Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland. Since much of my news these days relates to trying to age gracefully, this series might be called The Geezer Gazette.
11/7/26
Aloha Everybody!
I got back home a week ago today after my quick excursion to Bascom-Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.
As you recall, this was my Hail Mary attempt to find out the cause of my progressive vision loss over the last 2.5 years. Bascom-Palmer is one of the top rated eye centers in the country, housed in a 4-story modern building entirely devoted to eyeballs. There are several specialty departments and an ER, each with its own staff of ophthalmologists My evaluation was as complete and thorough as I had hoped it would be. I had the usual exams, but these were much more high-tech and thorough. I also had an hour-long MRI of my brain and eyeball area to detect any tumor pressing on the optic nerve, plus blood tests that required about a gallon of blood (actually, 7 vials.) to look for diseases that impair vision. The specialist that I saw is extremely qualified. He is head of the Neuro-Opthamology group and has both an MD and a PhD focusing on the heritability of retina diseases. The whole ordeal took 10 hours, most of which was spent waiting to be called for the next step -- there are a LOT of people with vision problems seeking help here.
The doctor who looked at my MRI called my brain "unremarkable," something I took as an insult until I remembered that in medical jargon this means "nothing bad to comment on." Likewise, the blood tests showed essentially nothing to explain my progressive vision loss, Definitely a "good news -- bad news" outcome, but I'm glad to eliminate all these possibilities rather than being unsure.
These and all the other tests led the hot-shot specialist to conclude that my problem stems from my previous retina vein occlusions (13 years ago for the right, 3 for the left), which have choked off blood to the retina cells causing more and more of them to die over time. The sudden downturn I experienced about 2.5 years ago was was due to reaching a threshold where enough damage had been done that I finally detected the change. The treatment I've been receiving -- pressure drops plus injections to control edema -- is exactly the right thing, but it can only slow the progression, not stop it or reverse it. Major bummer. But at least I know what is in store and I can focus on acceptance and adaptation rather than being frustrated by uncertainty and doubt. I'm getting good care, it just can't make things better.
On a more positive note, Florida turned out to be a lot more pleasant than we expected, despite being
home base for our "president" -- aka "His Majesty the Supreme Demented Narcissist-In-Chief." We flew into Fort Lauderdale rather than Miami and spent a couple of enjoyable days before moving to a hotel close the the eye center. Both Fort Lauderdale and Miami have obviously enjoyed a boom in recent years. There were many stunning new buildings in the downtown areas, much it it high rise residential condos and apartments. Everything was clean, safe, and attractive. In Fort Lauderdale we took a boat tour of the canals near the ocean to view the mansions and yachts by the hundreds that line the waterways. These little homesteads are in the 10's of millions of dollars range, a clear indication that we are NOT taxing wealthy people into the poor house. In Miami we stayed in Wyndwood, an area that is in transition from a former warehouse district to an upscale urban residential neighborhood. The big draw here is the exterior wall art, much of it painted by artists from around the world who were commissioned by clever far-sighted urban planners. We had some great food in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale, including at one restaurant very close to our Miami hotel (Bakan) that we went to twice and where we had a Mexican mole dish that was even better than the mole we encountered in Oaxaca state in southern Mexico. Overall these things took the edge off the rest of the trip.
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| Wall Art |
Back home this has been a pretty decent week. First, there was Tuesday's election results, of course. Also, the weather as cooled off a bit and I managed to do an outdoor repair of the garden irrigation system. Just like me, the old tubing is developing leaks, but unlike me the leaks can me fixed by just replacing the tubing. However, this requires a lot of digging and squatting to accomplish, so I'm nursing very sore muscles. Finally, last night we went to our community theater for a fun Santana tribute by a group of local musicians. Damn, Carlos Santana was good!
Ok, that's it. Stay healthy and safe, enjoy your fall weather. And remember, election results can indicate rejection of one political position but not necessarily be an endorsement of its opposite. Carpe Vitam!
