It’s time to play catch up.

The Princess is recovering very well. I sent her along with her friend Sherry over the weekend. I figured riding in the car would keep her down and there was no way I’d keep her off her feet here at home. Their destination was the Bluegrass State (and it may never be the same again). The Princess enjoyed it (or maybe it was the wine) so much she tried to leave her wallet there (ask her about it). Fortunately it was returned by a good Samaritan (or good Kentuckian). With the Princess on the road to recovery, it’s my turn to be molested by medical professionals. Today I paid my regular visit to my eye surgeon. Those of you who know me know that I have the “pleasure” of living with occular histoplasmosis. Since you asked:
What is the Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome?
The fungus is inhaled early in life and causes a usually asymptomatic and self-limited infection throughout the body, including the lungs and choroid (the vascular layer lining the retina). For unknown reasons, several decades after the initial infection, the choroidal scars may develop abnormal blood vessels (choroidal neovascularization) which leak fluid and blood. This leakage can only be seen on a careful, dilated eye examination since the eye looks normal from the outside. Distorted central vision and loss of reading vision occurs when the leakage involves the macula.
(from: © 2008 Bennett & Bloom Eye Centers. All Rights Reserved)
So this means my left eye sees the world kind of like this:

Except that the edge of the ‘cloud’ in my eye is kind of like a fisheye lens. Henceforth I often get ‘seasick’ as my brain tries to process all the disparate information when I put my glasses on and try to move about. In the last twelve months I’ve had three different procedures to try to stop the ‘leaking’. In November I had a ‘thermal laser’ treatment as they tried to seal the leaking blood vessels with a laser. In December they tried PhotoDynamic Therapy (PDT), where they infused a photo-reactive chemical into my system and then ‘activated’ it with a ‘cool laser’. That worked for about two months. In March I had PDT again coupled with a steroid injection directly into my eyeball. Like this:

Yes.

Ouch.

Anyway, my doctor and I discussed future treatment options, but fortunately we don’t have to do anything yet. Now you are caught up with our health status. As things change, I’ll keep you updated.

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the Princess) Julie