A Black & Blue Nightmare

    I wasn't sure where to write this so I'm here.  From 1991 to about 2016 I made it to Las Vegas 25 times.  Then on the night of Nov. 3, 2015 nearly everything changed.  In effect, I won the lottery - in reverse.

     Walking home from a nearby grocery store, decided to take a shortcut through a fast food restaurant.  It was dark and I didn't notice a pallet on the ground.  It tripped me and broke my shoulder, also damaging my eyesight.  The shoulder healed but even after 3 eye surgeries my vision didn't.  Now my right eye vision is as if I'm looking through a piece of wax paper.

     Somehow I managed to make one last trip to LV but that's been it since about 2016.  Still don't know how I managed that one with blurred vision already.  By now it's no doubt impossible to repair the retina so as much as I try not to dwell on this, more often than not it's impossible not to.

     Ironically I'd gone out walking that night as I'd just bought a new Toyota and didn't want to risk an accident.  As it turned out, for all the medical expenses that followed, I could've bought 3 of them.  $64,000 went right out of my IRA toward medical and health insurance expenses along with another $13,000 the restaurant paid but all of that couldn't make me forget all the horror that followed.    

     And I've no one to blame for this but myself.  I wasn't robbed, beaten or victim of an online scam.  I used to fly out to LV every summer and now wish I hadn't always stayed on the Strip.  It was too late by the time I realized if someone's going just to gamble, is better downtown.  So everyone, whelther they win or lose in the casinos, is luckier than me just by being able to make the trip there.

                                                                                                                     Tim 

Tim, thanks for sharing your experience with us. It resonates with me particularly because I recently (Oct) had a retinal injury and my eye docs are struggling to repair it. I recently had an accident and totaled my car while driving with essentially one functional eye (perfectly legal, but inadvisable). Since then, I've dialed back my teaching to specialized part-time only. There's talk now from my eye docs that I may never regain anything but extremely blurred vision in that eye. They try to console me by saying that people "get used to" having only one eye and yeah, maybe my driving is still legal, but I KNOW I'm not as safe. My recent accident was the first one I'd had since 1980.

So all I can say is, enjoy as much as you can while you can. And double check what retinal care may be available to you. There have been substantial advancements recently.

That's too bad for both of you!  But Kevin, you are right.  Lots of improvement in eye surgery in general.  I had cataract surgery recently and the results have been amazing.

I wish that both of you had better outcomes.  Eye problems are so difficult to overcome.  One of the reasons I had to curtail my substituting was due to cataracts that impacted my eyesight.  Luckily, I have my right eye completed with only a problem with the eye drops.  The other is being done the end of next month.  Everyone take care. 

For Kevin and Tim, my husband suffered "Lazy eye" from around early elementary grade.  Back then it wasn't tested for nor treated (eye patch on the 'good eye' to force muscular development of the lazy one), so he matured with vision only in one eye.  Maybe because he pretty much started out that way it barely impacted his normal life activities, including driving.  It did prevent him from joining the police force and maybe the military at the time, so those are significant, but he was mostly nurmally functional. 

The other thing is be very CAREFUL about having procedures/activities that affect your 'good' eye, 'cause if that one goes you are really 'stove up.'  Good luck with your challenges going forward.

Candy

I truly appreciate all your comments and input.  Driving has been a challenge to put it mildly.  I almost never drive more than 7 miles but feel I NEED those 7 miles just to get by.  Ironically the 7 mile drive is to the closest casino!  

     Back on May 15, 2021 I wrecked my car.  The doctor tried to claim I had a seizure.  I did not, my contact lens had slid off center & I didn't see the pickup truck in front of me stopped at a red light.  Then last Aug. 21st I had another accident.  My friend and I weren't hurt and by a miracle the car was completely repaired.  A woman ran a stop sign and without total vision I didn't see her til the last second.  She ran into me, and I only owed $2,500 from my insurance even though the repairs ran $15,000.  They said it was $1,500 from having to be totaled.  I'n not expecting that $2,500 to be refunded. 

     Not a lot else to add and am just hoping I didn't write too much.

             Tim   

We all learn when we share good news or not so good news.  Something comes out of it.  Best luck, recovery, and healing, Tim, Robert, and Kevin.

Candy