New Beginnings

Eid Mubarak and Happy New Year, everyone!

As the week, the month, and finally the year gently passed into the realm of memory, giving birth to the hope of better things to come, I breathed a sigh of relief and said alhamdulillah for new beginnings. How blessed we are to have yet another chance to edit, if you will, the next chapter in our life's book!

The past several days have been a haze of cross-country phone calls as my family and I sit vigil for my mother's youngest brother who has been in a drug induced coma and on a respirator at a hospital on the other side of the country from where I live. My uncle, a Viet Nam vet who was held captive by the Viet Cong, suffers from a breathing disorder caused by a combination of factors including exposure to Agent Orange. This once rough and tumble airman now struggles with every breath he takes. As a result his breaths are too shallow to allow the carbon dioxide to escape, so it built up in his body and began to poison him. Alhamdullilah, my uncle received a new beginning yesterday morning when the carbon dioxide levels in his blood had been reduced to a level low enough that he could be weaned off the respirator, awakened from the coma, and returned to the land of the coherent.

Despite going fully prepared to do battle with my very kind neuro-othamologist last week about my decision to forego a second surgery, it turns out that the eye is correcting itself to the old position, alhamdullilah! It's not quite where it needs to be yet, but the kind doctor suggested that we wait until the 7 week follow-up to see how it looks before deciding if a second correction is needed. Alhamdullilah, 2006 ended with only two surgeries!

I'm ready for a new beginning, insh'Allah. Put a period at the end of this sentence. Finish the paragraph. Close the chapter. Turn the page.

Check Ups and Check Outs

This afternoon marks the one week post-op eye check up appointment and although the wonderful neuro-opthamologist has decided that the surgery will more than likely need to be repeated tonight, I have decided to check out. Nope, not another surgery for me in 2006. Why? Remember my post about the number 3? Call me superstitious, call me silly, call me anything you want, but this would mean surgery number 3, and I am in no way prepared emotionally or psychiologically for yet another surgery right now. If yet another surgery is needed, I'll deal with the goofy vision until spring break and deal with it then, insh'Allah. Alhamdullilah, I've dealt with much worse and been none the worse for the wear.

Seeing Double

Like a dingbat, I forgot to date the update to the last post, so I have to post again to let you know that I posted it today, December 16. Duh!

I had surgery on my right eye two days ago and am now seeing double, literally. The surgery was supposed to fix a wandering eye problem, but it looks like I will be going back under the knife on the 26th if the problem doesn't fix itself by then. According to the neuro-opthamologist, less than 1% of the patients who have Chiari and have this corrective surgery have a worsening of the double vision and as luck would have it, I never ever do anything the easy way, alhamdulillah. My eye is currently filled with blood and looks disgusting, but I suppose it could be much worse. At least when I look straight ahead I only see two of everything -- when I look to the side I see three, four, five, even six of everything!

And so it goes. . .