get to the cataract, they would just go ahead and do the transplant at the same time. Instead, he told me that the cataract is handled through a small incision on the outer edge of the cornea, rather than removing the cornea completely.
Secondly, I learned that one of Dr. Feilmeier’s associates also visits this area once a month, at an office in Grand Island. The two doctors come on a rotating schedule so that one of them is here every two weeks. That made me feel a little better because I was worried about only having a doctor here once a month in case there are problems after surgery.
All in all, it was a good visit. A positive visit as you might say. I was only with Dr. Feilmeier for about 15 minutes, but already I liked him better than Dr. Halgren in Omaha. He was just better at explaining things and letting me know how everything would be handled. He said he would go ahead and put me on the transplant list since there is about a two month wait. In the meantime, he will be gathering my records from Dallas and Omaha. If he decides that any further tests need to be done, they’ll contact me for an appointment, otherwise the next time I hear from them will be when they’re ready to schedule surgery.
Oh, there was one other thing he mentioned. When we were talking about surgery, I asked if I could have a bionic eye, knowing full well there is no such thing. What he mentioned was a type of prosthetic cornea that they sometimes use now in patients that have had multiple rejections. He didn’t go into great detail, but it has something to do with a natural cornea being layered with a plastic lens. I’ll have to look into that and see if I can learn more.
Anyway, I’m scheduled to see Dr. Feilmeier again on August 11, but I may very well hear from his office sometime before that if he decides we can go ahead with surgery. Keep me in your prayers!
2 Peter 3:8-9 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ESV
At about noon, we finally got to see the doctor. He took a quick look at my eyes through the microscope, check the pressure, and did all the basic things that happen during any visit to the eye doctor. Then we talked about surgery for a few minutes, and some of the risks involved. He told me that any surgery I get would be done in Omaha, and probably the first couple of follow-ups, but anything after that could probably be handled in Kearney. I already knew that, but he did tell me a couple of things I didn’t know.
First, he said they would probably do cataract surgery first, then the cornea transplant at another time, rather than doing both at the same time like I thought. I assumed that since they have to go through the cornea to get to the cataract, they would just go ahead and do the transplant at the same time. Instead, he told me that the cataract is handled through a small incision on the outer edge of the cornea, rather than removing the cornea completely.
Secondly, I learned that one of Dr. Feilmeier’s associates also visits this area once a month, at an office in Grand Island. The two doctors come on a rotating schedule so that one of them is here every two weeks. That made me feel a little better because I was worried about only having a doctor here once a month in case there are problems after surgery.
All in all, it was a good visit. A positive visit as you might say. I was only with Dr. Feilmeier for about 15 minutes, but already I liked him better than Dr. Halgren in Omaha. He was just better at explaining things and letting me know how everything would be handled. He said he would go ahead and put me on the transplant list since there is about a two month wait. In the meantime, he will be gathering my records from Dallas and Omaha. If he decides that any further tests need to be done, they’ll contact me for an appointment, otherwise the next time I hear from them will be when they’re ready to schedule surgery.
Oh, there was one other thing he mentioned. When we were talking about surgery, I asked if I could have a bionic eye, knowing full well there is no such thing. What he mentioned was a type of prosthetic cornea that they sometimes use now in patients that have had multiple rejections. He didn’t go into great detail, but it has something to do with a natural cornea being layered with a plastic lens. I’ll have to look into that and see if I can learn more.
Anyway, I’m scheduled to see Dr. Feilmeier again on August 11, but I may very well hear from his office sometime before that if he decides we can go ahead with surgery. Keep me in your prayers!
2 Peter 3:8-9 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ESV
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Journal - Recap
Okay, so I already talked about how I met Lion Lady at the dentist’s office that day, was that in July, or was it August? Anyway we got to talking and she said that the Lions would pay for my surgery. I said that was great but I was really more concerned with all the doctor visits before and after the surgery. She said the Lions would pay for that too. I thought that over for a few days and then I called her up and said “Let’s do it!” So she gave me the contact info for the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and I called and made an appointment for September 20.
