Happy 90th Birthday Mommy!

Today, my Mommy was 90 years old!

90? Seriously?

Even when we told her it was her birthday, She was surprised too!

This was the first time in 13 years that all 4 of us kids had been together in the same room.

Why so long? 

It doesn't matter.

What matters is that we were all together for Mommy.

And we had fun.  Lots of laughing.  Lots of hugging.

Lots of love.  That's the best part!

Because Mommy would want that.

Our Mommy is a survivor.

She's survived the depression, picking cotton, being a nurse, raising 4 kids, a son in Viet Nam, the death of a brother in Belgium, during WWII (and whose body is buried over there),  the death of a brother to emphysema at 26, the death of her parents, breast cancer, the death of her husband (Pop)... and she has survived for 11 years with dementia and Alzheimer's.

When I was in 20, and went to see an eye specialist in Dallas, we were told "there's nothing that can be done for your eye". 

Mommy's said "I'll give her one of my eyes." 

Seriously?  Yes.  And she would have done this for me too. 

I wish that Mommy knew about my miracle.  But, she will.

Mommy is strong.  Because she is a Mommy. 



Do YOU Believe In Miracles?

Definition of a Miracle:
Act of God: an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God;
Amazing event: an event or action that is amazing, extraordinary, or unexpected;
Marvelous example: something admired as a marvelous creation or example of a particular type of science or skill!!!!!!!

I can NOT believe it's been over a month since I last posted on here!  There has been a LOT going on!  So, I'm going to do a quick update...which will be of no interest to anyone except maybe my family and me...so I don't forget everything that happened!

•  Jan. 11:  Saw Dr. Herman at Vision Quest.  They did HOURS of tests on my eyes.... but more on the left (blind) eye than the right (good) one, which is the one we were worried about. He said that the pressure was down on the good eye. (They did 2 sonograms on the left eye.)  BUT, he said that he felt certain that once they got the cataract, from the bad eye, which is big and dense, that I would have sight in my left eye! "WHAT....are you kidding me?  SERIOUSLY?  In the eye, that I haven't been able to see out of for 54 years??  SERIOUSLY?"  That's all I could keep saying!  They immediately got an appointment with  Dr. Wang @ Texas Retina Associates; he thinks there’s something behind the cataract going on with the retina. Wrote 3 prescriptions for me to use 2 days prior to surgery and gave me a list of things to do/not to do.  This day was such a blur for me.  I cried and laughed....cried and laughed!  I just couldn't believe it.  MIRACLE!!!!!
• January 14, 2011: Texas Retina Associates started with MORE tests and then I finally saw Dr. Wang. He says that I have Retinoschisis, which is an eye disease characterized by the abnormal splitting of the retina's neurosensory layers. He wants to see me after the cataract surgery.  Before he walked out of the room, he said "I want you to understand, you won't have 20/20 in your left eye."  I said "Are you kidding me....I don't have that in my good eye!  Anything will be good!"  MIRACLE!!!!!!  This was also Larry's 30th birthday!  He told me this was better than any birthday present he could receive!
• Jan. 19, 2011: My sister Martha and her daughter Melody and I went up the night before and spent the night with her other daughter Wendy.  We were at the Surgery Center at 6:30am.  Dr. Herman took the cataract out of my left eye. Said that it was like a rock.  Taped my eye down and put a shield over it. Kept it on for 4 hours. Got the first round of drops in. Back home.
• Jan 20, 2011: Feels like I have gravel in my eye. Not a lot of bruising at all! Dr. Herman’s assistant called to see if I’d had any vision at all yet.  Nope.  At about 6pm I put my hand in front of the computer and saw the outline of my hand. NOW THERE IS A MIRACLE!!!!!!!
• Jan 21, 2011: Webber took me to Greenville to the Vision Quest Office there. Saw Dr. Joan Abernathy. She said that I have lots of swelling in my cornea and the pressure is still high, and wants me to come back AFTER I see Dr. Wang.
• Jan 25, 2011:  Drove for the first time, by myself.  Went Kroger ... had a really strange feeling.  Couldn't quite figure out what it was.  Once I got outside, I realized what it was .... I could see out of the side of my left eye.  BONUS...ANOTHER MIRACLE!!!!!!!  There's no way I can explain this feeling to anyone...I kept feeling like there was someone right there with me.  AND there was!  It was GOD!
• At this point...we started getting the snow and ice, so appointments were cancelled.
• Feb 5, 2011:  Feeling a LOT pressure in my left eye. Feels like someone is poking their finger through my eye.
• Feb 7, 2011: Talked to Martha in Dr. Wang’s office. Will work the schedule today and get back in touch with me.
• Feb. 8, 2011: Called back to Dr. Wang’s office. Can’t get me in until NEXT Thursday (2/17).
• Feb. 8, 2011: Still having the feeling of pressure in my eye.  Talked with Monica in Dr. Herman’s office and told her about the pressure problem in my eye. She suggested I get with Dr. Thomas here in Paris. Called his office, can’t see me until Thursday morning at 10am. Told me to continue keeping the patch on my eye if it helps with the pressure.
• Feb. 10, 2011: Saw Dr. Thomas at 10am. The cornea is still swollen, but the pressure is not dangerously high. He says that Dr. Herman needs to do the right eye really soon, because the angle is narrowing. He was amazed at how the left eye looked now and wanted to hear all about it.
• Feb. 17, 2011: Saw Dr. Wang at the Sherman office of Texas Retina. Said that the cataract surgery that Dr. Herman did looked very good. BUT, I have a tractional detached retina. He wants to let my bad eye heal some more and then on March 3rd he will do a dye test to see if there is any leakage…if so, they will laser it to fix that part and then see about when to schedule the retina surgery.
• Feb. 18, 2011: Saw Dr. Abernathy at Vision Quest. After hearing what Dr. Wang said, she wants to wait until April 6th to do cataract surgery on right eye.  She did some simple tests on my left eye, I could count the fingers that she was holding up....as long as she'd hold her fingers down and really close.  HEY...that's ok!  It's more than I've EVER seen before!   MIRACLE!!!!