countdown to surgery
Thursday, October 02, 2003
In a little less than two hours, I'll be walking through the doors of BDP Eye Center to begin my adventures in laser surgery.
There is still much paperwork to be done, and most of my time there will be spent waiting. The actual laser surgery won't happen until about forty-five minutes to an hour before I finally leave BDP. I was told to expect to be at their center for up to four hours. So, judging by that, I presume by 1:30 I will probably either have the flaps lasered and be waiting for the actual refractive surgery, or will have had both done and will be resting for half an hour so they can check their work and ensure everything went as planned before releasing me.
Yes, I am still a bit nervous, but I am trying to keep positive, chanting over and over, "it will be fine, by the end of the day you'll finally be rid of your glasses".
I need to drop off my eye drop prescriptions at Walgreen's on the way out, so that we can pick them up on the way home. As long as the insurance lady is correct, I should only be paying around $55 for both eye drops (as opposed to nearly $140 full price).
I've made a small list of questions that came up as I was reading their "Understanding Refractive Eye Surgery" booklet that I am required to read and initial each page. I'm going to ask Josh if he can think of any he may want answered.
Speaking of him, it's time for me to go start waking him up so I can start breakfast (per instructions from BDP, eat breakfast before the appointment! sometimes the sedatives can upset an empty tummy).
But, we plan on leaving by 9:30, so I should get going.
Will try to send off one more entry before I leave to let you all know I'm on my way.
Pre-op jitters
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
I'm already anxious about tomorrow. Kind of like the "night before christmas" feeling I always got as a kid. I couldn't sleep worth shit the night before christmas as a kid. I have a feeling the same is going to happen tonight.
As I was stopping at Circle K to get lottery tickets for tonight, I got a call on my cell phone from the counselor lady at BDP, asking me if it was still a go for tomorrow. I apologized to her and said I'd meant to call her when I got in to work (which was going to be about five minutes from when she called me), but yes, I was approved and it's still a go.
She said they may have to move my up appointment but she wasn't sure yet. I asked, "move up as in earlier, or as in later" (just to make sure I was understanding her correctly), and she said, "later than 10:30". Um, that's not moving it up, that's moving it down, at least in my opinion. Anyway, she said they'd give me a call if they do need to move me around, but so far I've not heard back from them, and I'm fairly sure they've already closed for today. So, having not heard from her regarding an appointment change, I will go in as scheduled at 10:30am.
I'll probably be quite a nervous wreck by the time I get there tomorrow. Hehe.
RSS 2.0, now with full posts
Mac and
Josh will be happy to know that I got the full posts thing to work with the RSS 2.0 feed.
Now Josh will want me to tweak his blog so it works the same way. Sometime later today, most likely.
Man, they weren't kidding when they said these dialating drops could last from 6 to 24 hours. My eyes aren't fully dialated anymore, but they're still not back to normal. Hey, wait. It's been longer than 24 hours, man! What's up with that?
It probably won't be much longer 'til they're back to normal, though. I just checked them again in the bathroom by looking at the lights. They don't go down to their smallest size yet, but they're getting there. Josh & I joked that they wouldn't be back to normal until it's time to get them dialated again tomorrow. Hehe.
The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades…
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
My eyes are still dialated fully, so I am sensitive to light, but I can see much better. Looking at my MT screen hurts like hell, so I've put on the cheesey roll-up shades they gave me before I left BDP this morning. It helps, except it makes text look a tad blurry.
I wonder when the dialation will go away?
I was told that the dialating drops they use for the surgery won't last as long as the ones they used today. Can you imagine if I had had to work today? I would have been useless for the first three hours of my shift. The dialation shot my short range vision to shit, and my distance vision, while better, was still blurred.
Put it this way, thankfully I don't need street signs to find my way home. Oh, I could see well enough to tell when a light was green or red, or to gauge how far behind a car I was, but I couldn't read squat, not even the speedometer in my car.
By Thursday night, I should see clearly
I had to call the finance company back, since it had been around three hours since I had applied and they had not called me yet. Evidently they had some computer problems earlier and had to take applications by hand until the system restored, and they hadn't gotten to mine yet.
But they took out my paperwork and put it through, and I was approved. Comes to about $67 per month for 60 months, with no pre-payment penalties so I can pay it off early if I want to.
I just called work and caught one of my bosses as he was walking out the door, he OK'd my request for Thursday off.
So it looks like it's all set. I'll just need to contact the eye center tomorrow to let them know my financing was approved so the appointment is a go ahead, and to watch for the fax from the finance company for my paperwork.
