# JUST ONE MORE THING



## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Most of you know that I have been having a hard time getting over the heart surgery. I still haven't been cleared to drive or do cardio rehab, and I am still having to take the warfarin. They check my blood every week so have a lot of bruises. I told the nurse last week that if they kept this up, my veins would start looking like Michael Jackson's. (supposedly his were in bad shape from the IV meds). Anyway I couldn't read when I came home from the hospital. My vision was terrible. They said it was from all the fluid and would clear up. So thanks to my Kook that I can enlarge the print and time, I have been reading again since middle of the summer. Yet my vision is still not as good, so went to eye doctor last week. He did the exam, then dialated my eyes and did some tests sorta like a Cat scan of the eye and then he took me to another machine and did another one. He kekpt talking about Drusen and what a severe case this was and the fact that I had lost a lot of my vision in my left eye. So, I looked up and asked him if I was going blind and he replied, I don't know. I was trying to be funny and he was serious. Anyway I started laughing, might as well huh. He is supposed to get back with me after consulting with specialists. He called it a severe case of Nerve-head Drusen in both eyes. Of course I spent the rest of the afternoon researching. What ever is happening will be a slow process I think and I would never completely be blind. Seems it is fields of vision that I lose. Might not be able to read though. But with the Nook, I can blow up to one sentence on a page, so don't think that will be a problem. 

Do we have any eye doctors out there? do I need to go to a specialist myself or wait for my Doctor's recommendation? At least this complication is not life threatening. I am going to get another Havanese and forget about everything else. Got to find a grown one though.


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## jessegirl (May 13, 2011)

Lucille, I know nothing about the eye stuff, but I wanted to just let you know that I'm thinking of you and sending healing thoughts.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

:grouphug: Lucille, I don't know much about the eyes, one of my BFF's is an eye doctor, though, I'll ask.

I know you are a fighter! :kiss:

Kara


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Lucille:

I am sorry, but I dod not know that you have been having vision problems since your surgery. Thank goodness for modern technology such as your Nook.

I just looked up drusen as I was not familiar with the term and read that there are a copule of different types of drusen

"tiny yellow or white accumulations of extracellular material that build up in Bruch's membrane of the eye. The presence of a few small ("hard") drusen is normal with advancing age, and most people over 40 have some hard drusen. However, the presence of larger and more numerous drusen in the macula is a common early sign of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Classification

Drusen associated with aging and macular degeneration are distinct from another clinical entity, optic disc drusen, which is present on the optic nerve head.[1] Both age-related drusen and optic disc drusen can be observed by ophthalmoscopy. On CT scans of the orbits or head, calcification at the head of the optic nerve without change in size of globe strongly suggests drusen in a middle-age or elderly patient." from Wikipedia

My 97 year old Dad has had age-related macular degeneration for a couple of decades. It does not stop him from watching TV and movies, reading books, and driving [although he no longer drives, thank goodness].

I realize that your eye issues are different from my Dad's, but he was expecting to have much more limited vision than he ended up with. Maybe your eye doctor is trying to prepare you for the worst.

Did he say when he would be able to get back to you after his consult? Once you hear back from him you can decide whether or not to get a second opinion.

Sending good thoughts your way,


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

No advice, just (((((Lucile.))))))


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Oh, Lucile, that stinks. You are just not having ANY luck with all this, girl!

I agree, you need another fluffy puppy. (well, dog! )

:hug:


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

No words of wisdom but hugs and doggie kisses from Panda and me....


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## Anne Streeter (Apr 14, 2009)

Lucille - My dh just switched from warfarin to Pradaxa - a highly researched new drug that requires no lab testing. He was having lots of pokes each time to find a vein, so this is so nice. It is safer also. Fewer strokes than with warfarin. Our dd is a pharmacist and we heard about it from her 3 months ago and we had one of the 1st prescriptions in town. The only negative is that you have to take it immediately after you take it out of the bottle (or bubble pack) so we can't put it in his daily pill holder. Ask your cardiologist - I am sure that he knows about it - even our neurologist did!


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## ShirleyH (Sep 13, 2009)

Lucille, prayers for a decided improvement. You are a trooper. You need more Hav kisses!

Keeper's Mom


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: from Flynn, Sir Winston and Lady Mia..


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Oh, wow, Lucile - I had no idea your eyes were still giving you problems. I remember, when you were first able to communicate with us after your surgery, that you mentioned difficulty with your vision and that it was because of fluid, but thought your vision had gradually returned to normal. Did you have problems before? Was this condition with the drusen (which I had never heard of until now) brought on or made worse due to your surgery complications? If there is nothing that can be done for it, I certainly send good wishes that it doesn't get worse.

