pnomanikon
Senior Member
My Retirement Photo Trip - 2nd Attempt - COMPLETED SEPT 2019 - Travelogue
EDIT: TRIP COMPLETED SEPT 2019 - CLICK HERE FOR TRAVELOGUE: http://www.michaelelyard.com/SW Retirement Trip 2019 Home.htm
Well, here I sit at the computer when I should be going to bed to be rested for the beginning leg of our Retirement Drive tomorrow morning (Monday 22 April). My wife and I have wanted to see the Southwest (USA) for many years, and now that we are retired, we spent this winter meticulously planning out a 4-week, 5,500-mile loop from West Virginia down to Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, Arches, Glen Canyon, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonland, and Colorado before returning home on Old Rt 30 (Lincoln Highway). We even bought a new car in October since our old car was showing its age. Bags were packed last week. Cameras all ready with recharged batteries and extra SD cards. READY TO GO!
Then, Friday afternoon, I was taking an elderly neighbor around town helping her running errands when I started noticing an occasional flash of light off to my left. It started happening more often, and getting brighter, kind of like a vertical lightning bolt in my left eye off to the left side. When I got home, my wife made me go to the Emergency Room. They called in two ophthalmologists who spent the next 2-3 hours shining bright lights in my eyes and taking a probe and pushing on my eyes. Good news is that it is not retinal separation at this point, but it is still serious. The vitreous fluid (thick gel inside the eye) attaches to the inside lining of the eye in several places. One of those attachments is in the process of tearing loose. That irritates the nerves, which causes the light flashes. This separation process can take days, weeks, or even months. Most of the time, it separates OK and things settle down. Other times, it can tear the inner lining of the eye. Not good!
Now I have to go back on Wednesday for another "shine and poke" exam. I'm still getting light flashes in my left eye, and noticing more "floaters" in my direct line of sight. They can take up to 6 months to "settle". I'm glad we have great medical people here at the WVU University Hospital.
I spent the afternoon today online and calling and cancelling one hotel after another and our tours of Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon. Very depressing.
More bad news - the Doctors said that in most cases, both eyes do this around the same time, so I should expect it to happen to the right eye at some point soon.
On a good note, I guess we weren't 2,500 miles away in the middle of Death Valley when this happened.
Oh well. Maybe this fall or next year.
Sigh.
EDIT: TRIP COMPLETED SEPT 2019 - CLICK HERE FOR TRAVELOGUE: http://www.michaelelyard.com/SW Retirement Trip 2019 Home.htm
Well, here I sit at the computer when I should be going to bed to be rested for the beginning leg of our Retirement Drive tomorrow morning (Monday 22 April). My wife and I have wanted to see the Southwest (USA) for many years, and now that we are retired, we spent this winter meticulously planning out a 4-week, 5,500-mile loop from West Virginia down to Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, Arches, Glen Canyon, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonland, and Colorado before returning home on Old Rt 30 (Lincoln Highway). We even bought a new car in October since our old car was showing its age. Bags were packed last week. Cameras all ready with recharged batteries and extra SD cards. READY TO GO!
Then, Friday afternoon, I was taking an elderly neighbor around town helping her running errands when I started noticing an occasional flash of light off to my left. It started happening more often, and getting brighter, kind of like a vertical lightning bolt in my left eye off to the left side. When I got home, my wife made me go to the Emergency Room. They called in two ophthalmologists who spent the next 2-3 hours shining bright lights in my eyes and taking a probe and pushing on my eyes. Good news is that it is not retinal separation at this point, but it is still serious. The vitreous fluid (thick gel inside the eye) attaches to the inside lining of the eye in several places. One of those attachments is in the process of tearing loose. That irritates the nerves, which causes the light flashes. This separation process can take days, weeks, or even months. Most of the time, it separates OK and things settle down. Other times, it can tear the inner lining of the eye. Not good!
Now I have to go back on Wednesday for another "shine and poke" exam. I'm still getting light flashes in my left eye, and noticing more "floaters" in my direct line of sight. They can take up to 6 months to "settle". I'm glad we have great medical people here at the WVU University Hospital.
I spent the afternoon today online and calling and cancelling one hotel after another and our tours of Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon. Very depressing.
More bad news - the Doctors said that in most cases, both eyes do this around the same time, so I should expect it to happen to the right eye at some point soon.
On a good note, I guess we weren't 2,500 miles away in the middle of Death Valley when this happened.
Oh well. Maybe this fall or next year.
Sigh.
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