Lovin' What I SEE!

Today's post is short, sweet, yet EXTREMELY meaningful.

In a nutshell...8 years ago today I visited a RETINA SPECIALIST who pretty much took pictures of my eyes and basically told me that I should NOT be able to see, and would not be able to see for much longer. He didn't tell me how MUCH longer, that would be, nor did he tell me what I could do to save my eyesight.

WORST DOCTOR'S VISIT I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!

I left his office depressed and discouraged. That lasted for about two weeks.

After those two weeks were up, I decided that I was going to LIVE my life and take in as much as I could SEE, WHILE I could see.

And here we are...

Folks sometimes wonder why I take so many pictures, or why I often stop dead in my tracks to gaze at something that most would overlook. My answer is simple...I do those things, because I STILL CAN.

Every day that I open my eyes and can STILL SEE is an incredibly amazing gift that I do NOT take for granted.

So on this day every year, January 29th, I celebrate what I call my "Birthdaversary." It's a combination of the day that truly began to see life around me, and my way of always remembering how precious this gift of sight is.

Now Let the DIALOGUE begin: Is there a medical milestone that you celebrate each year?

If so...Talk to me!

Til next time...

Seven Years Later

My goodness!!! Where has the time gone?

I woke up this morning and realized that I forgot to write a very important post yesterday. Yesterday, January 29, 2016 was my 7 year "Birthdaversary."

Birthdaversary is a mixture of the day my retina specialist told me that losing my eyesight was in my very near future which resulted in me soon thereafter looking at life through GRATEFUL EYES.

Yes, January 29, 2009 very well may have been the worst day of my life, and the news that I was given on that day sent me into a deep downward spiral, and depression.

I mean, how is one supposed to handle the news that their eyes are the worst that the doctor has ever seen in his numerous years of practice, which was quickly followed by him printing out a picture of an eye and then marking the paper with EVERYTHING he saw wrong with mine. Holes and tears all over the place.

I sat frozen after hearing all that he had to say, then finally asked, "What can be done to make things better? How to I fix what's wrong with my eyes?"

His cold, emotionless response was, "Nothing."

He ended the visit and told me to come back in six weeks. Those were the longest six weeks of my life. I didn't know if I was going to lose my vision within those six weeks...I didn't know what to expect. He left me with nothing to help me get through.

So, as I said before...I became severely depressed...to the point of not even being able to get up and go to work. I felt like my life was coming to an end. How would I function without being able to SEE???

Somewhere along the line, maybe week four or five, I began to pray. My prayer in the beginning was, "Lord, please don't let me lose my eyesight." Then it became, "Lord, I know that you are with me in ALL things, and although you know what I want, ultimately, this is about what YOU want. So let YOUR will be done, and help me to accept whatever that is." With that prayer, came a calming peace. I was finally ready to get back to living.

Six weeks were up and it was time for me to see the specialist again. A slew of pictures were taken of my eyes...my retinas actually. The BRIGHT LIGHT of the camera shining RIGHT IN MY EYES was awful. When all the pics were taken, I then proceeded to the examination room and waited for "Mr. No Bedside Manner" to come in and review everything with me.

He came in, looked at the pics, didn't say anything, then called someone else into the room. They talked amongst themselves as though I weren't in the room. I overheard them looking for things that were on the previous pics, that were no longer in the pics that had just been taken. They were baffled.

Finally, the doctor looked at me and asked, "What have you been doing?"

My response, "I've been praying. God made these eyes, and I knew that only He could HEAL them."

They both looked at me like I was speaking a language they didn't understand. I understood completely, and left that office PRAISING God.

That was SEVEN years ago, and these eyes STILL FUNCTION.

Since that day seven years ago, I have developed a deep appreciation for God's beauty around me. Whether it comes in the form of an ocean wave, a sunset, a flower, a bright shiny full moon, a bird, squirrel, snail, people...you name it...when MY eyes see it, I always thank God, and if I am able...I take a picture.

I still have to take precautions with my eyes, like wearing Solar Shield glasses (that senior citizens wear) when I'm out in the sun, even on days when no one around me has their eyes covered, mine MUST be. I'm unable to wear contacts because putting them in and taking them out makes me "see stars", so I've decided that glasses will do just fine. Those are very small prices to pay though toward the preservation of my beloved eyesight.

