Kingfisher Cove

And Now, An Upbeat Post

Life isn’t all about tearing eyes and the decline of our democracy, so I just HAVE to post some photos of Quinn and Sandra and Nate that they sent to me over Thanksgiving. They spent the holiday in Arizona and Las Vegas visiting Sandra’s dad’s side of her family and it was such a highlight for me during that time to see these pictures. It totally uplifted my heart. So here we go.

(Above) This is Sandra’s dad and his wife.

Definitely uplifting, dontcha think?

Under Water

It’s been a week and one day since my eye procedure, and I am here to tell you that once again, FAIL.

I have been streaming tears ever since, to the point where I believe it’s even worse than it was before the procedure. It’s like the tear duct is completely blocked. And then, on top of it, I either developed a cold or a sinus infection or something, because I’ve been stuffed up, nose running like a faucet, and get this: I can’t blow my nose for three weeks.

You know that sensation when a sneeze builds and builds and then at the peak you don’t sneeze, and so it all leaks out your eyes and nose? Yeah. That.

So, all of that I carried with me over Thanksgiving. It was fine, everybody was great, it was nice company with my aunt and uncle and brother and sister-in-law. But I was honestly miserable so soon after this procedure with swelling and a black-ish eye, and streaming tears and snot. I was pretty  much in a fog. A wet fog.

I have a post-op appointment with the doctor next week and boy is he going to get an earful. I am angry, I am depressed, I am hankering to claw his eyes out (don’t worry, it’s just a fantasy). My only “hope” at this point is that upon reading up about this Jones Tube, it does sound like it requires some “adjustment” in its positioning. I get the impression that it’s not uncommon for it to NOT work immediately, so it may need some tweaking, some moving around. I don’t know what that entails—something simple, or needing to be put under again?

I’m so tired of this.

Aftermath

Today I had my THIRD eye surgery in the years-long attempt to stop the excessive tearing of my left eye. After the two failed DCR surgeries, this was to install a “Jones Tube” to essentially strengthen the walls of my tear duct to prevent them from collapsing, and therefore obstructing the passage of the tears. This was supposed to be a much less invasive procedure from the DCR as it didn’t require a new incision into the nose, but man. It sure FELT nearly as invasive afterward. For hours now, I’ve been dripping quite a lot of blood through that nose and I’m really ready for that to stop. The doctor just now called to check in on me, and he said that once again, a lot of scar tissue had formed in that duct that had to be removed (hence, all the blood), and probably also contributed to the collapse of the duct. I also have a deviated septum that creates some havoc.

At any rate, it really has NOT been a great day, for both me and for John! Incidents and observations, some of them head-banging:

1. Once I got to the doctor’s office in Tacoma, I was informed that they were pretty far behind schedule since the doc’s first morning’s surgery had gone much longer than expected. As a result, I had to wait in the waiting room for nearly an hour, and then once I was all pre-opped, I had to wait another hour all hooked up to the IV and EKG and gowned up on the gurney in my little curtained-off cubicle. At least they let me know upfront so John was able to do some running around.
2. General anesthesia is weird. You’re all aware of your surroundings and the nurses bustling, the oxygen/nitrous oxide/other hoses hanging above you from the ceiling, and the weird lighting fixtures and equipment, and the clock, and then: you are gone. You do not exist. It’s not like “sleep” at all. You are GONE.
3. And then you are awake. And it’s not like waking up from sleep—it’s not gradual or particularly groggy, but it’s also not particularly pleasant. Last summer when I had the 2nd DCR, I awoke with a drop-me-to-my-knees headache, the likes I’d never known before. (I believe it was a killer sinus headache, since there was a lot of rooting around near there). This time, it was more like “echoes” of that killer headache. It never fully formed to those decibel levels, but it seemed like it could. Plus, my throat hurt from that tube thing they stick down there and and then yank out while you’re under.
4. It’s a long drive home from Tacoma, so I rode in the truck’s passenger seat with gobs of tissue for my bloody nose and tried to hold the stiff frozen-gel contraption on my eye (impossible to do both at the same time). Note: I really hate icing.
5. I couldn’t eat or drink anything before the surgery (NO COFFEE, ARGH!), so here it was after FOUR P.M., having eaten nothing, and I was craving a latte! (My appetite was muted, though). John stopped at Starbucks in Belfair and got me one. It went down sooooo gooooood! (Felt wonderful on my throat).
6. And then things kind of went off the rails. (Pretty much). We decided John would take me and the dog home, then he would drive into town (40 minutes away) to get my prescription (special eye drops and pain meds). On the drive down our little private road, John heard a strange sound coming from one of the truck tires. “Probably picked up a rock,” he said. I could hear it ca-thunking on the pavement. He checked it in the driveway as I was gathering bloody tissues and post-op instructions and my bag to climb out of the truck and I saw him F-bombing. Whatever “rock” the tire picked up had slashed it, and it sounded like farm field irrigation! Within moments, it was completely flat.
7. So, he took his car to pick up my prescriptions. A while after he’d gone, he texted me that traffic on the highway was at a complete stand-still as far as the eye could see, and the news was reporting a serious accident with traffic stopped in both directions. There is no alternative route to the Fred Meyer in Shelton. So after some texting back and forth, I said I could wait until morning. He turned around and headed home.
8. I remembered that I had a mostly full bottle of pain pills left over from last summer’s procedure, so I found them and guess what? I COULD NOT OPEN THE CHILD-PROOF LID. I believe I have some arthritis in my hands/wrist, and I absolutely couldn’t apply enough pressure to open the damned thing.
9. By that time I was really needing a pain pill. The headache, although not searing, was grating. But mostly I was “feeling” that Jones Tube and it hurt. Argh. The planets were not aligned! And I was feeling darned crabby! John opened it for me when he got home and I have say, that pill has really helped! Amazing. I really need those drops, though.

