I emailed the Macomb County Treasurer, or whoever answers their messages sent via their website, about my situation with my property taxes. No answer yet. I just have such a hard time dealing with these folks on the phone, not just due to phone issues, but being on hold gives my anxiety levels a chance to soar.
And I oiled the squeaky hinges on the front door, which needed to be done, like, before my mom died in 2016.
I went to Menards and not only did they have everything to was looking for I remembered two things not on my list that I’ve been forgetting for ages.
Also, when my partner be moaned the fact she was hungry, not only did I come up with a suggestion, I had all the ingredients and she thought it sounded good. (BLT for the curious)
After the last few days, this is rockstar level for me.
I went to the local Rite Aid and found the last 200-yard container of waxed dental floss. This seemed like a good omen. So I went in search of Wet Ones, and I found a box of their individually-wrapped singles — very handy for travel.
These are like gold! I haven’t seen either of these products in months.
My daughter and I have been starting up our cookie business. We are now operating out of a commercial kitchen. We should have our Dept of Agriculture license shortly.
We have been seeking out real estate agents for B2B sales for housewarming gifts, referral gifts, and open house catering.
Tomorrow we are giving cookies out to around 70 agents at the monthly gathering of one of the big agencies in town.
I’m super proud of what my daughter and I accomplished today. We put together these catering trays with individual “favor bags” with 2 cookies, an insert with info on our services, and a card.
Look how nice these came out!!! Between us this was over 20 hours of work to mix, bake, and package. We are so ready to purchase a couple of machines to make some of the grunt work go quicker. But we are really proud of ourselves and excited to hopefully get some business from these realtors.
Yay! I didn’t have a stroke!!!
Long post:
Last Thursday I started to notice a very small blurry spot in my vision (right eye only). I went to my eye doctor and he couldn’t find anything physically wrong (though there were plenty of things that it could have been, like a detached retina, clot due to incipient diabetes, glaucoma). He seemed to think it might be in both eyes, which suggested a stroke in the optic centers of the brain. The signals from the eyes are combined before getting to the brain so if there’s a stroke there it necessarily affects both eyes. (Actually I think if there was blurring in my left eye, it’s in a different place, and is very difficult to see.)
A friend drove us to the emergency room. They did a whole bunch of tests, including an MRI, a CT, a CTA, and an echocardiogram. However the tests all came back negative: no stroke. (Of course, it may have been a stroke too small to image. Who knows?)
But what caused the blurring?
One of the docs suggested inflammation in the optic nerve (optic neuritis). So I was released yesterday after two nights in the hospital and told to see a neuro ophthalmologist, which is a sub specialty combining the neurology and eye medicine. Hopefully they can find out what’s going on (I don’t know how; high resolution MRI?). If it is optic neuritis, steroids may clear it up. Or it may go away on its own.
So, if this hypothesis is correct, why did it happen? Crohn’s disease can affect the nervous system. Or too much computer use (sigh), which usually gives dry eyes, etc., but maybe the optic nerve is being overworked? All that real life modeling I do certainly uses my eyes a lot.
So I’m home and since all the anxiety and fear is past, I can look back at it as a fascinating medical mystery. Fortunately my eyes work together perfectly well, so generally I don’t even notice the blurred spot unless I close one eye and look for it. Maybe I was in the bathroom, bored, playing with my eyes, closing one eye and then the other, and noticed the spot.
Have you looked into the possibility of pre-diabetes?
Good thing you acted quickly.
I think the the eye doc looked for any signs of retinal damage, including vessel changes due to diabetic retinopathy, and didn’t find it. Also I had a blood test (well several) at the hospital, and my A1c was good. Thanks so much for your concern!
@RAvery, welllllllll, it took me over a day to decide, hmm, maybe this is a problem. Stupid, but I think it took me till Friday morning to decide I’d better see the eye doctor (at this point I still imagined it was an in-the-eye problem). It’s so small!! 
Thanks for thinking of me.
It’s nice to have a sounding board here, with nice people participating.
I have appointments with a retina specialist next Tuesday, and one with a neuro ophthalmologist in a couple of weeks.
My wife sometimes quotes from “The Book Of Jewish Curses” that she had as a kid. For example, “May all the world’s leading doctors know of your case.”
Sorry to make light of a very serious situation, but I WANT that book!
The book is actually Jewish Curses For All Occasions, by Benjamin Einhorn. Ace Star Books, 1970. My wife lost track of the book after going to college, but managed to pick up a used copy recently on-line. Originally 60 cents. I don’t know how much she paid for the used copy! Doesn’t seem to be available at Amazon, but maybe other places.
No doubt there are other similar books.
I saw an ophthalmologist today who specializes in the retina. Good news; he could find absolutely nothing wrong with my retina where the fuzzy spot is. The kind of meh news is that we still have no idea of what is causing it, or whether it will get better on its own, stay the same, or get worse. The doc said further tests could be done, but he predicted the tests’ ability to find anything useful practically zero.
Still better than an obvious retinal tear or detachment.
Fortunately I can read, do graphics, work on models, watch TV, and so on perfectly well. I really don’t notice it much. It was just scary when I first saw it.
Do you have any headaches that go along with it?
None at all.
In the past I’ve had a few episodes of visual migraines (I think), with the bright flashy lines moving slowly in both eyes, but followed by either no headache or just a slight one for only a half hour or so.
I have fairly frequent visual aura, and I usually first notice by blurring/interference at the central field of view, most noticable by trying to read. The aura (bright flashy lines) then moves peripherally, in only the left or right field of view. This can leave the central field of view corrupted for a while.
It is disturbing to lose a part of vision, but it is always temporary and in itself is not a problem, except interfering with vision for a while.
Isn’t it amazing all the weird stuff the brain can do?
Welcome back! Hope you’re doing OK.
Yeah, brains are weird.
Thanks. I’m doing great; full recovery from heart surgery, set up house in a beautiful new place, and my kids are better than me in most ways. My youngest is graduating from college next month. I’m a Rockstar!
Whoo hoo! Always nice to hear good news.
Yeah!!!
