Blinded...

When I was in upper elementary school, the teacher gave us a type of compassion assignment for a half day. Each of us were given something - whether we needed to be in a wheelchair, couldn't talk, couldn't hear, or couldn't see. Already 50% deaf in my left ear, receiving "blind" was a bit disorienting, to say the least. I discovered later that the assignment was meant for the other students to be more compassionate and understanding towards me, the bald kiddo with cancer.

Fast forward to this morning. My eyes were aching and rather dry this morning. This has happened a couple of times in the past and my eye doctor gave me some prescription drops to use. After I drop three balls of the liquid into each eyeball, I am supposed to keep them shut for at least fifteen minutes.

Drop…Drop…in walks my youngest. "Here, Mommy, I brought this for you!" She apparently was holding a bowl of cereal.

I told her that I couldn't open my eyes for a bit and sat up in bed. I asked her to place the bowl in my hands and explained why…she proceed to tell me the color of the bowl, type of cereal, and how all the smaller spoons were dirty, so it was a big spoon. (I didn't ask her anything, but she volunteered the information.) As I was eating, we were talking and I was reminded of that assignment from years ago.

Eating a bowl of cereal when you can't see it…really, not that difficult, although I did find myself holding the bowl under my chin between each bite. When I thought it was empty, I sat it down next to me as we talked a bit. After about fifteen minutes, I moved my hand to the side and knocked the bowl over. Instinctively opening my eyes, I saw that milk was spilled on the bed. Ugh. I didn't sip it dry!

Maybe it is because I rely so heavily on sight to compensate for loss of hearing (pretty much deaf now in the left ear…sporting my hearing aid…not enough loss to warrant the cost of one for the right ear yet), but not being able to see to read people's lips or take in the colors and contours around me? I honestly can't imagine. Even if I could hear perfectly, I couldn't.

I have a great aunt who has macular degeneration. According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, "Macular degeneration is caused by the deterioration of the central part of the retina, the inside back layer of the eye that records the images we see and send them via the optic nerve from the eye to the brain. The retina's central portion, known as the macula, is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye, and it controls our ability to read, drive a car, recognize faces or colors, and see objects in fine detail."*

My great aunt receives intraocular shots (needle into the eyeball) that do help, but there is no cure. The last time I visited her house, she showed me this magnifying devise that makes the letters on the keyboard HUGE. She is a spitfire, a full of spunk lady that doesn't allow her diagnosis or deteriorating condition affect her life (other than the obvious constraints). You wouldn't even notice that her vision is impaired, when sitting in her comfy living room, chatting! But, then again, she has always been an amazing woman. She was a nurse in the school system and began a shoe fund, which still puts on yearly fundraising spaghetti dinners. She was one of Bush senior's 100 points of light award recipients! So, it shouldn't be surprising that she would take loss of sight in stride.  When I have permission to use her name, I will edit and name this incredible lady. (Meant to do this weeks ago - but the name of that lovely aunt is Esther Ryan!)

Now that this blog has morphed into another subject…I will sign off! Happy Tuesday to you all!

Had entirely too much fun with this app!

*  https://www.macular.org/what-macular-degeneration