Update: Surgery Consult & Evaluation

"I'm blind in one eye and can't see out of the other" used to be a funny saying.  Now, for me, it's reality.  I still laugh when I say it, though, just to stay on a positive note in spite of the update I now write. 

I recently went to Portland, Oregon to meet with Dr. Mark Terry at Devers Eye Institute.  He's a cornea specialist.  He was the first to do this type of surgery (DSAEK-a type of partial corneal transplant) in the U.S. and second in the world.  He has a 98 percent success rate.  He's very likable and knowledgable but does not have a god complex like many in the medical field.  His evaluation of my eyes was that my Fuchs has progressed to the point of needing a corneal transplant.  My left eye should be done first and soon as I'm now legally blind in that eye under the glare test. (that means in real life situations...not the artificial, ideal conditions of a normal eye test)  My right eye will be done following a successful recovery of my left eye.

I knew this was coming, but a sort of disbelief still hit as I contemplated what it truly meant.  I get a cornea transplant or go completely blind.  I get my eye cut open, a layer of my cornea peeled off "like wallpaper from a wall" and a new layer of donor tissue put in or lose my sight completely and permanently.  What a horrible thought!  And what a wonderful thought!  It's scary, and yet it's a cure for my disease.  There are many eye diseases that cannot be cured;  I thank God that mine is one that can.  It's amazing what surgeons are able to do these days.

The problem now is...money.  It's a pre-existing illness for my plan, so it's not covered at all.  Each eye will cost approximately $30,000 plus the travel costs to Portland, and food & lodging for the week of the surgery and post-surgery appointments before I'm released to go home.  So, we're working on researching all avenues because time is of the essence.  I sometimes worry about the provision for this upcoming necessary surgery, but I serve a BIG God and I know He has a plan for my eyes and has promised to provide for my needs.  He loves me very dearly so I keep trusting in His perfect will and timing for all of this.  He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the gold in every mine so the amount of money I need is nothing to Him.

Please be in prayer with me for this.  For God to provide the financing I need.  Also, please pray for my mother as she recovers from her first corneal transplant recently and as she prepares for another one in October.  I believe in the power of prayer.  Thank you!  I appreciate your support more than you know.

Symptom Update...

I figured I'd do a symptom update and what I'm doing to combat them...

*Trouble reading road signs/fast food menus/printed material/Bible-Try to take someone with me if I need to see street names and eat at home. haha Got new, stronger reading glasses for close-up, reading and computer work. These work sometimes, depending on what my eyes are doing.

*Eye pain, with bright/fluorescent light-I wear my dark, polarized sunglasses with lining that keeps light from getting in. These are especially fun during hot flashes when they totally fog over. Unfortunately, I can't wear them when I'm in the field so this makes taking pictures very difficult.


*Burning/watering eyes-Most of the time, especially with florescent light or bright sunlight or snowy conditions. Worse when allergies are acting up.-Wear my sunglasses. Use eye drops.

*Imaginary moving objects/shadows-While driving-Nothing helps with that.

*Imaginary moving objects/shadows-In the house-Nothing helps with that.

*Watery eyes in AM-Taking MSM eye drops to help with drying them up, some.

*Hazy vision-MSM eye drops help some with this.

* blurry vision-Glasses for reading. Can't use them when I take pictures, though.

*Swollen corneas-Again, taking MSM eye drops to help with drying them up and swelling go down.

*Halos-around street lights and light bulbs-Nothing helps with that.

*Glare-night driving, computer screen, back lit objects & off metal objects-especially sun glaring off cars-I try not to drive at night, especially if it's raining.

*Dry Eyes-Dry, gritty and burning. Wetting drops help some with that.

*Feeling of foreign matter in my eye and occasional feelings of sharp pain (like a prick) that quickly subsides.-Nothing helps with that.

HUGE PRAISE and Symptom Update-October 2009

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

When I prayed for healing, I didn't expect it to come this way, but God seldom works the way we think He should. That's why He's God. His ways are not our ways. Let me explain...