Wow. Now I'm suddenly nervous about Thursday.
Thank god they hop up their patients on Valium! Hehe.
Sign me up, Dr.
Just making a quick post, since I can't even see what I'm typing unless I hold my glasses up about five inches from my face or put my face right in front of the monitor. (my eyes being all dialated right now, and all)
I'm currently waiting to see if i have qualified for financing. I am supposed to hear back on that in about two hours.
If I am qualified, then my surgery is set up for Thursday. This Thursday. And at a discount, because they have some camera techs who need to get their certifications from the company that makes the Wavefront device, and they needed one more patient. So I get $800 off for doing it this Thursday. That is quite a deal, so I had them pencil me in for 10:30a on Thursday.
Now all I have to do is wait to see if I qualify for the financing.
I'll write more later when my vision clears up.
mornings are for the birds
Yes indeed.
I am definitely not a morning person, and never have been. Don't know if I ever will be.
All I can think about right now is climbing back into bed for more sleep. Precious sleep.
Some people think sleep is a waste of time. Not me.
Ugh.
Well, gotta go get dressed, and then rush-hour traffic and my eye appointment await.
Tah for now.
early to bed, early to rise
Since I have my eye appointment in the morning, I'm going to
try to go to bed at midnight.
Considering I woke up just before noon today, I'm sure it will take two hours for me to fall asleep.
I'm still debating how I'm going to get to 20th Street & Camelback. Do I take the freeway, part of which will be on the I-17, which sucks much ass with rush-hour traffic?
Or should I just try driving all the way down Camelback road from the Loop 101 on the west side? But that would mean lots and lots of stop lights.
I think I'll risk the traffic and take the I-17. I'll leave at 7am, hopefully that will give me plenty of time to get to the eye center by 8.
Murphy’s Law at work
Monday, September 29, 2003
We had a late lunch today at Bill Johnson's Big Apple with
Josh's dad, while his dad's truck was at Just Brakes getting the rear rotors turned.
When we were done eating, and headed to the truck, to the left of our vehicle was a car that parked too close to the driver's side door, so Josh handed me the keys. I can more easily squeeze into the truck if the door can't open more than a foot.
Anyway, I squeeze into the driver's seat and Josh & his dad climb into the truck on the other side. I put the key into the ignition, and turn it.
*click* *click* *click*
What the?
Try again. *click* *click* *click*
Sheeeeit. The batter was dead. Well, it had enough juice for the radio, dash lights and dome light, but not enough to turn over the engine. Greeeeat. We still had to take his dad back to Just Brakes to pick up his own truck.
I called our nearest Saturn dealership. They refer me to our 24 hour Saturn road-side assistance number. I call it, the gal finds our situation falls under our warranty (well, duuh, why wouldn't it?), and sets up a dispatch for a tow truck. She says the guy will try to jump the car first, and if that doesn't work, it will be towed to the dealership. Estimated time for the tow truck? 90 minutes. Eeesh.
Josh's dad calls Just Brakes and explains the situation. They said they can come pick him up to get his truck and pay for the work. They do that (they used his truck to pick him up, which he wasn't too thrilled about), and Josh & I hang out near our truck, waiting for the tow truck. I need to use the restroom, so I go back into the restaurant to do that while Josh waits outside. I come back out, and he decides he's thirsty, so walks over to Baja Fresh to get a soda in one of their sports bottles. I just want water (can't have soda anyway), so I go back into Bill Johnson's and ask for a cup of water.
While we're back at the truck waiting for the tow truck, we see one driving through the parking lot at Bed Bath & Beyond. Driving slowly, as if the driver is looking for something. We wonder if that is our tow truck. The tow truck leaves the parking lot, and heads away down Bell Road. Guess not.
I see the same truck, again, this time pulling into a parking lot one street over, near a Carl's Jr. I walk to the end of the parking lot for Bill Johnson's, and look across the street. The tow truck is parked in front of a mattress store. I can't tell if the driver is in the cab or not. I walk back to our truck.
Josh and I ponder, if this is indeed our tow truck, how the hell it is going to tow our AWD VUE if it is not a flatbed tow truck? I guess maybe the other types have tow dollies, or something to keep all four wheels off the ground.
Anyway, this tow truck finally turns a corner within the Bill Johnson's parking lot, and I wave to the driver. I'm pretty sure this is our guy. He pulls up, calls into his dispatcher, and then gets out of his truck with a jump set (a self-contained portable charger). He goes over to our truck, and we all look under the hood, wondering where the battery is.