So, tomorrow John will run in and get the Rx, see about his truck tire (that he’ll likely have to change himself because we don’t think there’s a spare?), then we need to pack up clothes and toiletries, pack up Thanksgiving food stuff (I’m so glad I did all my prepping yesterday!), bathe the dog, set out extra food for the cats, remember all of our chargers and dog food and extraneous minutia, then head to the ferry and then up to Camano Island for a couple of days to spend Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle (Dad’s sister and her husband), and with my brother and his family. We plan to not rush—just go with the flow, and hope that ferry traffic and freeway traffic aren’t too horrendous.

And I certainly hope all of this bleeding is DONE.

So, the elephant in the room: Is my eye tearing?

It is. But it’s blood-tinged, so I’m thinking/hoping it’s just temporary effects from the fresh surgery.

PLEASE let it just be that.

Novembering

I’ve been a little quiet on here lately, not for any particular reason, aside from my weepy eye that has been driving me UP THE WALL, but it’s *supposed* to be fixed a week from today. Going outside just kills it. I spent a little time the other day in the unusual November sunshine trimming back the planter plants, wearing my oh-so-adorable onion goggles that are sealed around the edges to keep out the “air.” Air, sunshine, and wind all aggravate the excessive tearing something terrible, so I hoped the onion glasses would help. Well, that side of the goggles literally “filled” with tears, as well as condensation because those tears are warm and the air was cool. It actually makes things dangerous because I can’t SEE. And I was traversing steps and balancing awkwardly with sharp pruners in hand. I emptied out those goggles at least three times while I was out there.

God I’m so tired of this.

I kind of hated to cut back the lovely draping flowers, but most of the actual flowers are gone and they were encroaching pretty bad into the stairway, so it was time. I believe it’ll bolster them eventually when Spring comes.

This was at its peak in May or June (I think), and then it (and others up the steps) really took off.

This (below) was a few weeks ago, and you can see how things were getting out of hand.

And, now! Not beautiful, but kind of a haircut. (The lace leaf maple and the jasmine are blasting gorgeous fall colors! Click the pic to embiggen)

I’ve also been working on a few fun but time-consuming projects for Christmas gifts. I won’t go into any detail about that just yet!

I’ve also been *trying* to get into my book club book. I finally started it after waiting a while since our last meeting in September because our next get-together isn’t until next month and I wanted it to be fresh in my mind. But it’s not very good and it’s not holding my interest and I keep being distracted by other shiny things, such as Rachel Maddow’s podcast (“Bagman,” about Spiro Agnew’s astounding corruption taking brazen bribes while in office and his—and Nixon’s—attempt to obstruct justice even while the Watergate hearings were underway). Plus, a few Netflix/Amazon detective series that we’ve really enjoyed!

Homecoming (starring Julia Roberts on Amazon. It was eerie, fascinating, and very well-acted!)

The Forest (Netflix, in French with subtitles. The acting was superb, and the actress Alexia Barlier was mesmerizing!)

The Sinner (Netflix, starring Jessica Biel. We’re watching this one now, three episodes in, and we are hooked! It’s actually a “whydunnit” instead of a “whodunnit.”)  

I can barely wrap my head around the fact that Thanksgiving is next week! We’ll be heading up to Camano Is. for a couple of days. I’m a wee bit nervous about it, because the day before we leave, I’ll be having my eye procedure. I really don’t know what to expect from that. It’s not supposed to be as invasive as the DCR (no incision), but it may be weird. I’ll need to make my fruit salad, relish tray, and a dip/appetizer beforehand!

Here was my commemoration of my precious sailors for Veterans Day on Facebook:

And with that, I leave you with a quickie video that shows Quinn needs some practice “throwing” a ball.

 

Snort

Nate swaddles 13-month-old Quinn—and Quinn cheerfully plays along. (I thought this was so cute!)