Vision-Latest Eye Exam

Eye Exam

5" x 7"

watercolors and ink

I had my eyes checked last week, after a few years of just getting by with cataracts and wet Macular Degeneration in one eye.

You can read more about my experiences and see the pictures that illustrate my experiences by looking in my older posts. All the posts on my eye experiences are prefaced with the word VISION.

During this latest exam, in the top picture, I guess my right brain was working, and, for some reason, I was looking for a picture! I was trying to make out a landscape with a house, or barn and silo, and figure out what might be in the sky-birds? clouds? Suddenly, it occured to me that this was the biggest letter on the chart! -a big E! I was so surprised!

I struggled through a few lines of the smaller letters. They were mostly fuzzy and I had to take my best guess.

I couldn't see the chart at all with my left eye. I have a lot of scarring from the AMD on the macula in that eye, I was told. I assumed that, already.

The dr. said that my vision in my right eye has changed because of cataracts, and I'm nearsighted in that eye. He believed that my vision would be greatly improved if I get rid of the cataracts.

In the second picture, the nurse or technician, who was taking care of me, put in drops, checked pressure, and did some preliminary tests. Like this one. She started with her fingers in front of her, then moved them out, asking if I could see her fingers. I could see the tips of her fingers, when she extended them out, but I couldn't see her, except for her legs on the stool and a bit of the top of her head.

In the third picture, I had my face resting on the machine with the dr. shining bright lights into my eyes. He told me to look at his nose. He told me to look at his ear. To look to the left, etc. I had to laugh because I couldn't see his face! Just the top of his head and a bit of his shoulder. I had to guess where his nose and ear might be!

These were done in ink and watercolor on 5" x 7" sketchbook paper.

I took my series of pictures to show what I had been going through. They seemed to enjoy the work. However, I still wonder why I couldn't see anything but a black background with green squiggles in the DPS office, when I went to renew my license. I could see the letters in the doctors' offices, but not in that little box. Very strange.

I thought, it is odd that I can now read without my glasses, except for very tiny print.

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I was sad to hear of several deaths.

The first was Thelma Cunningham, age 105. I enjoyed talking to her at St. Joseph's Manor. She was proud of her artist grandson and urged me to go see his work. Since I had an interest in being a nurse, it helped that she had been a surgical nurse and her first husband had been a doctor. I'll bet she could have taught the current nurses and doctors a thing or two.

Another death was reported on the Roots list. Oklahoma story teller and veteran, Paul Odle, has died. I enjoyed sharing stories of growing up in the 1930s and 40s with Paul. People on the list looked forward to his stories about his hometown of Yukon, Oklahoma. His stories appeared in his hometown newspaper, and, he said that he had published some of his work in books. I know that a lot of people will miss him and his stories.

I haven't heard a word about this one on the news, but someone shared this on the Texas Scottish Festival List. Author Frank McCourt died. His story about his mother was told in his first big best seller, "Angela's Ashes".

I really enjoyed hearing McCourt talk, when he appeared on tv. He certainly will be missed.

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We finally got quite a bit of rain the other night. But there were storms. Lots of pictures of funnel clouds and damage, mainly to the south and east of us. We got 3-4 inches of rain, while College Station got 7 inches and over toward Snook and Caldwell, got 9 inches of rain.

The National Weather Service said today that there was not a tornado touchdown, however. Pictures and eyewitnesses said a bit different. The news had said that it might have been an F-0, a very weak tornado. That was stronger than most of us want to experience!

We had another shorter downpour the next morning. At least it has cooled the temperatures a bit. But it brought out the Fire Ants.

*******

Vision-Cold Weather Coming

Cold Weather Coming
6" x 9.25"
watercolors

Skies to the north became gray and dark as a cold front approached. The rest of the sky was still a clear cerulean blue and the warm temperature seemed more like spring than autumn.
I shielded my eyes against the sun in the west as my sister drove down the narrow country lane. I closed my eyes frequently because the wavey lines and distortion combined with the blur from the movement of the car would almost make me seasick.
Signs were impossible to read until I was close to them. Telephone poles were wavey, and I couldn't see some things.
But, I still had to look at the scenery, when possible. I wanted to look for pictures, to memorize the things I was seeing.
The distant green trees at the edge of the fields broke the flat horizon line, just under the looming clouds. There were no colorful fall leaves here. A field showed the golden colors of dry grass, indications of how dry the ground had become, following a very wet summer. The neighboring yard, where there was a house, had lush green grass, the results of fertilizer, watering, and special care. Concrete pipes were stacked up behind the house.
"Look! All those fat, gray cows are lined up against the fence. I guess they are resting up for the bad weather that is coming later." I pointed toward the windshield.
"Isn't it odd that those cows are all about the same size, in the same position." I thought. "Not so odd, I guess. People have herds of cows that are all the same color and, if they bought them all at the same time, they could be the same size. Wonder what kind of cows those are."
My sister watched the road. We always commented on the animals and sights along the roadways. Cattle always seemed to lay down before bad weather, so this behavior wasn't something so unusual. It was just that they were all lined up against the hurricane fence, instead of being in a group out in the field, or under a tree.
"Oh! They're shrubs by the fence!" I said when we were almost beside the fence. "They aren't cows at all. And they aren't even gray. They're green!" I felt like I shrunk down in the seat a little bit. How dumb of me, to think that those objects were rounded, gray cows, their heads down and feet tucked under their fat bodies! They looked more like cartoon Hippos than cows, to me. But, my mind told me that they had to be cows out in a field.
"Just shows that I shouldn't be driving," I commented, "if I can't tell a cow from a bush!"
"How much worse is this going to get?" I thought. "It's got to get better!" Anxiety is always near.
And, at the same time, logically, I knew that it will only get worse, that there is help for some, but it is unavailable to me. And I tried to shake it off, and think that it is okay. Not nearly as bad as others have to endure. This thing, Macular Degeneration, with cataracts, has already cut into my life quite a bit. I try not to let thoughts of what is to come make their way into my thinking and feeling, but it is always there, like a dark cloud, waiting to fall on me.
I just had to laugh at the funny cows that I saw, getting ready for cold weather. At least, they were kind of fun to paint!
This small painting, "Cold Weather Coming", was painted with Winsor Newton watercolors on 140 # Arches watercolor paper
For more of my paintings and experiences with Macular Degeneration, look in my older posts. They are all prefaced with the word "Vision".
"Eye Sites" in my sidebar, are places that I have found with information on Macular Degeneration.
Contact me if you see something that you would like to purchase. Thanks for reading and sharing with others who might be interested.