Further Update on the eyes.

Sally had quite a few tests done yesterday. The fluorescein angiogram did show lots of "aneurisms" on her retina and confirmed the swelling of her retina, particularly in the right eye.

Dt. Mein did go ahead and begin the laser treatments for the damage spots caused probably by the diabetes.  He "lasered" over 500 spots in her left eye yesterday.  He said he'll do about a thousand in her right eye beginning Monday.  She'll require probably two treatments for each eye to heal the spots.  As we understand this, these laser treatments may not significantly improve her vision.  Rather, they are to hopefully slow future damage.  In addition after the laser treatments, surgery will likely be required to repair the retina swelling in the right eye.  The laser needs to be done first.

She also had a Vision Field test that shows deterioration in her right eye which ironically is her best eye.  This field loss is in the lower quarter of the eye and might have been caused by a drop in blood pressure during her heart surgery.  There's no way to know the cause, for sure.

This is a lot for Sally to process at once.

Sally was a little tired yesterday.  We spent the entire morning at the doctor's office, but her spirits are good.

Update from the doctor's office

We're at the eye doctor's office this morning for a fluorescein angiogram to see how Sally's diabetes has possibly damaged her eyes and what can be done about it.

Her legs are getting stronger.  The rehab therapy is working wonders.  She said this morning that she needs to work harder at doing her exercises in between her therapy sessions.  She still has some balance issues resulting in her feeling a little unsteady from time to time.  We got her a cane and that makes her feel a little safer.  She's not using it to support her weight, just to steady herself.

Sally's blood sugar is doing well!  Mostly it's under 100 so the diet and insulin regimen is doing its job.  She's sleeping well, arising a couple of times each night just for potty breaks.

Catching Up with Sally on Sunday

Sorry to be so behind on posting news.  Sally is doing well and feeling even better as the days go on.  On Saturday before last, she had her first appointment with our friend, the massage therapist.  He did lymphatic massage on both her legs and her feet.  During the massage, he was careful to cause as little pain as possible but it still hurt her as he worked.  Her legs did feel better after that first time, so we set up weekly appointments for her.  Yesterday, she had her second session and he said he could tell a big difference in her pain tolerance from the prior week.  Later Sally said that Joe must be a miracle worker for her legs didn't hurt at all through the night.

Sally talked with Dr. Hargraves' nurse about the compression hose and was told that she needs to wear them all day.  She's having some problems complying with this since wearing them cause her discomfort.  She has learned to put them on all by herself, though.

The weather here has been all over the place since Sally arrived 3 weeks ago.  She's seen lows in the 30s and highs up to 90.  But, no snow like the folks back in Arab had last week.

Clayton is really enjoying having his Aunt Sally here.  He's being a good helper:  walking with Aunt Sally, telling her when there are obstacles in her path, and holding her hand to steady her.

Sally's been attending a Beth Moore Bible Study "It's hard To be A Woman" and really enjoying it.

Karen set up a new e-mail address for Sally.  It's sallygrand@hotmail.com and we check it for her from time to time.