AZDonna

It’s been 101 days since the Valley of the Sun has had a drop of rain. That matches the longest we have ever gone. Tomorrow it will be a record 102 days and there is no rain in sight. Experts predict we are in for a terrible fire season this year because everything is so dry. Hey, west coast, send us some rain!

Carrie saw the surgeon for a follow up visit yesterday. He says the retina is healing well, and won’t need to be lasered. However, the inflamation in that eye is significant and he has increased her steroid drops. That increases the risk of gloucoma. He also said her vision would change dramatically several times over the next year, and she will need a new prescription at least every three months.

He will wait until this eye is stablized and she can use it for seeing before he starts work on her left eye. There is urgency in fixing the good eye before it detaches, but that has to be weighed against her being able to function. They will be watching things closely.

Both kids are sick, and she is having quite a time dealing with all the things going on. She has had helpers this week, but there have been two afternoons when she was alone with the kids. The doctor has cautioned her to be careful; no lifting or bending down suddenly. Nathan has been pretty good for his mommy, but Lauren is fascinated by the patch and wants to grab it. It’s a juggling act.

On other fronts, I worked yesterday from noon until 2:30 a.m. The urgent project I am on is making good progress, and I will swing back to day shift next week. It hasn’t been bad working second shift for a short while, though I wouldn’t want to do it permanently.

Mom’s cousin, Doris, is in town for a visit. I just love Doris … she’s such a delightful lady. I hope to see them tomorrow.

I have had people calling me and emailing me asking for an update on Carrie. Thank you for your continuing concern. There’s not much new to tell yet. She sees the doctor on Friday for her second check following surgery.

She is having a lot of pain. Just imagine taking your eye out of its socket, squeezing a tight silicone band around it, sewing a buckle onto it and putting it back in the socket! It makes mine hurt just thinking about it. She has to have drops put in 4 times a day, and they sting something terrible, she said. She does have some vision in that eye, but it’s very blurry. (She was able to see two fingers that the doctor held up.) Her eye is shut most of the time, and she wants to keep it that way for now. She will have to wear a patch for driving (eventually) for a while. She has some helpers each day this week to assist with the kids and her eye drops. Me … I’m working second shift and overtime this week plus the weekend (an emergency project), so I’m no help at all.

Thanks again for your prayers and concern. I told her there are many people asking about and praying for her, and she feels really blessed by that.

I’m sure most of you know, but here’s an update on Carrie. I’ll start at the beginning for those who haven’t heard.

A couple of months ago (during their move), Carrie was experiencing some headaches accompanied by flashes of light. She thought they were migraines, of course. Then right around Christmas, she started seeing a shadow over one quadrant of her right eye. She waited several days, until Brian finally insisted she see the doctor.

The first thing he did was schedule a brain MRI. That was done last Thursday evening, and when she left, the technician told her she should hear from her doctor in 2-3 days. That was reassuring, because she knew if there were any abnormalities, she would hear from her doctor immediately. They called her on Tuesday to say the results were normal, and the next thing was to see an ophthalmologist. She couldn’t get in until Friday, yesterday. On Wednesday, the shadow increased. On Friday, she discovered it was an emergency situation. It was a detached retina. Even worse, the retina in her other eye has started to break down also. It appears she has some genetic condition causing this rather than any injury.

They took her into surgery last night and put a “scleral buckle” on the first (and worst) one. By this morning, her retina was 99% flattened back into the eye, and the doctor is very optimistic her vision may be saved. She has to do some healing and then they will laser the retina to bond it. As soon as this eye is stable, she needs work on her other eye. It may be a challenging several months ahead, but we are all feeling much better about it today than we were yesterday.

From a google search, I found this website which shows an illustration of the problem along with the treatment options.

We have had many people praying for her, and the prayers will be continuing in the coming weeks. We send our thanks out to everyone.