Glaucoma, Etc.

What I have been diagnosed with is traumatic glaucoma in my right eye.  I've been struggling with it since June 3rd because blindness is one of those things I never want to have to deal with.  Yet here I am.

Mine is traumatic glaucoma that stems from an old injury I got while coaching Little League seven years ago.  I was in the batting cage, something I've been doing with kids for years, and got hit with a 45-50 mph foul ball.  Some people say that balls come off the bat faster than they were thrown.  I don't know all the kinetic math for that.

There is a part of the optic nerve that is called the "cup."  In a normal eye, the opening is below 30 percent.  My left eye is at 20 percent.  My right eye is at 80 percent.  When it reaches 100 percent, you're pretty much blind from what I understand.

So I've been shuttled back and forth to the doc trying to relieve the intraocular pressure which isn't responding to the medication I'm on.  Next week I go to Dean A. MaGee Eye Clinic for an assessment there.  They do a lot of laser surgery on the eye, which does not sound fun at all.  I have suffered some permanent vision loss and that's been very hard to take.

If you notice any blurriness, difference between light/dark between your eyes, have it checked out by an ophthalmologist.  I didn't.  Thought it was just allergies.

I'm currently rehabbing a shoulder (40 percent tear through the supraspinatus muscle, 50 percent tear through the infraspinatus muscle, and a moderately perched -- torn -- bicep).  The physical therapy is pretty easy because I'd lifted weights and used to train a lot when I was younger.  The injuries remind me I am no longer as young as I used to be, but I need to start taking better care of myself.

As it turns out, working at a keyboard is one of the worst things I can do for an injured shoulder because it keeps my shoulders in a protracted (forward curved) position that puts a strain on all the supportive musculature.

Also just finished up a third visit for a root canal (the tooth had a twinned mesial canal that was hidden the first time, and it was curved enough to be problematic).  I'd had trouble with the tooth for four years and thought it was sinuses, but since we finished the second visit (which cleaned it all out), I've had no problems.  Sealed up the tooth this time and everything appears to be great again.

Still have all the insurance/contractor stuff to get through on the house as a result of the SECOND (one obviously wasn't enough) tornado that hit Moore in May.  For a summer that was supposed to be relaxing and available for me to do a lot of writing, this has been pretty stressful.  My wife insists that someone somewhere is playing Jumanji with us.