Meanwhile, Lion Lady was researching my case and learning about my goofy Medicaid and all that. She learned that if I had some kind of insurance policy, even if it was just a cancer policy or something, with a monthly premium of $277 or so, that I would qualify for no-cost Medicaid. So she called me and said the Lions could get me a policy and pay the premium for six months or so and then all my medical expenses would be covered for that period of time. I told her that was a great idea. Soon after that, I heard from Lion Lady again. She said she had approached her group with my case and they had offered a one-time payment of $125 toward my doctor bills. That all happened before my first trip to Omaha on September 20. Lion Lady said she would keep working on it, so I went ahead and made the trip with the $125 they had given me, which ended up being about one-tenth of the total cost for that visit.
I can’t remember the exact chain of events after that, but here’s the gist of it. Lion Lady called to tell me that her group had agreed to pay $350 toward my deductible for one month, and that the national Lions group would match that, for a total of $700 which would almost cover my deductible for one month. The next time I talked to her, she didn’t sound like she understood my situation at all. She said the Lions were going to pay $1400, and that they would apply that to whichever month I had the most expense. I tried to explain that my out-of-pocket expense would never be more than $788, because that’s what my deductible is, but she didn’t seem to understand that. And she talked about $1400 as if we had spoken of it before. It was a very confusing conversation. Anyway, sometime during all this, I had my second appointment in Omaha on October 13. I think that last conversation took place shortly after that appointment.
That was the last time I spoke with Lion Lady, but apparently she told my mom that the Lions were going to pay for my surgery, but no doctor bills at all. That’s kind of silly because the surgery won’t cost me any more than the doctor visits.
So to summarize, here’s what I have heard:
1. The Lions will pay for your surgery and all your doctor visits.
2. The Lions will get you an insurance policy and all your medical expenses will be covered.
3. The Lions will pay $125 and that’s it.
4. The Lions will pay $700 toward one month’s deductible.
5. The Lions will pay $1400 toward whichever month you have the most expense.
6. The Lions will pay for surgery, but no doctor visits.
I’m pretty frustrated. I was supposed to go back to Omaha today, November 10, for my third visit, but I cancelled the appointment. The only reason I went to Omaha was because the Lions told me to. Since they’re not paying for it, I figure I may as well get this done closer to home, in Kearney or Hastings. I’m also debating on whether or not I should just wait until April when I will be eligible for Medicare. I don’t know if the Medicare will be any better than Medicaid, but it can’t be any worse.
Part of me wishes I had never run into Lion Lady at the dentist’s office that day. I was waiting patiently, and everything was fine. Now everything feels all screwed up again. Another part of me, or maybe it’s the same part, is angry at God. Sometimes I feel like I have been completely abandoned, even though the other part of me knows that isn’t true. It sort of feels like I am right back at square one.
Oh well, the sun will continue to rise each morning (probably), my body will continue to draw breath each day (supposedly), and the earth will keep spinning on its axis (presumeably). Maybe on one of those days that are most likely coming, something good will happen.
Meanwhile, Lion Lady was researching my case and learning about my goofy Medicaid and all that. She learned that if I had some kind of insurance policy, even if it was just a cancer policy or something, with a monthly premium of $277 or so, that I would qualify for no-cost Medicaid. So she called me and said the Lions could get me a policy and pay the premium for six months or so and then all my medical expenses would be covered for that period of time. I told her that was a great idea. Soon after that, I heard from Lion Lady again. She said she had approached her group with my case and they had offered a one-time payment of $125 toward my doctor bills. That all happened before my first trip to Omaha on September 20. Lion Lady said she would keep working on it, so I went ahead and made the trip with the $125 they had given me, which ended up being about one-tenth of the total cost for that visit.
I can’t remember the exact chain of events after that, but here’s the gist of it. Lion Lady called to tell me that her group had agreed to pay $350 toward my deductible for one month, and that the national Lions group would match that, for a total of $700 which would almost cover my deductible for one month. The next time I talked to her, she didn’t sound like she understood my situation at all. She said the Lions were going to pay $1400, and that they would apply that to whichever month I had the most expense. I tried to explain that my out-of-pocket expense would never be more than $788, because that’s what my deductible is, but she didn’t seem to understand that. And she talked about $1400 as if we had spoken of it before. It was a very confusing conversation. Anyway, sometime during all this, I had my second appointment in Omaha on October 13. I think that last conversation took place shortly after that appointment.
