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Saturday, January 22 2005, 11:40 AM

For all that are curious, the surgery went fine and I'm home safe and sound at my parents house. We battled through the snow this morning for my follow up exam, and all was fine there too. My parents are in the kitchen preparing a nice meal for me, since I haven't eaten more than a few snacks in over 36 hours. I'm quite excited.

My eye looks pretty nasty right now, but it looks worse than it feels. It might be the vicodin talking, but I don't really feel all that much pain. It's pretty sore when I try to look to the far left or right, so needless to say, I'm avoiding that.

They didn't end up cutting into my eye like they thought they would, but they did use the laser and still froze some stuff. They also shot a steroid into my eye that is supposed to help keep the swelling down, and will also help to keep those problem blood vessels under control.

I've got some before and after pictures, and I'll probably post them after my meal. I'm starving.

Edit: Before and After pictures are posted here.

news righteye

Tuesday, January 18 2005, 9:17 PM

Well, I'd like to be able to say that my third trip into Lansing Opthamology was filled with splendor and wonder, and that I found out things would go well and I'd live happily ever after, but that wasn't the case. After the angiogram, I met with Dr. Pearlman and another specialist, Dr. Saxe. They looked over the photographs taken earlier and weren't very "pleased." I apparently have small hemorrhages (damn I hate spelling that word) in quite a few places, and because things are so far along, the laser surgery doesn't seem to be much of an option, which is a drag.

Dr. Saxe explained the details of the other option, the cryogenic freezing surgery, and his explanation wasn't exactly optimistic. It basically involves cutting through the outer layer of the eye (in the white part), and sliding a probe of some sort back to the 'bad' part of my eye, and then inserting the cold stuff in through the probe. Because of the nature of the surgery (cutting and snaking something in there, then giving my eye frostbite), it's possible that the procedure will do more harm than good, and my sight might actually get worse instead of better. The other side of the coin is that if I don't do anything, my sight will get worse, with 100% certainty, possibly leading to total blindness in my right eye. So, there's really not much of a choice.

Chances are about 99% that I'll be heading in for surgery this coming friday down in Ann Arbor, at the University of Michigan eye clinic. Doctors at UofM tend to be top notch, which gives me more confidence that things will go well as possible. That helps, because the rest of it isn't that promising.

news righteye

Thursday, January 13 2005, 11:25 AM

There is good news to be had. To quote Ahnuld Shwannenbrunner, ITS NOT A TUMOR. The retinal specialist, Dr. Pearlman, determined that I have what is known as Coats' Disease. Basically, it's a leakage of fluids and protein underneath the retina by dilated or malformed capillaries in the retina. This is normally something that affects younger children, and the doc said that I've probably had this condition for quite some time (many years) judging by the stuff he sees. I didn't notice it until recently because of the location of the funkyness - out on the very edge of my peripheral vision. I'm seeing it now because the fluid and other junk leaking out underneath the retina is actually finding its way out into the main part of my eye, which is what's causing the floaters and general blurriness that I see. Had this happened in my central vision, I probably would have noticed it long ago, and it could have been treated then.

As far as treatment goes, it's still up in the air. He outlined two possible courses of action, "LASER" target practice or the deep freeze. Well, not those exactly. The "LASER" surgery sounds like it would be the easier and more desireable option. Basically they just zap the faulty blood vessels with the "LASER" and it seals them off, effectively plugging the leak. The freeze therapy sounds like it has the same result, but it's a bit more invasive and leaves more of a mess behind in the eye. There's more of a chance that remnants from the surgery will remain after the cryo surgery than the "LASER", so my vision might be getting worse before it gets better if that route is chosen.

The main thing that will make things difficult is the location of the defects. It's way out on the periphery, which makes the "LASER" shot a bit difficult. I go in again on tuesday for an angiogram (cool X-Ray pictures of my blood vessels) and another consultation, so there will be more details then. Maybe they'll give me a copy of the picture too!

news righteye

Saturday, January 08 2005, 11:58 AM

Most of the people I interact with on a regular basis already know about the saga that's been unfolding with my right eye, but since I haven't mentioned it on here yet, I figure I will. The story begins a while ago, probably at least a year and a half ago. I noticed a little spot in my vision while I was reading that seemed to dance around as my eye moved. I figured at first that it was something on the surface of my eye, but no matter how much I blinked it wouldn't go away. That fact along with the general pattern of movement suggested that it was inside my eye. My mom pulled out one of her trusty medical dictionaries and quickly found something listed under 'floaters' which described what I was seeing to a T, and it said that for many people they're a normal part of aging. So I didn't pay it much heed. The floaters came and went over the next few months, nothing to really write home about.