So...that's my story, and every year I am so happy, and BLESSED to share it. I would say that God is good, but in my life, He is sooo much more than that. I've often told Him that there is no word to adequately describe His goodness. I'm sure He understands exactly what I mean.

Now, Let the DIALOGUE begin: Have you had any medical scares that God brought you through?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Seeing and BELIEVING

Not everyone knows my story so on January 29th every year I tell it again, as a reminder to some, and as new info to others.

The short and skinny of it is this: On January 29th, 2009 at the suggestion of my optometrist, I went to see a retina specialist because my I had some "interesting things" going on with my eyes.

So I go to the specialist's office and IMMEDIATELY realize that something is wrong. I am the YOUNGEST person in the office, buy AT LEAST 40 YEARS!!!

I get checked in, get my pupils dilated and proceed to have images taken of my eyes all while EXTREMELY BRIGHT LIGHT is being shone in them. My eyes teared, and teared, and teared some more. I think at one point I pleaded with them to stop taking the images, but of course, they couldn't, so they didn't.

After the images were taken I went back into the waiting room until it was my turn to see the specialist.

He calls me in, looks at my images and before he even introduces himself, he comes right out with, "Is there a history of BLINDNESS in your family?"

WHAT?!?

What kind of way is THAT for us to start off???

I tell him no.

He them draws a picture of an eyeball, marks it up and says, "That's what's going on in YOUR eyes. Rips, tears, holes..."

I was numb. Not really knowing what any of that meant.

Finally, I found my voice and asked him, "So what do we do about it?"

His cold response, "Nothing".

"So I'm going to lose my eyesight?"

He replied, "Most people have a 1 in 10,000 chance of losing their vision. YOU have a 1 in 100 chance. I have to tell you, YOURS are the WORST eyes I've ever seen, and I see thousands of patients each year."

The numbness returned.

"So there's nothing I can do?"

"Nothing. Just come in twice a year so that we can monitor the degeneration, but other than that, no...nothing to stop it."

Well alrighty then!

He scheduled for me to come back in 3 weeks, maybe 6 (I can't remember), to do some follow up tests, and sent me on my not-so-merry way.

No sooner than I left his office I IMMEDIATELY fell into a depression. He had just told me that I was going to lose my eyesight, sooner rather than later.

I came home and CRIED. My kids cried with me because they could see how torn up I was. My doctor took me off work, because I stopped functioning. In my mind, I was going blind...and I didn't know when. It was the WORST news I'd ever received in my LIFE!

After a while I realized that I had to "snap out of it". I still had a life to live and children to take care of. I had to get myself together! And I prayed.

Of course, my initial prayer was, "Lord, please don't let this happen."

Over time it became, "Lord, let Your will be done." Now THAT was a difficult prayer to pray!!! That meant that if I kept my eyesight, I would accept it, and if I LOST my eyesight, I would accept that too.

So I go back to the specialist a few weeks later, they take those HORRIBLE bright light images again, and I see "Dr. Doom and Gloom" to go over everything.

He looks over the images...perplexed.

He calls someone else in to look at them...now they're BOTH perplexed...and I'm curious.

"Dr. Doom & Gloom" asks, "Where is the hole?"

The assistant says, "I don't see it."

The doctor says, "It was in the last images. Why isn't it in these?"

I say, "Because I have PRAYED to the Lord who MADE THESE EYES and He has removed whatever was there."

Now they are both looking at me like I am from another planet.

WHATEVER! I know that I serve an omnipotent God and He is able to heal whenever and however He so chooses. THIS I KNOW.

So he sent me away again, and I've NEVER been back. I see my optometrist regularly, but I will NEVER go back to that man. Even if I do need to see another specialist in the future, it won't be he who lacks compassion.

Yes, my eyes still do things that most folks' eyes don't do.
Yes, I have to wear "special" sunglasses even on days when the sun isn't so bright, and I wear them OVER my regular glasses.
No, I can't wear contacts anymore because I "see stars" when I put them in.

But PRAISE BE TO GOD that I CAN STILL SEE!!!

He made these eyes and He has sustained my vision. That's why I notice things than most overlook...because I SEE and APPRECIATE EVERYTHING.

So on this day, January 29th 2015, I am celebrating my 6 year BIRTHDAVERSARY. I call it a birthdaversary because I feel like that was the day that I really began seeing life from a different perspective...and being ever-so-thankful for it.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: Do you have any health related BIRTHDAVERSARIES that YOU celebrate each year?

Talk to me!

Til next time...