I'M STILL HERE........

Hello again,

The last few months are a bit of a blur as the days sped by with one thing after another.  Losing my precious 4-yr-old dog, WILLOW on JULY 6th hit me hard - I was literally left stunned by her sudden illness and passing.

Shortly after she died, I noticed some impaired vision in my right eye - right in the center - a bit like looking into the "wacky mirrors" at a "Fun House" - wavy, distorted and some blank spots. Needless to say I rushed to the eye doctor and she wanted me to get the earliest appointment with her retina specialist. Because the specialist wasn't available for 2 weeks, I asked a friend of mine if she could get me into hers. Lucky me. An appointment the next day!

He identified a "MACULAR HOLE", which CAN be repaired. The recovery he described was to lie FACE-DOWN FOR 10 DAYS!! IMPOSSIBLE!! I have "ants in my pants" as it is and can't sit still under normal circumstances! 

So I spent some time researching other alternatives. I found 2 doctors locally (at WILLS EYE) who have a "NO-FACE-DOWN" recovery. I was able to get an appointment with one of them within in the next 2 days. He said that the macular hole I have is small and I could probably get away with only 2-3 days in a face-down position. In addition to this good news, I liked his style and confidence. The facilities seemed cleaner and more up-to-date and the fact that this Doctor is Head of the Retina Dept. doesn't hurt either.........  

But just to be thorough I also saw the surgeon recommended by the first Retina Specialist. However, he didn't seem as "confident" to me, yet he did suggest 5-7 days face-down, not 10 days. 

I decided to go with the doctor at WILLS EYE.  My surgery is this WEDNESDAY.

While these appointments in July were happening, I was also searching for a puppy to fill the hole in my heart and the silence in this house!! My plan was to find "just born" puppies that would be ready to bring home in September, after my late August trip to FRANCE. 

Well, the UNIVERSE delivers when it feels it's best and CLOVER found me in the middle of my dog sitting a friend's Black Lab for a week. More about CLOVER in my next BLOG Post. She's ADORABLE!!

• My grand-niece NORA was here for a week of camp until JULY 17th
• CLOVER arrived on JULY 20th
• The following week, five high school girlfriends and I did a 5-day VIRGINIA WINE TASTING TOUR together.  We also hit some historical sites.
• Two weeks later TWO OUT-OF-TOWN FRIENDS visited for 5 days.
• Three days later I left for FRANCE (returning 3 days ago)........

So, please forgive my negligence in posting on my BLOG.......  BUT I'M BACK!!

All is good,

JOAN