I am not kidding. Saturn has the battery buried in their VUEs. We assume it is underneath a big plastic cover thing that is bolted down with philip's screws. The driver says he does not carry screwdrivers. I see a box behind what we assume is the battery and ask what that is. The driver pops the lid off (it is not bolted down), and it's the fuse box.
But, conveniently enough, there is also the positive cable to the battery, bolted to the box, right there. Hell, the plastic cover even has a giant plus sign on it.
So he hooks up the positive jumper to the positive bolt, and wonders where he is going to ground the negative.
There is no negative bolt, just a positive. He clamps it to part of the frame of the car in front of the engine. I get in & turn the key. *click* *click* *click*. He removes the negative, and readjusts it. I turn it again, and this time it starts.
With a puff of smoke from under the hood. It's no big deal, it's just where the charge singed some of the paint on the frame. Mmmm.. burning paint.
He told us to leave the engine running for about 30 - 45 minutes, and don't run the radio or A/C for at least 30 minutes. I said we're just going to drive it over to the dealership, which is about five miles away, and leave it at their front door so they can have fun with it in the morning. He shrugged and said "Whatever works" (or something similar).
We thanked him for the jump and he was on his way.
The good news is, we only waited about 35 minutes for the tow truck guy to show up. So, we called Josh's dad to let him know we got the jump and were headed over to the dealership, and to meet us there. Got to Saturn, got a service envelope and filled it out, parked the truck in front of the service bay doors, and sealed the key in the envelope and dropped it in their service drop slot.
They open at 7AM, so since our truck is first in line, technically it should be the first one serviced. And what would you know, but I'll also be up at the crack of down tomorrow for my eye consultation appointment at Barnett Dulaney Perkins. So I'll be awake when they call me to tell me its done, and whether it is going to cost us anything.
Technically, since the battery is barely 18 months old, I believe it should be covered under its own warranty, regardless of our extended warranty on the truck. But we'll see.
The first thing I said when we realized the battery was dead?
"It never fails. These things
always die at the most inconvenient of times."
For instance:
- - Our former SUV, an Xterra: we got to work just fine one morning, but by lunch, the battery was dead.
- - My SL1: the first time it died, was while we were out eating dinner somewhere (it was about four years ago). Fortunately I believe we had eaten with Josh's mom & step-dad, so they were able to jump the car so we could drive to a Checker Auto to get a new battery.
- - My SL1: the third time it died, I was at a Walgreen's near my house. I had just driven the stupid car there, but by the time I left Walgreen's, which was probably all of 15 minutes, the battery was dead. No freaking warning. I had to wait for Josh and his friend Max to come and give me a push since we don't have jumper cables. It's a standard transmission, so push-starts are very easy in it.
The second time it died, we at least had some warning, because the car's horn started sounding very pathetic and weak. So we were able to get the battery changed out before it was completely dead. I think this was the time that the battery cables were corroded due to a faulty battery, so I think that one got replaced without charge, or at a discounted price.
But anyway, even though battery manufacturers guarantee their products for 3 to 5 years, batteries barely last two years out here in Phoenix. The heat just does a real number on them, and you're lucky if they last as long as they're warrantied for. So if you live out here, or anywhere where the number of days above 100 degrees might outnumber those below 70 degrees, be prepared to buy a new car battery at least every other year.
That's all, folks...
back from the road trip
Sunday, September 28, 2003
Got back at around 8:30p. The Sony is all settled in at its new home. We took a copy of Trophy Hunter 2003 in case my dad's old version (the very first one, I believe), won't run on the new system. He asked if his Jack Nickolaus(sp?) golf game would work on the new computer.. I told him I wasn't sure, since it is also an older game, and sometimes older software just won't run on the new OS (winXP).
So, if it won't run, and he doesn't get himself a new copy before Christmas, that is something I will probably put on my list to buy for him as a gift.
The temperature up there during the day wasn't too bad, I guess. It was around 94 degrees, I think. But that is only two degrees cooler than it was at our house before we left. (we're basing the temps off of the digital thermometer in our truck). It was at 2:30p, when we got there. When we headed back home at 6:30, it was down to 73 degrees according to our truck. Niice. :o)
And what was the reading when we drove into our driveway when we got home? 94 degrees. Woot! It dropped a whole two degrees since we left Phoenix! Bleh.
