Eye surgery was yesterday and follow up was today. This computer is rigged for large print, so I do not need reading glasses for writing. Now I feel like Burgess Meredith in the famous Twilight Zone episode where he has vast amount of books to read - oh joy - and broken glasses - oh no!
The key date was December 8th. The regular doctor identified my pancreas warrantee running out. Later that day, the ophthalmologist found eye pressure going up, even with two kinds of drops. I did not want glaucoma to do any more damage, so I scheduled the operations.
The route of the optic nerve is a spot on the back of the eyeball, and that spot is called a macula, Latin for spot. Macular degeneration is the gradual loss of that bundle of nerves. (Note for the Lutheran Librarian - that is not an Wiki link, so it may be factually accurate.)
Glaucoma is different (Harvard link).
December 8th is the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. I mention that because many get mixed up. The invented and promoted dogma - Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox - is that the Virgin Mary was spotless (immaculate) her entire life and never committed a sin. That dogma grew and flourished with Mary as the Queen of Heaven, the one who comforted the suffering souls in Purgatory. And yet, Purgatory came from pagan sources, not the Scriptures. She is contrasted with the distorted teaching that Jesus is harsh and angry with sinners, Mary demanding mercy for them as the Mother of the Redeemer.
So December 8th began my change to nutrition and away from desserts, sweets, and atrocious choices in food. In one week, between eye operations, my blood pressure dropped 45 points (top part) which became a 30 point drop before surgery, due to white coat syndrome - being nervous when a doctor shows up.
Christina's job at Yale Medical School, The Child Study Center, was researching the use of books for helping children and parents. It is ironic that her copy of Eat To Live was in my library when I got the shocking pancreas news. Fortunately, Dr. Fuhrman's book became my therapy for reducing blood sugar and lowering blood pressure.
I have avoided desserts, candy, and snack-food the entire time - replacing them with almonds, walnuts, and fruits. Lunch today was a combo of green peppers, onions, and sweet potatoes. Sassy and I had our last fish later because I was getting low on mercury and plastic. (That's a joke.)
Fuhrman's prescription for a lot more exercise is expressed well, but it fell into the abyss of taking it easy for eye surgery. Soon that will be a daily routine to supplement the low-cost gym I use, which is an exit away.
