Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2007. Mattie was five years old and that weekend we went for a walk on Roosevelt Island. A special place for our family. As you can see, Mattie found a gigantic leaf and was walking along with it. Of course that leaf came home with us and was added to his natural find collection. After Mattie died, Peter and I both had trouble sleeping. Peter would literally get to the Island at 5 or 6am and walk it. It was his ritual, and we both needed something to motivate us to get up, function, and interact with the world in some way. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 46,763,694
• Number of people who died from the virus: 758,592

I was out of the house most of the day! Though I was running around and in the car for most of it, I came back with a better mind set. Leaving the "funny farm" was a healthy thing for me. I came back not as hyper and frenetic. 

I had back to back doctors appointments today. In between appointments I sat outside and had frozen yogurt. It was a wonderful break, until my peace was interrupted by a rat who scurried passed me. I wasn't sure if that was a sign.... a sign reminding me don't get too comfortable. 

I said good-bye to my ophthalmologist last year. Or I should say I gave him and his practice walking papers. At our last appointment together I learned he diagnosed me with narrow angle glaucoma years before. Yet NEVER told me about it. When I found out, I was livid. Livid because I like to know what's going on with my own body, and I didn't feel comfortable signing up for laser treatment to put a hole in my eye to drain fluid. If he had communicated with me along the way, I wouldn't have been shocked when he prescribed surgery. It was at that point, I found a new doctor. 

My new doctor assesses me every six months to see if I have any changes in eye pressure. My eyes were dilated twice today and I was assessed. I got a good report, and so far no pressure changes. I am stable. In the appointment the doctor asked me what is new. I told him I bought a house and he asked why. So I mentioned that I am going to California to pack my parents up and bring them East to live with us. My doctor's demeanor changed immediately. I clearly struck a chord. We continued chatting and I learned that he lost both of his parents to cancer and we had a lot in common. Amazing how one simple question (what is new?) can lead to so much information and a connection!

Driving around town with dilated eyes was something else, but I managed. When I got home, Peter packed the car for a delivery to MedStar Georgetown tomorrow. Thank goodness he is skilled spatially because if it was up to me, I would be lucky to get half of the items in the car.

Get the picture!

Fortunately going to Georgetown is something I am very familiar with, because I really do not like driving without having access to my rear view mirror.