Posts

Diagnostic Years

Diagnostic years are absolutely exhausting!  A diagnostic year is when new symptoms pop up, or a change is made, which begins a cascading e…

Making Workarounds Fun!

With my eyes, I am finding it too bothersome to drive at night right now. I have astigmatism in both eyes, plus the vision changes from the…

Eye Muscle Measurements

I have been referred to see a specialist who deals specifically with the muscles at the back of the eye.  Before I get to see her, I needed…

How Many Things Can Be Wrong in One Set of Eyes?

Oh my eyes.  I love my eyes... well, I love the look of my eyes. They have been arguably my best feature.  Underneath, however, my eyes ar…

A Rough Year

This past year has been a pretty rough year for health.  Last September, I was removed off of a medication to explore different potential d…

A Malfunctioning Ship

If you haven't seen the movie Passengers, there are spoilers below.  In this movie, the ship that the passengers are traveling on start…

One-Size-Fits-All

One of the biggest myths of healthcare is a one-size-fits-all approach. We are led to believe that:  Bacterial Infection -> …

Coping With Loss of Identity

It has been ingrained in us that much of our identity comes from what we do. What we do for work, what our hobbies are, what we do …

Coping With Long Wait Times

This is a topic that was liked by multiple people to write about - and it's such an important topic:  How do you cope with …

Eye Illness Update

Today I did a buccal swab for a genetic test. We are testing the EFEMP1 gene, looking for a mutation that would cause Familial Drusen (also…

When Do You Feel Your Best?

When do you feel your best?  I know that, for me, this can be a complicated question to answer.  The truth is, it depends on the disease an…

Makeup

I have never spent a ridiculous amount of time on makeup. I keep things fairly simple - but I do try to put a little focus on the eyes.  Th…

Macular Degeneration Progression

With a slow-moving disease, like my Macular Degeneration, I find it fascinating to take note of its progression. Call it a morbid scientifi…

The Lighter Side of: Diets that Don't Work

I used to try extremely strict diets and believe that if I stuck to it perfectly, with no slips, no cheat days, no junk, that I would becom…

"I Believe You"

The best thing that you can do for a patient struggling is convey your belief in them. Chronic illness is entirely full of question marks …

Balance: Sad and Grateful

Living with never-ending illness is all about balance. I talk quite a bit about balance in many previous posts, but today is about finding…

Perceiving Someone Else's Pain

Today I want to speak about pain. The reason we have various types of pain scales and descriptions for pain is because of the ultimate sub…

The Lighter Side of: Nearsightedness

Who knew that being nearsighted could be ultimately beneficial in the realm of Macular Degeneration? As you may know, I was diagnosed with…

Noticing Symptoms

When it comes to illnesses we have almost no control over, sometimes we ignore our symptoms. When I was diagnosed with Early Onset Macular…

"Stoop Fish"

In the movie Hall Pass , there is a scene where three of the main characters are discussing the attractiveness of one particular tall blond…