That was the last time I spoke with Lion Lady, but apparently she told my mom that the Lions were going to pay for my surgery, but no doctor bills at all. That’s kind of silly because the surgery won’t cost me any more than the doctor visits.
So to summarize, here’s what I have heard:
1. The Lions will pay for your surgery and all your doctor visits.
2. The Lions will get you an insurance policy and all your medical expenses will be covered.
3. The Lions will pay $125 and that’s it.
4. The Lions will pay $700 toward one month’s deductible.
5. The Lions will pay $1400 toward whichever month you have the most expense.
6. The Lions will pay for surgery, but no doctor visits.
I’m pretty frustrated. I was supposed to go back to Omaha today, November 10, for my third visit, but I cancelled the appointment. The only reason I went to Omaha was because the Lions told me to. Since they’re not paying for it, I figure I may as well get this done closer to home, in Kearney or Hastings. I’m also debating on whether or not I should just wait until April when I will be eligible for Medicare. I don’t know if the Medicare will be any better than Medicaid, but it can’t be any worse.
Part of me wishes I had never run into Lion Lady at the dentist’s office that day. I was waiting patiently, and everything was fine. Now everything feels all screwed up again. Another part of me, or maybe it’s the same part, is angry at God. Sometimes I feel like I have been completely abandoned, even though the other part of me knows that isn’t true. It sort of feels like I am right back at square one.
Oh well, the sun will continue to rise each morning (probably), my body will continue to draw breath each day (supposedly), and the earth will keep spinning on its axis (presumeably). Maybe on one of those days that are most likely coming, something good will happen.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Journal - What Do Doctors Know Anyway?
Hi gang. I’ve already written to some of you, and if I have, this will largely be a recap of what you already know.
On Monday, Joni, Adam, and I traveled to Omaha for my visit to the doctor. I saw Doctor Halgren who is a cornea specialist associated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. We left home at 10 o’clock, and arrived just in time for my 2 o’clock appointment, allowing for a lunch stop in York. I’m sorry to say that the news I got was not so great.
In my left eye, the eye I had a cornea transplant on back in 2003, the prospects do not look good at all. I was not surprised to hear him say that the transplanted cornea is breaking down. That thing has been through the wringer. Also, I already knew there was a significant cataract in that eye, so that was no surprise either. The bad news started with the retina. The doctor said there are signs that the retina has become detached. Since the retina is behind the cataract, he won’t know for sure until I get an ultrasound, but he thinks it could be bad. He said if the detachment is severe enough, he would probably not be inclined to do any work on that eye at all because it just wouldn’t be worth it. Also, the pressure in the left eye is extremely low. As you may know, our eyes are filled with fluid. There is an organ in there that is constantly producing new fluid, and also a drainage system to let the old fluid out. For the eye to remain healthy, there has to be a certain degree of balance between fluid in, and fluid out. Normal eye pressure is between 10 and 20, I don’t know what the unit of measurement is called. My pressure today was 5. Doc says that could mean that the eye is simply shutting down. At the time, I didn’t think to ask what happens when an eye shuts down, but I guess it can’t be anything good. Anyway, Halgren said that all of these complications since my transplant are not out of the ordinary for someone with eczema and allergies. I’m a little surprised that Doctor Hargrave back in Dallas never mentioned that.
In my right eye he said I need a transplant, of course I already knew that. He also said there is a significant cataract in that eye which I didn’t know, but didn’t surprise me that much. Pressure on that eye was 9, which is low, but not alarmingly so. He said that if I get a transplant in the right eye, I may very well experience the same complications I had with the left, and he said the odds of any success there are about 50/50.
So that’s where it stands. I’m scheduled to go back next Wednesday for the ultrasound, but about halfway home I realized that I have a dentist appointment that day. I think I’ll keep the dentist appointment. Maybe I’ll reschedule the ultrasound, and maybe I won’t. I honestly don’t know right now. Well, that’s not entirely true. I will most likely go ahead with it, but it probably won’t be right away. I still need to find out what the Lions are going to do anyway.
