Friday, June 29, 2007

PVD

Yahoo! I am getting old. On Wednesday I had a rash of floaters in my right eye. It seemed like there were four or five little cabbages floating around in there. When the floating cabbages were joined by strange lights on the perimeter of my eye, I decided to take action.

I saw my favorite eye doctor yesterday, no, I saw every one's favorite eye doctor yesterday. She told me I have a PVD [posterior vitreous detachment] in my right eye.

To read more on PVD:
http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_rnib003660.hcsp

Those of you who are over 65 may want to know about PVD. I guess I am catching all of the eye stuff early. Cataracts and now PVD.

So, you know, before the doctor tells you what it is, you imagine the worse. Retinal detachment, blindness, cancer. I imagine what it would be like to only be able to see thru one eye. I decide that that would be better than seeing thru no eyes. I wonder if it really came to loss of vision how gracious I would really be.

You know, that is an interesting question. We think that we would be gracious in hardship, but when it actually arrives, how well do we perform? I have come to believe that even though we may perform a bit less effectively than we thought, the fact that we are thinking about how to face hardship will significantly raise our ability to bear up under the stresses.

Thinking, praying people still hurt, but they tend to manage their fears and pain better than those who allow circumstances to overwhelm them. The practice of considering your response to pain will actually help you manage yourself when the critical moment comes.

Anyway, back to PVD. A lining has released from my eye. I will have floaters and lights for weeks or months. They will subside. The floaters actually gravitate to the bottom of your eye and just lay there.

So, I am fine. I am not losing my sight. At least not today. I am thankful for that. And while we are on the concept of being thankful, I am thankful for a ton of things. Do you want me to start a list? Why don't you start yours and we can compare sometime.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good. If you are a Christian, everyday is thanksgiving.

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