Oklawaha River Walk

The EYES have it

I've been trying for 2 weeks to get an appointment for my eyes.  I have macular edema secondary to aterial/venous occlusion.  They made it a really long complicated name so they can charge me more for treating it, I'm convinced about that.  All that means is I have an artery that lays across a vein in my eye, so it makes the blood in the vein back up some causing some swelling.  Anyway, I have to get the eye checked every 6 weeks or so and if it's swelled up they give me a shot of Avastin IN the eye. OUCH!

Actually, they dilate the eye with 3 different dilation drugs.  It actually takes 24 hours for the drugs to wear off so it makes it virtually impossible to drive at night without my 100% UV blocking sunglasses on.  Then they put 3 different numbing agents on the eyeball so you can't feel when they actually stick the needle in.  What you CAN feel is about 1/4" away being pulled some as the needle pushes on the eyeball before going into it.

Well, when we realized we were moving to Ocala I got on line and looked for a retinologist.  Ocala Eye Centers is the largest Opthalmologic Practice in town.  On January 4th I went on their website and left an email asking for someone to contact me so I could become a patient.  They sent me an auto-response that: "Someone will be in touch with you soon."  I gues 6 days later falls into their definition of "soon."  On the 10th they told me that they had to have a referral from Dr. Kusumi (my Lafayette Retinologist).  I called them and told them the name and fax number of the doctor here.  On Tuesday the 14th I called Ocala Eye to see if they'd gotten the referral.  NOPE!  I called Dr. Kusumi's office again to remind them to send it.  Wednesday I called Ocala Eye to ask if they'd gotten it.  NOPE!  Again I called Dr. Kusumi's office.  They had sent it on Monday.  Ocala Eye said they hadn't gotten it.  I asked Dr. Kusumi's to send it again.  They did.  Calling Ocala Eye this morning I was told that "Yes" they had gotten the referral but that the Retinologist was out of town at a Medical Meeting until next Tuesday and wouldn't see it until then and it would probably be later in the week before he would even decide how/if to treat me.  Bottom line, I've been trying to for weeks only to be told it will be at LEAST another week.  I'm NOT a happy camper about this, I need my eye examined and tested!  Done venting.

So, today we got up, I whooped Irene two times in Scrabble.  Then we took a walk.  We got about 7/10 of a mile in before Irene said "It's too windy, I've gotta go in."  It was in the mid 50s with a 20 mph wind.  What's hilarious (in THIS northerners mind) is that yesterday that had a cold weather advisory here for wind chill.  Yep, its 48º and they have a wind chill advisory.  I'm thinking "Kazumi and I have walked to work at 0º with a 10 mph wind (-20º wind chill factor)  BUT I guess it all depends on what you are used to.  After we ate lunch, Irene stayed home and washed clothes while I went out and got another 5 mile walk in.  I walked over the Oklawaha River bridge which is about 3/4 miles long and pretty steep.  It was a work out.

After coming home we had dinner and Irene BARELY beat me a couple times in Scrabble.

DRAT!  I usually watch Big Bang Theory and Elementary on Thursday night and tonight they are both reruns.  Ha-rumpf!  So, I'm finishing this blog posting way before midnight.