Day 1340: Much to celebrate!

Tonight, I have lots to celebrate.

My last first day of school was back in 2007.  This is the beginning of my eighth year of retirement.  Seven full years away from the high school students I loved so much.  However, I've adjusted nicely.  Instead of getting up at 5:45 am, I slept till 9:00.  Instead of teaching a hundred students in a sweltering classroom, I swam two miles, watered my flowers, read and enjoyed tea on my back deck.  We ate lunch at Jenna's rather than gulping down a sandwich.  Lots of benefits, but I still miss teaching.

I reached my goal of swimming 100 miles!   Hooray!  I am so happy!  To do it, I swam two miles yesterday and two miles today.  Last year on this day, I had only completed 81 miles.  No wonder I didn't reach the goal.  My pace simply wasn't fast enough.  Plus, the weather last year was not as favorable.  The weather forecast indicates we'll have temps in the 80s well into next week, so I could reach 120 miles easily.

Best of all, no eye surgery this week!  It seems I have a macular hole.  It was discovered on Monday during a routine exam.  It was so fortuitous that she asked me to return for a vision field test.  Since I had no symptoms, the damage could have gone unnoticed for months.  Immediately, my doctor contacted a surgeon and I met with the retina specialist on Tuesday.  All my research Monday night indicated that the only way to repair it was surgery and then a week in the face down position.  Just a bit upsetting.  I couldn't sleep and I was driven to swim like it was my last time.

The first bit of good news was that it is a partial hole, discovered early, so there is an alternative treatment.  A shot in the eye of Jetrea at a cost of $4500.  There's a 50/50 chance of it working.  If it heals my eye, we'll know in thirty days.  If it doesn't, I'll be having surgery in October.  Additional good news: my insurance company approved the injection.  I suppose their thinking is that it will cost less than surgery.

I will admit that the thought of a needle in my eye is not pleasant, but the alternative is far worse.  On Friday, I will focus entirely on the outcome and not the needle.  Best of all, I will have no restrictions on my activities!  I can swim!  I can fly across the country to Utah.  There's a chance we can actually go on our vacation!

Now, we need good news for Mary tomorrow.