I suppose I should be depressed about all this, but I really don’t feel too bad. When it’s all said and done, I don’t think this really changes anything. It was in God’s hands before, and it is still in His hands now. Is a bad prognosis from a doctor going to influence the will of God? Of course not. Doctors are smart people, but they are just that, people, and I think doctors tend to be a bit near-sighted anyway, if you know what I mean. There is still hope. As long as I live and breathe, there will be hope.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. NIV
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. NKJV
When you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
--Victor Hugo
On Monday, Joni, Adam, and I traveled to Omaha for my visit to the doctor. I saw Doctor Halgren who is a cornea specialist associated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. We left home at 10 o’clock, and arrived just in time for my 2 o’clock appointment, allowing for a lunch stop in York. I’m sorry to say that the news I got was not so great.
In my left eye, the eye I had a cornea transplant on back in 2003, the prospects do not look good at all. I was not surprised to hear him say that the transplanted cornea is breaking down. That thing has been through the wringer. Also, I already knew there was a significant cataract in that eye, so that was no surprise either. The bad news started with the retina. The doctor said there are signs that the retina has become detached. Since the retina is behind the cataract, he won’t know for sure until I get an ultrasound, but he thinks it could be bad. He said if the detachment is severe enough, he would probably not be inclined to do any work on that eye at all because it just wouldn’t be worth it. Also, the pressure in the left eye is extremely low. As you may know, our eyes are filled with fluid. There is an organ in there that is constantly producing new fluid, and also a drainage system to let the old fluid out. For the eye to remain healthy, there has to be a certain degree of balance between fluid in, and fluid out. Normal eye pressure is between 10 and 20, I don’t know what the unit of measurement is called. My pressure today was 5. Doc says that could mean that the eye is simply shutting down. At the time, I didn’t think to ask what happens when an eye shuts down, but I guess it can’t be anything good. Anyway, Halgren said that all of these complications since my transplant are not out of the ordinary for someone with eczema and allergies. I’m a little surprised that Doctor Hargrave back in Dallas never mentioned that.
In my right eye he said I need a transplant, of course I already knew that. He also said there is a significant cataract in that eye which I didn’t know, but didn’t surprise me that much. Pressure on that eye was 9, which is low, but not alarmingly so. He said that if I get a transplant in the right eye, I may very well experience the same complications I had with the left, and he said the odds of any success there are about 50/50.
So that’s where it stands. I’m scheduled to go back next Wednesday for the ultrasound, but about halfway home I realized that I have a dentist appointment that day. I think I’ll keep the dentist appointment. Maybe I’ll reschedule the ultrasound, and maybe I won’t. I honestly don’t know right now. Well, that’s not entirely true. I will most likely go ahead with it, but it probably won’t be right away. I still need to find out what the Lions are going to do anyway.
I suppose I should be depressed about all this, but I really don’t feel too bad. When it’s all said and done, I don’t think this really changes anything. It was in God’s hands before, and it is still in His hands now. Is a bad prognosis from a doctor going to influence the will of God? Of course not. Doctors are smart people, but they are just that, people, and I think doctors tend to be a bit near-sighted anyway, if you know what I mean. There is still hope. As long as I live and breathe, there will be hope.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. NIV
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. NKJV
When you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
--Victor Hugo
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Journal - Waiting For A Miracle
Tuesday night I didn’t sleep very well. Don’t know why, just couldn’t sleep. I went to bed at 12:30 which is about my usual time. When I go to bed, I put on my headphones and listen to an audiobook, or a DVS movie, and I’m usually ready to go to sleep in no time at all. Last night, I put on my headphones and listened to an entire movie, and I still wasn’t sleepy. I started another movie and got most of the way through that one before I finally started to nod off. Even after all that, I still woke up early, about 6:30 I think. Instead of going right back to sleep like I usually would, I felt pretty awake, so I put my headphones back on and finished the movie I started.
