Once a Year

Tomorrow is my annual appointment with the retinal specialist.  I used to suffer from at least a week of anxiety and fear leading up to the appointment, but I have been through it so many times, I now start getting...

On the Edge

This has been a monumentally good week for me in regard to my vision.  Finding out that I will likely maintain enough sight to be able to read and write and see the faces of those I love, has altered...

The Good News and the Bad News (which really isn’t so bad)

I am so incredibly grateful and overwhelmed for the outpouring of care and support I have received since my last post.  I am a lucky woman! This has been a month of having my whole body poked and prodded and...

Contemplating the Water

My Dad lives across town and when I visit him, usually a couple of times a week, I often take the bus to UCLA and he picks me up by the medical buildings.  I was walking to meet him the...

Isn’t that Something Only Old People Get?

RP is anything but straightforward; it comes with lots of extras that you wouldn't expect. A year after my diagnosis, I thought I had become pretty versed in the language of RP and what I might possibly be faced with...

It’s Right in Front of You

I was 33 when Dr. Heckenlively told me I was going blind.   After dropping the bomb, he took a vial of my blood to, as he so eloquently put it, "rule out syphilis",  gave me a list of vitamins...

What do you See?

Most of the time, I find that people seem reticent to ask about my vision; I don't know if it makes them uncomfortable or if the concept of someone being partially sighted is just too hard to grasp, but the...

#8 Blindfolded

Tamar and I got right to work today.  I had a pretty good week with Zelda and I was running late this morning and screwed up Tamar's schedule a bit, so no need or time for a therapy session; I...

#7 Off-Roading with Zelda and Tamar

I have officially graduated from my lessons at the Braille Institute; Tamar came over to my house today and we have begun our lessons out in the (mostly) sighted world.  Although I have been using Zelda when I am out...