I agree with you about the adult Hav. Puppies, although cute and fun, are ever so tiring!


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

so sorry you continue to have health problems. I know from experience that it just seems like one dang thing after another as you get older. You always seem have such a good sense of humor tho...how do you manage that??


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Gee whiz I hope you can learn more soon. I'm so sorry. :grouphug:


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## Momo means Peach (Jun 7, 2011)

Lucile,

Momo and I send you best wishes.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Evelyn I might as well laugh. The worst thing is going to happen January 9, 2012. My baby boy will be leaving to go to Afganistan for 9 months. He is in the National Guard and when he joined while going to college, he never envisioned going to war. All the Guard did was fill sand bags during floods and other emergencies. Then came 911 and his world changed and so did mine. He went to Irag the first year of the war and came home a changed man. But I couldn't get him to get out of the Guard. He said that he would not be able to look his family in the eye if the US was attacked again. Since that time, he has made Captain rank and I think he will be Major before he gets back home and his 20 years will be up before he could be called up again. but I dread the day he leaves and I will not sleep or have a happy moment until he gets back. I didn't when he was in Iraq and now I am older and will not hold up as well. So might as well laugh now.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I would not be able to rest either if my son went over their.


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

Lucile, I'm so sorry about your vision problems but even more so about your son having to go to Afghanistan. I would be heartbroken and worried the whole time, too. Maybe this would be a good time to get another dog. Abby and McGee really keep us entertained and you won't be able to help but smile when you watch them play together!!!

I agree with Linda about getting an older trained dog, though. I thought the house training with McGee was going to kill me. I don't think I've been that exhausted since I gave birth........lol And my knees were killing me every time I had to squat down and clean up a puddle!


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

That really sucks Lucile


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## Lizzie'sMom (Oct 13, 2010)

I am so sorry about your eyes. I asked my husband about it and he had never heard of the condition. It sounds like it is slow progressing so that is a good thing. 

I am also sorry about your son. Last year my first born baby left home for college. It is so different when they aren't home. 

A brother-in-law of a friend has been in the National Guard for years and served in CA, IL, and NC and left end of October for Afghanistan. He is 59 years old!!! He is an Emergency Room doctor. He never thought at his age he would have to go. At least he has a sense of humor about it. He says he will be the Colonel Potter of his unit. Best wishes to you and your family.


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

Lucile, if you want to share your son's name I will put him on our church prayer list for soldier's in harms way, if you like...
I am positive there is a little dog out there just willing you to "see/find" him or her..and it willhappen. Do you want a male of female or does it matter???


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Flynn, you can be certain that when he leaves you all will know it and where is is and everything about it. I married a Vietnam vet and when we had our two boys, I knew that I never wanted either of them to be a soldier. My greatest fear was that one or both would have to go to war. When Nathan joined the NG I was devastated. He didn't want to be dependent on us for his education and what does a 20 year old know anyhow. He was married had graduated from college worked a couple of years and gone back to get his Masters when he was called up. The irony of this was that the NG officer called me at work to tell my son to report that weekend that they were going to Iraq. I cried continously from that day until he got back home.

Yeah I will find another hav so that I can watch them play and smile.


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## Lsprick (Jul 8, 2010)

Lucille, I've followed your story during my brief career as a professional lurker, praying for you, holding my breath during your hospital stays, checking for your updates, rejoicing for your recovery, albeit slow and rocky. I've read all the dear things that all your forum buddies put out there to encourage and uplift you. They've uplifted me, too. 

So I'm sorry things are so hard right now. Nothing more to say, really.

Here's a big slobbery kiss from Gracie, who was born on Christmas Eve, which is of great meaning to me personally and gives me great comfort that all will be okay.


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## tcollins (May 1, 2011)

Lucile, I am touched by your strength even in the tough times you are going through. It is so easy to get caught up in the troubles of our own lives and forget that there are so many other people hurting out there.
I feel like the past 2 years or so of my life have just been one thing after another. I only wish I had strength like that.
I will keep you in my prayers and also your son. I am looking at my 10 year old son playing with his legos on the living room floor and fighting back tears just THINKING about him going away to another country, much less being put in a dangerous position such as yours. It aches my heart.
As far as your vision is concerned, I believe in a God who can heal beyond anything we can think or imagine. So I will stand in faith with you that you will be restored completely. 
Theresa


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