I did go back to sleep for a while, but I couldn’t sleep late because I had a 10:00 dentist appointment Wednesday morning. The dentist made all the final preparations on my tooth to get it ready for a crown. The procedures took a full hour and a half. There was very little pain involved, but it was a long time to sit in that chair. Right now I have a temporary crown, and when I go back on the 29th I get the permanent one. That should be a quick and simple visit and then I’ll be done with dentists for a while.
Now I need to back up for a minute. On Tuesday, I got a call from Lion Lady. She had been talking with my social worker about my Medicaid. Social Worker Lady told Lion Lady about how if I had a private insurance plan costing $277 per month, I would qualify for full Medicaid, instead of the useless kind I have now. It took Lion Lady about 10 seconds to figure out that this would be a much more cost effective way to get me seeing again, and back in the work force, something none of the various government agencies have been able to figure out. So Lion Lady called this outfit in Hastings called Fiddler’s to see if they could help me out with that. Lion Lady is very much on the ball. She said that the Lion’s could pay for six months worth of insurance, which would probably get me well on my way. Good plan!
Anyway, when I was talking to Lion Lady about all this, she said to let her know right away how it went with Fiddler’s because she was meeting with her Lion’s Club that very evening to pitch my case. That came as a surprise to me, because I thought this was a done deal and no pitching would be necessary.
Back to Wednesday. When I got home from the dentist, I had two messages on my phone. One was from Fiddler’s, and the other was from Lion Lady wondering if I had heard from Fiddler’s. Before I could do much of anything, my phone rang and it was Lion Lady again. She said her Lion’s group had declined to help me, except for the $125 she had initially pledged toward my appointment next Monday. She said the problem was that her group is in Ravenna, and they don’t like to help people outside of that small town. Lion Lady was very displeased with her group, I could tell by her voice before she came right out and said it. We talked for several more minutes about other options and possibilities. She made it clear that she wasn’t giving up, and would keep fighting for me.
So after that, Joni and I were talking about possibly approaching other Lion’s chapters in the area, when Joni wondered aloud if Minden had a chapter. Duh! I was looking around the Lion’s website a couple of weeks ago, and I remembered seeing Minden on the list. Since we actually live in Minden, we thought that might be a possibility.
Later that afternoon, Lion Lady came out to the house to deliver the $125 check. I think she offered to bring it out instead of us going to pick it up because she felt so bad about what happened. While she was here, I asked about Minden, and she said yup, Minden has a chapter, and in fact, she used to belong to it, and knows several people in the organization. So one hope was dashed, and another kindled.
The upshot is this: I am going forward with my appointment on the 20th. I will go to the doctor and wait for a miracle. God tells us that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, and I believe it. That’s what faith is all about, isn’t it? Just kind of throwing yourself out there with the full expectation that God will carry you through. My period of waiting served its purpose, and now it is time for a leap of faith.
By the way, the other day I asked our church if they could help me with my dental bills. Today, I got an email saying that they would indeed help me out with a large portion of it. That email came today because God wanted me to know that He is still there, watching out for me.
Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!” He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
I did go back to sleep for a while, but I couldn’t sleep late because I had a 10:00 dentist appointment Wednesday morning. The dentist made all the final preparations on my tooth to get it ready for a crown. The procedures took a full hour and a half. There was very little pain involved, but it was a long time to sit in that chair. Right now I have a temporary crown, and when I go back on the 29th I get the permanent one. That should be a quick and simple visit and then I’ll be done with dentists for a while.
Now I need to back up for a minute. On Tuesday, I got a call from Lion Lady. She had been talking with my social worker about my Medicaid. Social Worker Lady told Lion Lady about how if I had a private insurance plan costing $277 per month, I would qualify for full Medicaid, instead of the useless kind I have now. It took Lion Lady about 10 seconds to figure out that this would be a much more cost effective way to get me seeing again, and back in the work force, something none of the various government agencies have been able to figure out. So Lion Lady called this outfit in Hastings called Fiddler’s to see if they could help me out with that. Lion Lady is very much on the ball. She said that the Lion’s could pay for six months worth of insurance, which would probably get me well on my way. Good plan!