Fast forward to about 3-4 months ago. I started noticing that the floaters were much more constant and their density was increasing. It still wasn't much more than a minor distraction at this point. Since then, the floaters have kind of evolved into a general blur, almost as if you covered the outside of your glasses with vaseline or a gel of some sort. The field is uneven and quite mobile, so something that is completely blurred out will come into view if I move my eye and I 'find' a less blurry part of the mass. The movement of the stuff in my eye is similar to what happens when you stir a glass of water with ice in it... everything seems to revolve around the vertical axis in a circular fashion.

The nusciance factor could now be considered a debilitation factor. My eyes are now very much different in their ability to distingush detail, so much so that I can't read normal sized text on a computer screen less than 2 feet away with my right eye. With my left eye I can read 6 or 8 point text with no problems (depending on the font), but my right eye needs around a 30 point font before I can read letters with 100% certainty. Because of this, I find myself closing or covering my right eye a large part of the time while trying to read any kind of print, be it on paper or a computer screen. Not a very good thing since I work on a computer all day.

Fast forward to yesterday. After procrastinating for far too long, I finally got my eye looked at. The opthamological assistant took a look at my eyes and did a bunch of standard vision tests, which was a bit frustrating because most of the tests seemed to deal with problems of focus rather than what I'm experiencing, which could be best likened to dirt in the optics. I expected it though, so I rolled with it. There was one test she gave me that pointed out something I hadn't really noticed before. I'm sure there's a proper name for it, but basically she had me stare at a grid and look for any variations in the grid. Well knowing that the squares should look square, I was a little surprised to see that there was a distortion at the very center of my right eye vision, which made the grid appear to stretch as if someone was pushing on the middle of it.

After a short wait and some weird effects from the eye dilation drops they gave me, the doctor finally came in and checked things out. What he found could be classified as disturbing, but at this point I'm not going to worry, since I don't have any conclusive information either way. He said that there appeared to be something under my retina (the film in the metaphorical camera) that was causing it to bulge into the inside of my eye. He had no explanation for what it was or why it's there, and he mentioned that he's never really seen anything like this before. He hypothesized that it could be a fluid buildup under the retina, remains from some sort of infection (we ruled that out, because I've shown no signs of infection), or a cyst of tumor of some sort. The latter sounds pretty ominous, but from what I see, I would lean towards some sort of fluid build-up since the distortions are so mobile. If it was something solid, I don't think it would move around nearly as much or as fluidly as it does.

The doctor seemed pretty concerned, and since he could offer no conclusive insight, he put me on the path to see a retinal specialist in the hope that he can shed some more light on the subject. I've got an appointment next thursday, so hopefully then I'll hear something concrete. Hopefully the light he sheds won't be so blurry.

news righteye

Sunday, December 14 2003, 4:57 PM

Yesterday started out being pretty boring and lazy, which is pretty much what i wanted since I hadn't got jack for sleep the whole week. I slept in pretty late, and then started cleaning some stuff up around the apartment that needed to be taken care of. I got the common areas all vaccuumed and tidied, and had started cleaning my room when Joe's girlfriend Shauna came in and asked if I would drop her off at the Listening Ear, where both she and Joe volunteer. Apparently Joe was already there responding to a bit of a crisis. She said that the fire alarm was going off, and wanted to head over to check things out. Well, we got there and it seemed a bit worse. Joe and the girl that was on duty (who happened to be quite attractive) were carrying stuff out into the parking lot. We peeked inside, and there was water everywhere. Apparently there was a burst water pipe or something a couple floors up, and water was streaming in everywhere. The whole operation would have been screwed if hadn't started moving stuff out, so Shauna and I joined Joe and the other girl in carring stuff out. We got all of the vital electronic stuff out first, and then went on to the files and other paper stuff. More people started showing up to help which was good because the water started flowing in faster and faster as time went on. Ceiling tiles were falling in under the weight of the water, and everybody was totally soaked. Joe said that we got pretty much everything important out of the place, and it's a good thing too, because that building is totally messed up. There was around 2-3 inches of standing water throughout the whole office, and pretty much every surface was wet, not to mention everybody who was helping. Crazy stuff. There's going to be a lot of rebuilding at that place... good thing that the Ear has already found a temporary home, because their office is going to be out of commission for a while. Lots of water damage.

