RP Video and Some Good News!!

This is a video from YouTube about a young man's RP (retinitis pigmentosa) journey. It may give you a better look into the "blinding" world. Remember, everyone has a different story to tell and while they are similar, the progression is different, too. There is a demonstration of tunnel vision in this video, but it is not what I see. I have a bigger "tunnel" so I can see more centrally and it's not peripherally foggy for me. It's a void. A nothingness. It's just not there. It has no color, but I can sense movement in the "blind spots."

Sorry, no closed captioning.

Tunnel Vision

Newsbreaking news (okay, not that newsbreakable considering that it's two days old and wasn't that fragile, but it's NEWS!!)

Drum roll, please....

Insurance company finally approved the CI (cochlear implant). Now comes the next worry....my pocketbook. ;) How much will it cost me? But look at what I can gain. Better hearing. Better quality of life. I know that CIs won't make me a "hearing" person, but I'm okay with that. I've lived with it all my life. But it's great news, nonetheless.

Onyx was still sick. She was throwing up. I was blaming the new food we switched her to and it was affecting her bladder, too. I was wondering if she was allergic to something. She was listless and slept a lot. Hubby took her to the vet. She had a bladder infection and roundworm. Ugh. Back to the meds. But, now she is more playful again. (Big worryfree smile here.)

A few days ago, I was sitting out on my porch steps just gazing down the street without really looking. It was more that I was lost in thought. Someone was talking to me, touching my shoe (I think it was my shoe. I was at the high end of the porch steps and a person would have to reach over to touch me to get my attention.) I've also have not been getting the best "hearing" quality from my hearing aids. I need to get new tubes for them. That's another blog post, though.) It was one of my sign language interpreters from the college. I was just glad to be able to talk to someone without having to work so hard to communicate, but I got "rusty" with some signs, too. I re-learn them fast, though. :) What can I say? I'm oral and don't have much of an opportunity to sign. I don't hang out with other hard-of-hearing or d/Deaf people that know signs.

Hubby had a wide smile on his face when he joined me on the porch. I was thinking to myself, what's so funny, bub? Are you uncomfortable? But when I asked him about it later, he said that I was in my "glory," signing away.

The day after the flood, Angel realized her bike was gone. Oh, no!! It was stolen!! We stopped by a few neighboring houses to see if she left her bike there. Nope. It was gone, probably during the excitement of the flooding.

The next day, she wanted to play with a neighbor kid and came home with her BIKE!! She left it there, but lost her helmet. It must have floated away during the flood. Whew. But she was unable to ride her bike until she got a new helmet (which she impatiently whined about for two more days till it was replaced.)

Flare and her best friend (who slept over) watched DVDs all night. I sat and watched the last half of Juno with them. I could hear them break out into laughter as I was reading the captions.

I remember two instances where I laughed a few delayed seconds after they did:

Juno, a pregnant teen in high school, stops by her dad's house. He says something like, "my puffed up June bug."

The adoptive mother came in to hold her new baby and catches sight of the grandmother, Juno's stepmom or mother. (I got into the middle of the movie so I didn't know which one was which.)

She asks, "How do I look?"

The grandmother says, "Like a new mom, scared ____less. "

Smiles. OXOX

CI Update

An appeal was made on my behalf for coverage of a CI (cochlear implant). It was sent around May 22. The appealer informed me that she contacted the insurance company to see if they got the letter. They said they got it, but sent back a letter saying that the information in the appeal letter didn't really "make a case" so to speak. My appealer told the person on the phone to take a good look at the letter she sent and read it. The person did and agreed that the information contained in the appeal letter did indeed qualify as an appeal. She then said that it would take about a month to review it. (I can't help but laugh at the obvious run-around and good use of the six-month time limit to appeal and get approval. Yeah, I'm frustrated, too.)

Before the appeal was sent, I sent the insurance company a letter asking what findings they had that made them think that CIs were not proven safe and effective? I have not heard from them at all. I should have made that letter certified. (I do not trust this insurance company one whit.) But since the appeal letter was sent, I didn't query the insurance company to see if my letter was received.

Will keep you posted.

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We all watched The Eye, a movie starring Jessica Alba. Somehow it was predictable, because I have seen movies with a similar plot. The donor of the cornea manifests herself into the character's eyes and she starts seeing dead people and having the donor's memories and predictions. Hubby was able to rig the DVD to the tv's captioning instead of the DVD's captioning. Yay. I don't like subtitle-like captions.

Hubby bought a magazine chockful of recipes for me. Half of them were slowcooker recipes. Yay. What surprised me most was that it cost $8. I can't see Hubby buying a magazine that cost that much. Bonus: I found a lot of useful recipes I want to try out. Thanks, Hubs. (He knows that the woman's best friend is the crockpot, not diamonds-at least this woman's best friend. Hee.)

Got over 6" of rain last week. The basement was holding up pretty good, then yesterday we found that the carpeting (all remmant carpeting) were saturated with water, so we rolled up the carpet pieces and took them outside. It wasn't heavy, just enough to soak the carpets and anything touching the basement floor. We have fans going all night and all day down there. The carpeting just got in the way when the water needed roll towards the drain. At least it wasn't as bad as the others were-with sewer backups and maybe a depth of a foot of wading water in the basement. :)

Okay, gotta start keeping the posts short. :)

Another Reminder

Just a reminder...

The Hallmark movie, "Sweet Nothings in My Ear" starring Marlee Matlin will air on Sunday, April 20. Check your local listings if you are interested in seeing this movie.

It's another cochlear implant debate kind of show about a deaf mother and a hearing father with a deaf child. The father wants to have his son implanted with a CI, but the mother doesn't.

I hope I am not as disappointed with it was I was with the Cold Case episode.

Just by doing this, I am reminding myself and I don't forget. :)