Anyway, when I was talking to Lion Lady about all this, she said to let her know right away how it went with Fiddler’s because she was meeting with her Lion’s Club that very evening to pitch my case. That came as a surprise to me, because I thought this was a done deal and no pitching would be necessary.
Back to Wednesday. When I got home from the dentist, I had two messages on my phone. One was from Fiddler’s, and the other was from Lion Lady wondering if I had heard from Fiddler’s. Before I could do much of anything, my phone rang and it was Lion Lady again. She said her Lion’s group had declined to help me, except for the $125 she had initially pledged toward my appointment next Monday. She said the problem was that her group is in Ravenna, and they don’t like to help people outside of that small town. Lion Lady was very displeased with her group, I could tell by her voice before she came right out and said it. We talked for several more minutes about other options and possibilities. She made it clear that she wasn’t giving up, and would keep fighting for me.
So after that, Joni and I were talking about possibly approaching other Lion’s chapters in the area, when Joni wondered aloud if Minden had a chapter. Duh! I was looking around the Lion’s website a couple of weeks ago, and I remembered seeing Minden on the list. Since we actually live in Minden, we thought that might be a possibility.
Later that afternoon, Lion Lady came out to the house to deliver the $125 check. I think she offered to bring it out instead of us going to pick it up because she felt so bad about what happened. While she was here, I asked about Minden, and she said yup, Minden has a chapter, and in fact, she used to belong to it, and knows several people in the organization. So one hope was dashed, and another kindled.
The upshot is this: I am going forward with my appointment on the 20th. I will go to the doctor and wait for a miracle. God tells us that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, and I believe it. That’s what faith is all about, isn’t it? Just kind of throwing yourself out there with the full expectation that God will carry you through. My period of waiting served its purpose, and now it is time for a leap of faith.
By the way, the other day I asked our church if they could help me with my dental bills. Today, I got an email saying that they would indeed help me out with a large portion of it. That email came today because God wanted me to know that He is still there, watching out for me.
Luke 17:5-6 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!” He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Journal - Plans Coming Together
Just a quick update on recent events. I finally called Lion Lady Sunday evening to ask for a letter from the Lion’s Club that I could take to the doctor next Monday. She said that was no problem, and she asked me for the doctor’s phone number so she could call and discuss payment.
This morning, Lion Lady called to let me know she had spoken with the doctor’s office. They told her that I would need to pay $125 up front, so Lion Lady told me she would have a check ready for me to take along. She then asked for the phone number of my social worker so she could talk to her about my Medicaid. I also had to call my social worker to tell her it was okay to speak with Lion Lady about my case, which I did as soon as I got off the phone with Lion Lady.
So things are coming together for my first visit to the doctor in Omaha. His name is Doctor Halgren, by the way, and he is a cornea specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
I was very encouraged to hear from Lion Lady today, and I feel much better knowing that she has personally spoken with the doctor’s office, and my social worker. I’ve really been worrying that I would get to Omaha on Monday, only to find that something got mixed up because I didn’t tell the right person the right thing or something. I’ve been praying and praying for God to ease my mind on these matters, and He came through once again. Now all I have to worry about is flat tires, car trouble, getting lost, and things like that. Hahaha! We humans are funny aren’t we? We can always find something to worry about.
Here’s something Mom emailed me the other day. She said it is from a page in her calendar:
I believe in the sun, even when it is cloudy.
I believe in love, even when I am not feeling it.
I believe in God, even when He is silent.
Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. ESV
Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. NIV
This morning, Lion Lady called to let me know she had spoken with the doctor’s office. They told her that I would need to pay $125 up front, so Lion Lady told me she would have a check ready for me to take along. She then asked for the phone number of my social worker so she could talk to her about my Medicaid. I also had to call my social worker to tell her it was okay to speak with Lion Lady about my case, which I did as soon as I got off the phone with Lion Lady.
So things are coming together for my first visit to the doctor in Omaha. His name is Doctor Halgren, by the way, and he is a cornea specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
I was very encouraged to hear from Lion Lady today, and I feel much better knowing that she has personally spoken with the doctor’s office, and my social worker. I’ve really been worrying that I would get to Omaha on Monday, only to find that something got mixed up because I didn’t tell the right person the right thing or something. I’ve been praying and praying for God to ease my mind on these matters, and He came through once again. Now all I have to worry about is flat tires, car trouble, getting lost, and things like that. Hahaha! We humans are funny aren’t we? We can always find something to worry about.