It was a pleasant trip, I think. A little stuffy in their house since they didn't have any A/C running, but other than that, it was good. Got there, set up the computer, then took a tour of the house (since the last time I'd been there was before my parents had moved in and I'd only seen parts of it from the outside looking in windows). Also had my digital camera (whose battery, I found, is going bad.. it said "full" after I charged it last night, but it only had 60 minutes on it, where it used to have twice that at full charge. grr...), and my mom requested I take some pictures of some various faults here & there about the house to record what was already broken before they moved in. Cracked tile in the kitchen, a nick in the countertop by the kitchen sink, some burn marks in the carpet near the fireplace, bleach marks on the carpet in a bedroom, pictures of how the closet doors (the folding kind) won't close properly, the gates outside either broken or set so far from the fence they won't even latch.. and a few places inside the house that appeared to have some water damage, as well as a crack running down a wall in the living room, which appeared to be "repaired" but it was still obvious the crack was there.
She wanted to record them as proof that they had not caused this damage, in addition to recording them for the land lady in case my parents ever need to have them repaired, which would be done by the rental management company, and charged to the landlady. She also asked me if I could try to locate the land lady in California so my parents can have her direct contact info in case the mgmt company tries pulling the wool over her eyes with inflated repair charges.
Anyway, we had dinner (pork chops in a home-made shake-n-bake type breading consisting of oats, cornmeal, and various spices; baked potatoes; white rice; and cauliflower-leek puree (potato substitute, for me and whoever else wanted any)), and then afterwards I showed a couple of programs on the Sony to my parents... Quicken & Trophy Hunter 2003.
I also had worked on a "bills budget" plan for them last night before bed and showed them the file I had typed up, how the income vs. bills compared, and how to break up the amount paid to the bills monthly between my dad's Social Security check and my brother's income (VA check for school, which can be used for school stuff as well as general living expenses).
I didn't quite get to launch into the "You'll do it my way or else" speech, mainly because my brother was not present. Well, he was, but he had Reserves yesterday and was suffering from what we assume to be heat exhaustion, today. He spent nearly all the time he was there either laying down on his bed, or in the bathroom with dry heaves, since he can't keep anything down. If he doesn't improve by morning, his girlfriend is going to be taking him down to the VA Hospital.
So all I could do was show my parents the basics of using Quicken, and the bills-breakdown file I typed up in Notepad. However, the only way this setup will work, is if my brother gets control of how he spends his damn money. He needs to realize that
his name is on that lease. My parents are just listed as "residents", they could not be applicants because of their recent bankruptcy. And to even qualify for the place, my parents' neighbors back at their old house agreed to co-sign with my brother in order for them qualify to be able to even rent the place. So, if he doesn't put forth his share of the bills (his percentage equals the rent and car insurance, when they get it), not only will he be making his own credit worse, but he'll be screwing with someone else's credit. People who went out on a limb for my family by co-signing with him.
I'm sure they'll just love it if he defaults on his share of things and puts a big fat red mark on their credit rating He's gonna be living there once the semester is overwith, and his daughter may be living there if he is able to obtain custody of her, and he signed that form knowing he'd be responsible for part of the bills at that house. The sooner he realizes this, the better.
Sure, my parents will do their best to make sure the rent gets paid if he can't fork it over so they don't lose the place, but since my dad's work is sporadic (self-employed auto-body repair), their sole steady source of income is his social security check, which by itself barely covers the rent. My mother's stress levels need to come down before she can get a job she'd be a reliable worker at. My sister is living up there as well, but until they can get a second car running, she's stuck at the house like my mom when my dad is down in Phoenix finishing up work on one of his last jobs here.
It's not like my brother didn't agree to help cover expenses, so he needs to reign in his impulses, which include being a sucker and paying his girlfriend's car payment when it was overdue and the car about to be repo'd. I'm sorry, since when is he responsible for
her car? He may be using it to get around when she's in town, but that would constitute maybe gas money, or part of the car payment, at most. Not the whole of it. It's her car, in her name,
she is responsible for it. If she can't pay for it and it gets repo'd, that's her problem. Just means that he may be stuck on campus during the school week, but big whoop. That's why his dorm room is on campus. Duh. My dad can pick him up at the end of the week when he's back in Prescott if my brother doesn't want to be confined to campus over the weekend.
I think the reason this money thing with my brother pisses me off so much (and my dad, too, is kind of bad about handling money), is because I used to be the same way, once upon a time. But I was able to get it under control (with a little help from
Josh, of course. ;o) ), so why can't they?
Grr.....
Wow, leave it to a mention of my brother's irresponsibility to turn this into a big, fat, rant! hehe.
That's all, folks...
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