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Sunday, January 11, 2009

White Cane, Anyone?

I seem to have hit the Ocular Trifecta. In additional to macular degeneration and cataracts, I now have a retinal tear - a detached retina. The only link between my maladies seems to be D.O.E. - Damned. Old. Eyes. I talk to a surgeon on Tuesday, hopefully just some laser tacks around the tear.

I can't see for shit, but I'M STILL DRIVING MY LITTLE PICKUP! I'm planning on being one of those old guys that drives 12 miles an hour, sideswiping cars, terrifying pedestrians and rear-ending SUVs. They'll have to pry my blind, cold fingers from the wheel. Actually, Lorna drove us down to the Elbow Room for cheeseburgers and fried onions last night. The impressionist painter halos around the street nights and headlights are getting distracting - awfully pretty though. Christmas lights are amazing!

As dire as all this may sound, the macular degeneration is actually still minor, and the other two can be repaired with surgery. Tentatively I will probably deal with the cataracts next summer. I've thought about it some; if I had a choice, I'd take blindness over deafness. I can't imagine a world without music and conversation. But we play the cards we're dealt.

A BICYCLE FOR THE BLIND ?

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