Here’s something Mom emailed me the other day. She said it is from a page in her calendar:
I believe in the sun, even when it is cloudy.
I believe in love, even when I am not feeling it.
I believe in God, even when He is silent.
Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. ESV
Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. NIV
Friday, September 10, 2010
Journal - Going to Omaha
Last Tuesday, Joni and I stopped by Lion Lady’s house in Gibbon to pick up the information she had for me. We sat in her living room for a few minutes and chatted with her and her husband. They’re perfectly nice people. They have a little bischon dog that likes to lick. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the little bischon that I had for several years, Toby. Usually, instead of saying bischon, I just call them Toby-dogs. They’re such affectionate little things. Anyway, we couldn’t stay very long because Adam had a dentist appointment, We had just picked him up from school.
She told me about this low-vision center in Omaha where they send blind or visually impaired people. She said it’s a pretty new facility and the Lion’s paid for almost all of it. From what she told me, it sounds like a place where permanently blind people can get training for their daily lives. That’s not really what I need, and I told her so, but she said this would be the place for me to start. It’s called the Weigel Williamson Low-Vision Center.
Today, Thursday, I called them, and they confirmed that since what I need is surgery, they would not be the ones to help me. They did, however, give me the phone number for the eye clinic which is just a couple of blocks away from their. I discovered that these facilities are both part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. So I called the eye clinic and made an appointment for Monday, September 20. They actually had an opening on the 16th, but that just felt too fast so I asked for a later appointment.
So I’m going to Omaha on the 20th. Omaha is about a three hour drive from here, so I’m not really looking forward to that. Travelling isn’t as much fun when you can’t see the scenery. But this might be the first major step in getting my sight back, and that’s well worth 6 hours in the car.
I’m still scared. I’m scared about having to make a lot of trips to Omaha. I’m scared they’ll tell me my eyes have deteriorated and there’s nothing they can do. I’m scared that money will get in the way somehow, as it so often does. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is totally out of my hands and that God will take care of it. If my first visit or two go smoothly, that will help ease my mind a lot, so I’m looking forward to having that part out of the way.
Oh, I almost forgot, I have to call Lion Lady again, too. I have to get a letter from her explaining that the Lion’s Club will be picking up the tab. I better go do that before I forget.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” NIV
Psalms 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? NKJv
She told me about this low-vision center in Omaha where they send blind or visually impaired people. She said it’s a pretty new facility and the Lion’s paid for almost all of it. From what she told me, it sounds like a place where permanently blind people can get training for their daily lives. That’s not really what I need, and I told her so, but she said this would be the place for me to start. It’s called the Weigel Williamson Low-Vision Center.
Today, Thursday, I called them, and they confirmed that since what I need is surgery, they would not be the ones to help me. They did, however, give me the phone number for the eye clinic which is just a couple of blocks away from their. I discovered that these facilities are both part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. So I called the eye clinic and made an appointment for Monday, September 20. They actually had an opening on the 16th, but that just felt too fast so I asked for a later appointment.
So I’m going to Omaha on the 20th. Omaha is about a three hour drive from here, so I’m not really looking forward to that. Travelling isn’t as much fun when you can’t see the scenery. But this might be the first major step in getting my sight back, and that’s well worth 6 hours in the car.
I’m still scared. I’m scared about having to make a lot of trips to Omaha. I’m scared they’ll tell me my eyes have deteriorated and there’s nothing they can do. I’m scared that money will get in the way somehow, as it so often does. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is totally out of my hands and that God will take care of it. If my first visit or two go smoothly, that will help ease my mind a lot, so I’m looking forward to having that part out of the way.
Oh, I almost forgot, I have to call Lion Lady again, too. I have to get a letter from her explaining that the Lion’s Club will be picking up the tab. I better go do that before I forget.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” NIV
Psalms 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? NKJv
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