November 28, 2020

I wanted to share this photo of the moon rising over the hills at Cave Creek Regional Park. It was almost full.

I also wanted to share an experience I had a few days leading up to our arrival at Cave Creek and the days that followed. I am sharing this because it might be of help to you one day. (Hopefull, you won’t ever have this experience,)

We arrived at Cave Creek on Sunday, November 15th. On Saturday the 14th I woke up with my right eye aching, I was seeing lots of floaters, flashes of light in the lower corner, and sometimes a circle of either light or dark in the same area. When arriving at Cave Creek on Sunday I knew things were not right, and that these symptoms weren’t going away and I needed to see someone.

We drove to the Mayo Clinic Emergency Room in Scottsdale. They looked at my eye and said I needed to see an ophthalmologist. Why I didn’t see one there??  The next day I went to another Mayo Clinic and was examined by an ophthalmologist. I was told that I had a detached retina. It is called macular on retina detachment because it wasn’t fully detached.

This was good news because macular off is fully detached and much worse. They referred me to a retina specialist that same day and surgery was scheduled the following day. After surgery, I had to sit, stand, and sleep with my head down for seven days! No exceptions. This was extremely hard.  The reason for this is, they put gas in the eye to help hold the retina in place. The gas needs to push against the retina.

I survived the seven days and in a few weeks the gas bubble will dissipate. It does take months for the eye to fully heal. I am thankful we went to the doctor right away and that my vision is okay.

We left Cave Creek Regional Park and are currently at Lost Dutchman State park and will be here for two weeks. I have to be very careful about going to higher elevations because of the gas bubble. So no sightseeing in the mountains.  😦 We are currenly sitting at 2,065 feet. I go back to see the surgeon in December from Catalina State Park, whick is at 2,700.

If you are interested there is plenty of information on the web. I am sharing this so that if you ever have any of these symptoms please go see a doctor right away!

Overview

Retinal detachmentOpen pop-up dialog box

Retinal detachment describes an emergency situation in which a thin layer of tissue (the retina) at the back of the eye pulls away from its normal position.

Retinal detachment separates the retinal cells from the layer of blood vessels that provides oxygen and nourishment. The longer retinal detachment goes untreated, the greater your risk of permanent vision loss in the affected eye.

Warning signs of retinal detachment may include one or all of the following: the sudden appearance of floaters and flashes and reduced vision. Contacting an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) right away can help save your vision.

I have been seeing plenty birds, and some beautiful scenery (with my left eye) 😉  and I have been trying to take photos.  I look forward to sharing them with you.

From my heart to yours. Be happy, be safe and enjoy each day!