Wow! Where have I been?

Holy Cow!!!! I know I've been M.I.A for the past couple months, but I have been movin' and shakin' so much around Pennsylvania, West Viriginia and North Carolina that there has been limited mental energy for writing....however, I'm back and I do have lots to say...but, to start here are two big things that consumed August.

At the beginning of August, I set out on the open road with my parents....yep, a road trip with the 'rents. We headed to Calabash, NC (click to see a few photos) to meet-up & vacation with the family. This trip was much needed...my family is so very comforting to be around and during this trip I was truly able to relax, reflect, and re-energize.

The next big event was "Eye-gate 2008". One evening around the 3rd week in August, my co-worker noticed my eye getting red and then later that night, during a therapy session the kiddo I was seeing said, "Um, your eye is bleeding a little." No worries everyone...my eye wasn't bleeding, but the corner of it was super-duper red...yes that is a super-duper red. So, I'm thinking this is nothing, because it looked like I had several blood vessels burst, which I was no stranger too since my friend Leigh tried to kill me and my eyes once by bringing me back some jacked up Costa Rican coffee--one cup equaled a practical eye explosion.

Anyhoo, the next day I woke up and my eye no longer had a white part...it was completely red. My eye also felt as if the whole night I had repeatedly punched myself in the head and eye, therefore, the whole left side of my face and head was incredibly sore. I went into work feeling like, "Don't look at me I'm hideous," and immediatley I made a doctor's appointment with my PCP (primary care physician by the way not LSD), so that someone could take a lookey-loo at this and give an official diagnosis. So, off I went to the doctor...who freaked out and immediately ordered an Opthomology consult. Then off I went to the Opthomology consult, who in turn freaked out and referred me to an Opthomology tissue specialist for the next day.

Let me just state for the record that all of these appointments were a HUGE challenge for me as eyes give me the heebie-jeebs...it's right up there with getting my blood taken. The next day at my tissue Opthomology consult, after my eyes were injected with several drops, tapped on by a tiny hammer, and scrapped, I was given two possible diagnosis: episcleritis (more plausible) or scleritis (which would result in potential blindness and removal of the eye). After hallucinating for a minute when they said "removal of the eyeball" and picturing myself with an eye patch, a parrot on my shoulder, and wooden name named "Smith," I regrouped and listened to the next steps, which was that I'd begin injecting my eye with steroid eyedrops and attending weekly monitoring eye appointments.

As the weeks went on and there was minimal if any progress...I was about ready to call upon my friend Josi (Josana Blue) and ask her to stitch up the most wicked eye patch on the planet...but I didn't want to get ahead of the game before I knew if ol'left eye was staying or leaving.

So, I went to my weekly eye appointments, stayed grounded and shot my eye with steroid drops...yep, my eyeball has a six-pack now and can show you that the beach is "Over there...ah yee-ah!" The good news...this past Wednesday, after the pain at the side of my head and eye finally subsided, I was offically given a good prognosis that my eye is getting better; therefore, no more weekly appointments and I can start tappering off the drops. My follow-up appointment is in November...right now other than the 'roid rage my eye is displaying from the steroid reduction...it feels pretty good.