On October 27th 2009, I still had all of the symptoms of fuchs that are listed here in the black text and, barring healing, most likely had two corneal transplants or blindness to look forward to in my future. In the afternoon of Oct. 27th, I had my first spinal adjustment by Dr. Mix-Stork, using the NUCCA method. It was VERY GENTLE; in fact, I hardly noticed it other than I could feel a releasing of pressure sensation in my neck where she was applying the adjustment. The next two days I noticed changes to my eyes.

By the 30th, my eyes were totally clear upon awakening and I could tell my corneas weren't swollen and they weren't watery. Apparently, my spinal cord has been compressed or pinched for at least the past 6 years since my car accident, causing a plethura of physical maladies; my eye symtoms among them. Upon releasing that pressure, my fuchs symptoms have all seemed to have reversed themselves. Most of them are gone, the rest are due to my having an astigmatism, so my eyes are back to pre-car accident state at any rate.

I have not been to the eye Dr, yet, so I cannot say definitively that my fuchs is gone, but I can say that all the symptoms I was having are gone or decreased. I am praising God for this change as it is He who created our wonderous bodies to be able to heal themselves. Due to the car accident, my body needed a little help, but it's now untwisting itself with the help of regular adjustments keeping my spine in alignment, until it can keep it there on its own. I do give credit to Dr. Mix-Stork who is so caring and so skilled in what she does. Please call her for a consult if you're anywhere near her offices. (her husband Dr. Stork, is also practicing in the same office)

Please note that this method of chiropractic is nothing like the traditional kind that takes care of symptoms temporarily with painful adjustments. I know all about that kind, having gone to them since the age of 13! The changes to my eyes are just the beginning of my healing. So many more symptoms are being alieviated with no surgery or drugs, including constant and often debilitating pain in my neck, back and jaw. As an outdoor photographer ,this was quite frustrating and depressing; especially when I was unable to do and go where I needed to, for the shot I wanted or needed to get. I was also sick and/or fatigued all the time, and one day of photography would often wipe me out for days or even weeks. I already feel years younger and now look forward to a more active and productive life.

To those of you who've been faithfully praying for me, thank you so much! Please be sure to now praise and thank the Lord for this healing He's done and is doing in my life.

Please note that the black text shows symptoms as of July 2009, the red text shows symptom changes as of October 2009, after first spinal adjustment from Dr. Mix-Stork at Stork Spinal Care, using the NUCCA method!

*Trouble reading road signs/fast food menus/printed material/Bible-only slight due to astigmatism.

*Eye pain with bright/fluorescent light-Pre-Fuchs sensitivity

*Burning/watering eyes-Much decreased

*Imaginary moving objects/shadows-While driving-Not assessed yet

*Imaginary moving objects/shadows-In the house-decreased or gone

*Watery eyes in AM-slight watering of rt eye only upon first awakening.

*Hazy vision in AM and lasting until late afternoon-Gone

* blurry vision in AM and lasting until late-Gone, except for slight, due to astigmatism.

*Swollen corneas-Gone

*Halos-around street lights and light bulbs-Much decreased

*Glare-night driving, computer screen, back lit objects & off metal objects-especially sun glaring off cars-Much decreased

*Dry Eyes-Dry, gritty and burning in afternoon/evening-Much decreased.

*Feeling of foreign matter in my eye and occasional feelings of sharp pain(like a prick) that quickly subsides. -Gone

Good News!

Well, I was sick on the 24th so I rescheduled for July 1st. So, today I went in for my eye appointment. Good news! My eyes have remained pretty stable since this time last year. So the saying, "prepare for the worst, expect the best" has done me well once again.