They'll be in need of support. Consider it your civic duty to help those that selflessy help others in need. Donate a few bucks to help them get back on their feet. Go here to donate.

Joe's putting together a gallery showing the flood damage. Check it out here.

Edit: I've been forever (maybe?) immortalized in Listening Ear lore! Check it out here.

news

Monday, October 27 2003, 10:36 PM

Well, this post is a week overdue, but I've moved! I'm now back in East Lansing and living with one of the guys I work with. The place is quite sweet, and very roomy. If I know you and you're cool, stop on by and hang out.

news residences

Monday, July 14 2003, 11:19 PM

Wow. That title could almost make my life seem interesting. Well, it's pretty boring... There is some notable news though - Jon proposed to Michelle, so they're engaged now too. That brings the non-engaged count in my main circle of friends to two - Andre and I... and since Andre is in Indianapolis, yah, it's just me around here. I'm happy for all my friends, but I'm feeling more and more alienated by everyone elses happiness... I obviously don't have a significant other, and there isn't even a remote one-in-a-million prospect. I work in a sausage farm, and White Lake isn't exactly fertile female country, and I'm essentially a hermit. Sucks a bunch. :-\ "Good game Mike, thanks for playing the game of life. You don't even get a lousy copy of our home game. Now GTFO."

I'm also quite pissed... I ordered a couple of hard drives for the mythbox on saturday, and the damn order hasn't even been processed yet. WTF. Charging a debit card and putting two drives in a box and giving it to Brown (what a stupid slogan for UPS btw...) is not terribly complicated.

On a bright note... I played some guitar tonight and my fingers weren't stupid. On a not as bright note, I shot baskets out on the court behind my house, and I sucked. Fun.

frustrations guitar news projects

Sunday, April 20 2003, 10:00 PM

Not much to talk about lately... Work is work... not much else going on besides that. Chris just informed me last night that he proposed to Lana, so he's engaged now! I think everybody has been expecting it for a while, and it wasn't much of a suprise to me. I wish them all the best. It's also kinda depressing since it seeems like I'm in total third wheel territory wherever I'm at these days... :(

news

Friday, February 14 2003, 12:37 AM

I must say that today was much cooler than the last. Instead of wrecking a car today, I got a lease on a new one! I wasn't really expecting to do the deal today, but things came together, and I got to drive it home! A brand new 2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT. I'm pumped.

camaro grandam news

Wednesday, February 12 2003, 1:15 PM

Wow... total suckitude today. On my way to work today, I spun out on I-96 and wrecked my car. I'm fine though, luckily. The only thing I can figure is that I hit a patch of black ice and lost it. I was cruising in the right lane at 60-65 MPH, and I didn't see any slush or snow. The lane looked clear to me. All of a sudden, the car swerved to the right about 45 degrees, and I was headed into the ditch. There was a tree on the side of the road about 5-6" in diameter that I totally took out with my left front tire. I was sliding sideways when I hit the tree, so the car spun rather than going straight into it. I think that was the main reason I didn't get hurt. I hit my head a little on the window/door frame, but not nearly as bad as I would have if I hit the tree head on. The impact pushed my left front tire about a foot into the engine compartment, and suspension and linkages were all gone. The car is so old that there's no use in trying to fix it. So the towing company is going to bring it back here, I'll strip my stuff out of it, and then we're going to donate it to charity so we can get a tax writeoff.

It was kinds suprising though... Nobody stopped to help out. Asshole people... My cellphone got smashed when I hit the tree, so I wasn't able to call for help. I stood there for a couple minutes, and then realized there wasn't anything I could do, so I grabbed my boots out of the trunk, and started hoofing it towards M-59. I got about a quarter mile up the road when an ambulance came up behind me. They asked if I was all right, and I said I was fine, and they took me up to a gas station where I waited for the State Police guy. He showed up a couple minutes later, and he drove me back to the scene, and filled out his report. He didn't give me a ticket since my record was clean, which is really sweet.

After the tow truck showed up and loaded the car up, he took me back to the gas station so I could call my parents to come drag my ass home. I ended up waiting there for about an hour and a half. Blah.

Looks like my search for a new car begins much sooner and with more urgency than I would have liked...

camaro news

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