A Bookworm Celebration

It's been a long time since my last blog, and even longer since my last book review. This one has special meaning. I finally moved one book off the pile of BTR (Books to Read) on my bedside table. Ron Rash's The Caretaker had been there a while along with several other unread treasures. I'm celebrating the fact that I finished a book. This comes from one who has read before bed every night since I was 12. My first book to read was Phyllis Whitney's Mystery of the Green Cat. I was hooked. Last December 28, my nighttime reading stopped. I had a bad case of flu, strain A. I was in a painful state for over a week, and the cough continued for weeks. But the worst of it was that I suggenly realized that my vision was not normal. I already has a central vision deficit in my right eye. But this new hazy, distorted vision was in my left "good" eye. I had a flare of dry macular degeneration in that eye several years ago. My doctor at Mid-South Retina told me that I was in the 3 percent of patients who recovered vision after that happened. A month later, bam, here it was. When I looked at people it looked like part of their heads had caved in. Everything had a red tint. My fingers looked longer that they should, and were much more crooked that they aleady are. I couldn't read. In early January I saw another doctor at the same clinic and he said that I had wet macular degeration with a lot of fluid in that eye. He gave me an injection in that eye. No big deal. I've had dozens. When I saw my regular doctor at Mid-South in February he scheduled me for monthly injections. Last visit he said all we could hope for was that this stabilizes. It's not expected to improve. I cried on the way home. My mother had ARMD (Age Related Macular Degeneration) and I watched as her depression began and her world closed in. I'm not doing that, I said. So, after three injections, I really do see some improvements. People now have round heads. My fingers don't look as creepy, and I'm driving again. If this is what I'm left with, I can stand it. I'm eating so many blueberries I fear I may turn blue, and I take ARed eye vitamins. We prayed. My doctor was the first to pray with me, and then Howard and I prayed, as did my Sunday School Class. Before I retired, my boss gave me a set of little magnifying glasses in different sizes. He must have known that they would come in handy some day. They had silver handles in different fine cutlery patterns. I have them scattered all over the house where I usually land. I say all this not to bring attention to myself, but to encourage people to have regular eye exams, be aware of changes. If your friends seen to have heads that have caved in, for Heaven's sake, go to a specialist. Someone said to me, "Are you going to quit riding your horse?" To which I replied, "Well, no. She's not blind, and she knows where she is going." PS: I loved The Caretaker. This wasn't a proper review. Maybe later. Also, it's been so long since I wrote a blog, that I can't get this stupid program to indent my paragraphs. I know better.