Dr. Grigg used a cool, new machine that takes an xray type image of your eye. I think it's actually a retna machine, but you can see all sorts of things and layers of the eye, if you know what to look for. haha Mine is a slightly blurry or hazy image due to the effects of the Fuchs on my cornea. The image is in color, too, or it can be changed to black and white! Awesome. Other than the Fuchs, my eyes are in good health. My prescription hasn't changed for my glasses, so I didn't have to get new ones. They only really work in the morning to early afternoon anyway. Once I get a thickness measurement, I'll know a little better how my eyes are actually doing regarding the Fuchs, but in the meantime I will thank God for His goodness to me and that I can still see the flowers in bloom (click on "flowers in bloom" to see a flower slide show) this summer!

I won't bore you with the details, but he explained how my eyes can be swollen from retaining fluids, yet still dry at the same time. Made a lot of sense to me.

Just so you all know, I would recommend Dr. Grigg and his office to anyone needing an optometrist. Even though he's not a corneal specialist or opthomologist, he recognized right away that I may have Fuchs and referred me to a specialist for my second opinion. He has taken extra time and care with me and my specific situation. He truly cares about his patients. He's even been on my blog to read up on how I'm doing and that says a lot in this age of in-and-out doctors where they try to see as many patients as they possibly can with the least amount of time and care possible. Anyway, click on his name, this blog title or on the link in my Helpful Links list to go to his website. He and his wife are actually both doctors there. It's kinda funny because I see the Mr. and my husband sees the Mrs. So, you'll have to ask my husband what he thinks of her, but I would have to guess that she's just as caring about her patients as her husband.

With our summer so busy, I am looking at August or September to go see the corneal specialist. I'll update when I get that appointment set.

"The Latest..."

I haven't done an update yet this year, so here goes...

I think my eyes are pretty much on a slow decline, but I will find out for sure in May since that's my next check up. It is getting increasingly hard to do what I love to do, take pictures outdoors.

I'm so thankful for my digital camera and it's autofocus capabilities, which can sometimes be a lifesaver for me. It can also fail me, though and then it's frustrating to see that it lost focus and what I thought would be nice sharp images, weren't. I'm hoping to upgrade my camera to one with a larger LCD screen, which will be helpful.

I'm having to wait longer in the day to do certain things and even then, there are things that don't come into full focus for me. That was the case with my last update, and I'm not sure how much worse it is now, than then.

My headaches are more frequent, especially set off by bright light or too much time on the computer.

So, I will just keep on keeping on and doing what God wants me to do. Love and serve Him. I guess that's all for this update.

"Current Symptoms" May update

"Current Symptoms" Bold, italic words indicate changes from last post of current symptoms.

*Trouble reading road signs/fast food menus/printed material/Bible -Either can't focus to read or get extreme strain and or bad headache from reading. (started using audio Bible in March and learned to Ctrl scroll to make online print larger for reading) Very hard to read captioning on TV or reader board that scrolls across during Nascar races, get eye strain if I try.

*Eye pain with bright/fluorescent light-I'm now wearing sunglasses indoors at church due to florescent lighting and at home if drapes are open as well as outdoors.

*Burning/watering eyes-Especially in sun or bright light. Hard to do outdoor photography.

*Imaginary moving objects/shadows-While driving, especially at night I think I see things/people in or by the roadside that aren't there.

*Imaginary moving objects/shadows-In the house, Seems like things flash by quickly, like a mouse or spider is in the house and just went past and I turn my head to look and nothing's there.

*Watery eyes in AM-Started using Muro 128 eye drops in March, but switched to natural MSM eyedrops Late April/early May. I am using two drops in each eye to help dry them up, helps vision.

*Hazy vision in AM-some mornings looks like light layer of smoke is filling the house. MSM eye drops are helping with this.

*Halos-around street lights-big round fuzzy areas of halo around street lights/porch lights. light bulbs-Can't see filament, looks like marshmallows with streaks coming off.

*Glare-night driving-headlights cover both sides of road. computer screen-must turn down or wear sunglasses back lit objects-very little detail off metal objects-especially sun glaring off cars.
*Dry Eyes-Dry and burning in afternoon/evening-Using Gen Teal wetting eye drops, as needed.