FREAKY EYE Thursday

i know it's not Friday, but i'll be celebrating our nation's birthday then.  so we'll do another Freaky Eye picture today.  

a member at our church just suffered a retinal detachment this week.  i had a few people ask me what that was, so here's an explanation and a cool picture.

the inner lining of the eye is called the retina.  it is very fragile and delicate.  occasionally, a hole or tear can develop in this thin tissue.  when this happens, the retina will begin to pull away from the back of the eye, causing a vision loss in that area.  if it proceeds far enough, it can cause blindness.  fortunately, most retinal detachments are small and in the far periphery of our eyes, limiting the amount of vision loss.

the picture below shows an advanced retinal detachment.  the camera is focused on the attached retina and optic nerve and blood vessels at the bottom of the image.  the blurry white blob at the top of the image is where that thin retina has fallen forward like a sheet or a blanket.  if this detachment would have proceeded much further, it would have led to blindness.

you're probably freaking out right now, wondering if you're at risk for having a retinal detachment.  here are some main risk factors:

1. extreme nearsightedness (anything greater than -4.00 D)

2. history of head trauma

3. relative of someone who has suffered a retinal detachment

the best prevention is early detection.  when was the last time you had your eyes dilated?  hmm???  we don't dilate your eyes to be mean; we do it to check your eyes for signs that you may be at risk for having a retinal detachment.  

if you were having a retinal detachment, you might have some symptoms.  if you experience a brand new set of floaters in your vision, or any flashes of light in your side vision, or any loss of your side vision, you need to get your eyes checked immediately.  the sooner treatment can be provided, the better your outcome.

other resources:

NEI

Retinal Detachment Diary

Summer time...

brooke is LOVING her summer break.  she still works part-time at Publix, but has alot of time to relax and chill.  she's been running, visiting the pool, and NOT studying.  i'm so happy for her.  jealous, but happy.

things are chugging along for me at work.  still working 3 days a week at Sam's and 2 days at a private practice in Cullman.  (sorry, the website is pretty out of date).  

still no news on the house front.  we've had some possibilities open up, but nothing definitive just yet.  we'll keep you posted.  keep praying!

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

brooke and i are celebrating our 6-year anniversary on Sunday, the 22nd. we still feel like we're newlyweds....we hope we'll always feel a little like that. tonight, we celebrated with a date. we went to the Fox Valley restaurant in Maylene for supper. we went to get coffee at Starbucks. then, we came back home to catch a concert from the neighborhood kids (see pics below). then, we finished the night by watching the new Steve Carell movie Get Smart. we gave it 3.5 attaboys out of 4. definately worth watching.

it's been a wonderful night. we hope we'll get to celebrate our 66th anniversary one day.

the final song was complete with pyrotechnology...kinda.
here's the band practicing their album cover pose.

House update

still no buyers just yet. our house has been on the market for only 3 weeks, but we're already getting anxious.

one of the best things that has come from this is we have to keep the house neat and in order everyday when we leave in case a realtor brings a potential buyer to view the house. and believe it or not, it's actually been easier than i thought it would be. we're putting our dirty clothes in the hamper and not (gasp!) on the bedroom floor. we put the dishes in the dishwasher, not the sink! we don't leave stacks of junk laying everywhere. it's pretty nice to live in a neat house. brooke and i are bad about letting it get out of control before we can't take it anymore and clean like crazy!

Senior Member Appreciation Dinner 2008

saturday night, we hosted our senior members at church to a Hee-Haw Ho-Down!  we had a bluegrass performer come and play songs.  we served them a good old country meal (chicken fingers, mashed taters, green beans, cornbread, naner puddin, and apple pie).  then, we recreated a Hee-Haw skit as much as possible.  it was a blast!  i think we had more fun than they did!

thanks to everyone who helped out so much to make it such a success!!!

I'll never be lost again!

my wife got me a Garmin nuvi GPS device for our anniversary present this year.  she knows me so well.  i'm such a technology geek when it comes to gizmos like this.  thanks babe!  you da bomb!

Time-waster of the day

stop whatever you are doing right now and click on this link: www.icanhascheezburger.com

i promise you will not be disappointed. brooke and i couldn't breathe we were laughing so hard. there are pages of these cat pictures with silly captions. here are a few of our favorites that we found tonight.

casey and kristi, i'm fully expecting a comment from ya'll soon!!!

Freaky Eye Thursday

be ye warned:  there's a weird eye picture below.

i saw a patient at Sam's this week who was having an awful time with his eyes itching.  i just saw him 2 months ago for a contact lens exam, and everything looked great then.  now, his eyes are itching so badly that he can't wear his contacts anymore.  

one of the weirdest tricks i have to do as an eye doctor is "flip" a patient's lids.  i can easily see inside the lower eyelid, but the upper eyelid is tougher.  so, in order to view it, i have to use a sterile, cotton tipped applicator (fancy q-tip) to evert the upper lid.  with any contact lens patient who is complaining of itching, i flip their lids.

when i flipped this guy's lids, i saw something like this:

this is an example of Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis (VKC).  people with severe allergies can develop this allergic reaction under their top eyelids very easily.  instead of the surface being smooth and velvety, the eyelid has developed "cobblestone" appearing bumps.  these bumps make contact lens wear almost impossible.  plus, a thick, ropy mucus is usually present (this guy  had that, too).

so, he's out of his contacts for 2 weeks at least.  i put him on a topical steriod eye drop twice a day, and i'll recheck him in 2 weeks.  once we get this under control, he'll be able to wear his contacts again, most likely with the long-term use of another prescription eye drop to prevent this from flaring up again.

i bet you had no idea that eye allergies could get so bad!  be thankful if you don't have bad eye allergies!

What's new in our life...

just wanted to get everyone caught up on our life.  had 2 calls about our house so far, but both turned out to be curiousities from neighbors instead of serious calls.  we're listed on www.forsalebyowner.com now.  hope that will help speed up the process.  we understand that selling a house takes a while, especially when it's FSBO.  plus, some yo-yo stole our FSBO sign at the entrance to our subdivision.  who steals FSBO signs?!?  anyhoo, keep spreading the word, and keep us in your prayers.

i think i picked up strep throat over the weekend...maybe from Kristi or Dad.  we had a good visit with my Granddaddy at the hospital.  he's staying at my parents' house this week to recover some more before going home to Fort D.  keep him in your prayers as well.

brooke is loving her time off!  she's still working 25-30 hours per week on average, but she's had more opportunities to wake up AFTER the sun rises.  

our yard sale went well last Saturday.  not as profitable as the one we had early last fall.  hannah homes is coming next week to pick up the rest!  woohoo!!!  we love de-junking!

House for sale!!!

our house is officially on the market! we're starting off with it as "for sale by owner". we've created a blog site that will show off our house: 1809arrowdrive.blogspot.com

please direct your friends, neighbors, co-workers, enemies, and acquaintances to this site. we of course hope to get it sold soon!