4/4/23

Three evenings ago, I was working at my desk in my office, and I noticed a dead June bug laying on top of my desk, near the front.  I studied it, but decide it was dead and upside down.  Ok, no cause for alarm.  No worries about a June bug flying into my hair.  They're the stupidest bugs on the planet and I've had plenty land there, so this could be a real issue.  I'm satisfied it's dead, and resolve to pick it up and toss it into the garbage as soon as I'm finished with my task at hand.  However, I continue to take peeks at it over the next hour or so, just to ensure it hasn't moved, because I don't trust it.  I keep worrying about that stupid bug rolling back over and taking wing.  It's horrible when they land in your hair - especially hair like mine.  Thick and curly.  They entangle themselves and just go in deeper and deeper.  It's just plain creepy.  At one point, I was obsessed with that bug, but never got the will to just get up and clean it up.  I should have done that right away.  It would have saved me a great deal of lost concentration and mental agony.  It never did move.  When I finished working, I turned off the light and left the room - totally forgetting about picking up the June bug.  The next morning, when I went into my office to pick up something from my desk, I remembered the bug.  There it was.  Right where I'd left it.  It hadn't moved at all.  It was daylight now and the blinds were open.  The sun was shining and my office was bright.  Also, my eyes had had one more day to heal from my cataract surgery.  In total disgust, I picked up the brown button that had fallen off my shirt the week prior.  The one I'd placed at the front of my desk, so that I wouldn't forget to sew it back on.  I put it right back down where I found it because I won't be able to sew for several weeks now.  I reminded myself how idiotic I was the previous evening, and decided right then and there, that I should share my stupidity with everyone, so that ya'll could feel better about yourselves.  Did it work?

My cataract surgery went well, but afterwards, I slept pretty much the remainder of the day.  I woke up in the middle of the operation, and knew my right eye had been propped open, but I wasn't sure about my left eye.  I was too scared to try and open it, even though I figured I wouldn't see anything because it would be covered with a sterile drape or something.  I could feel him cutting on my eyeball and then inserting the new lens.  He was doing a bunch of other stuff as well, but I had no idea, what.  It didn't hurt.  It was surreal, actually.  I saw a bunch of moving lights and things and at one point he asked me if I was awake.  I said 'yes'.  He told me to concentrate on the tiny black spots on the three marshmallows.  I did.  That's all I remember and I went back to sleep.  Afterwards, when he came in to talk to me, I told him about the lights.  It was light being on the Starship Enterprise, or something.  He told me to call him 'Mr. Spock'.  Three nurses came into the recovery area a little dismayed.  Apparently, I was telling jokes while under the sleepy juice.  I had no idea.  Anyway, I was in the middle of one when I woke up and they wanted to hear the punch line.  I gave it to them.  They left happy.  I did my job.  I'm having my left eye done tomorrow at noon and I wonder if I'll tell jokes again.  Probably.  I couldn't have run out of all my jokes in only 45 minutes......

David took me back in for my checkup the next morning and everything looked good.  I was back there again today to get re-checked and everything is going according to their plan.  I drove yesterday for the first time, but am not allowed to wear my glasses.  They said I could take out a lens and just use the one for my left eye, but I wear glasses with no frames, so they would just fall apart if I took out a lens.  So, I just don't read road signs.  I know where I'm going anyway and I can see the street lights just fine.  I took a friend to the doctor yesterday and we didn't get lost, so I'm good.  

After getting my eyes checked, I headed to the orthopedic surgeon's office and got a shot in each hip for my bursitis.  It was getting pretty bad and I could only walk about 100 yards before I had to find a chair.  I want to have SOME fun on our cruise, so he stuck a couple of 15" needles into my hips.  Well, they felt about that long, anyway.  He gave me a Rx for some anti-inflammatory pills and a steroid pack.  I'm supposed to start that on the first day of our cruise.  After that appointment, I went to the spine doctor.  I met a new one.  A lady that specializes in chronic back pain.  I met a couple of reps from my spinal implant company, and the three of us programmed my stimulator differently.  I'll give this a try and maybe, just maybe, I can go on some excursions like normal people on a cruise.  I headed to the pharmacy to pick up my drugs, got a few groceries and headed home.  Gads, I was gone all day long.  David showed up about 15 minutes after I got home.  He'd gone to Houston for a couple of days and missed all this fun.  I got a neighbor to help me haul out the garbage can last night because I have a 20 lb. weight limit and cannot bend over for another week.  I put drops in 4x/day and wean off of them for the next 3 weeks.  However, I will start the whole process over again tomorrow!  But wait!  There's more!  My surgery tomorrow isn't until noon, so of course I should fill my morning with more doctor appointments.  Why waste 1/2 day doing nothing, when I can go see another specialist, right?!?  So, 9:45 a.m., I'm going to entertain my cardiologist.  I've been keeping track of my heart rate, blood pressure and O2 levels for the past 5 days, as requested, so that oughta provide him with some valuable reading material.  No exercise for me, so I doubt if he'll put me on the schedule for any immediate testing.  No pressure for my eyeballs to deal with, you see.  

My eye is still blurry, so the next few days may be a bit challenging.  No more cross stitch and that button on my desk?  Well, it's gonna sit there and gather some dust till May.  They said it could take up to 3 months for my eyes to fully heal.  He took care of my astigmatisms, too.  I can hardly wait for my new eyes!  I'm like a little kid at Christmas!  Oh, Christmas.... that reminds me.  How much does Santa's sleigh cost?

Nothing.  It's on the house.



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