Welcome to Hadley

Today I received everything I needed to begin my Introduction to Braille class. And I just turned in my first assignment!



I am enrolled at Hadley School for the Blind. They offer a lot of programs to the blind, visually impaired, family members, and professionals. We obviously decided against Justin teaching me Braille. SFA didn't work out either. I am very happy with Hadley though and the best part is that they offer their services for free to me because I am a spouse!



Even though it is sad, frustrating, and confusing to us that Justin's vision has changed so much that I have to learn Braille, I am very thankful that there are resources out there for me to take advantage of.



Okay, okay, some may argue that I technically don't have to learn Braille due to current technology, but check out the benefits:



1) I can share in some of the massive Braille labeling projects around the house--pantry items, cooking instructions, DVDs, CDs, appliances, medicine, etc. It isn't fair for Justin to have to do ALL of it!



2) Board games. We love to play games. If I learn Braille I can help make it to where Justin can enjoy them again.



3) I will be able to communicate with Justin using a written form. Reminders on the fridge, greeting cards, love notes...you know, all those little things.



4) Learning Braille might prepare me for our future family. It is a possibility that our children will be blind so why not prepare for it? If we have a child who is blind it would be nice to have both a father and mother who know Braille. Things like checking homework would be difficult if I didn't know Braille.



So there you have it. Those are some of the reasons I am learning Braille. And believe me, I will be learning for a long time because it looks HARD. The first lesson was the history of Braille and I peeked at the next lesson....yeesh. It is titled "Reading Braille". Wait, aren't we going a little fast here?

Friday: 5/30

Thank you for your prayers! Justin's eye pressure was an 8--that is great for his eye. Dr. J said that everything looked good structurally. No detached retina...everything is holding up. :) Unfortunately because Justin's situation is so advanced the doctor doesn't know why Justin's vision is getting darker. He doesn't know what Justin is supposed to be seeing considering he thought there was a huge chance Justin wouldn't see anything once the patch was removed. All Dr. J could say was that everything looked good. That being said....Justin doesn't have to go back for 4 weeks. Four. For. Fo. And that is definitely a good thing! Again, thank you for your prayers.

Another Friday Appointment

Hi! I just wanted to let everyone know that Justin has an appointment today in Dallas. After you read here about his surgery, Justin's vision started to get darker and darker each day. As you know he didn't have an appointment last week so today we get to find out how his eye is doing structurally and hopefully the reason his vision is getting worse.

I have to stay in Nacogdoches today, so I might get to update you before I get off of work. Otherwise, we have guests tonight so it may be Saturday before either one of us updates you. Please pray with me for Justin today.

And Now I'm Hungry for Cake

Last week was the first week in a long time that Justin did not have an appointment in Dallas. So it was labeled as our "catch-up" week. While Justin was unable to do much I did my best to stay on top of the housework, but when his second surgery came around everything kind of went downhill. We had a lot of laundry, vacuuming, dusting, dish washing, grocery buying, and organizing to do! At the same time we wanted to relax so we kind of spread things out over the week. (yes, the dreadful mistake of spreading things out so much that when you complete your list of to-do's you see that the first things you've done need to be re-done)


This past Saturday was Philip and Maegan's wedding! It was so beautiful and perfect. And not to mention kind of deja vu-ish considering that is where Justin and I were married almost a year ago. We can't wait for the Melton's to get back to Nacogdoches.....but I know they can wait.


Memorial Day was a "knock-the-rest-of-the-cleaning-out-in-one-day" day, but we really didn't. I had no idea that Larry had this much fur on him!

On Memorial Day I was also able to find one of my favorite types of computer games. I'm not really sure what the type is called. I like to consider this "type" closely related to Sims...so I guess you would call it a simulator game?? I used to play a Sponge Bob game where you had to fulfill the crabby patty orders. I've always enjoyed Diner Dash. This game is called Carrie the Caregiver. Yeah, it sounded dumb when Justin and I saw the commercial on TV...but I had to look it up! I love it! This game definitely should be labeled as girlie. If you don't mind that then go play the free trial. After my free trial is over I will be playing Cake Mania. And then I'll play Delicious. I think these games have topped Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego....but that could be taking it too far.

Yesterday Justin and I were able to see Caris Jinkins! That was fun. She is adorable! Maybe Jinx will put pictures up on his blog as soon as he is able to.

That was my week!

Brought to You By: The Number 5

I feel the love! These 3 fabulous individuals have tagged me: David Runnels , Susie Moore, and Artie Anderson. David said that I should play along so I'm not on his bad list or so that I can stay on his good list....or something to that effect. Either way I am super stoked to be tagged! Here are the rules:



1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.

4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.



WHAT WERE YOU DOING 5 YEARS AGO:

1. Suffering from a bad breakup with a guy. (...awkward...)

2. Looking for a summer job so that I could save some last minute money for college.

3. Gearing up for VBS at FUMC Lufkin where Justin and I would start hanging out together.

4. Squeezing in every opportunity to hang out with Diane Williams (now Sizemore) before she would leave for college.

5. Planning "Human Videos" with Amanda Cheavens (now Murley) for her church.



FIVE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST TODAY?

1. Vacuum the entire apartment. (my favorite chore...really.)

2. Laundry (yeah, like that will get done)

3. Walk the dogs.

4. Hang out with Justin and his sister.

5. Pay bills.



FIVE SNACKS YOU ENJOY?:

1. Chips and HOT Salsa

2. Popsicles (the kind you buy in a liquid pouch)

3. Sour Skittles

4. Wheat Thins and Laughing Cow Cheese (Low Fat Swiss)

5. Tomatoes



FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD DO IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE:

1. Donate to various charities.

2. Tithe

3. Pay off debt!

4. Move out of this apartment!

5. Save for our future.



FIVE OF YOU BAD HABITS?:

1. I leave my shoes everywhere.

2. I don't call my friends/family enough.

3. Procrastination mega overload.

4. I don't hang up the clothes in a timely manner.(meaning they sit in the dryer or basket for a long long long time)

5. Every meal I will make a mess in some way....just watch.



FIVE PLACES WHERE YOU'VE LIVED:

1. Lufkin, TX (Central area)

2. Spring, TX (the big move for my family)

3. Lufkin, TX (more in the Lufkin area)

4. Lufkin, TX (back in the Central area)

5. Nacogdoches, TX (dorms, then aparment by myself, then apartment with my husband now)



FIVE JOBS YOU'VE HAD:

1. Cashier at Eckerd/CVS

2. Christian Life Center FUMC Lufkin

3. ETI Telemarketer (when it was called ETI)

4. IHOP Waitress

5. Radiologist's Assistant (now)



TAG YOU'RE IT!:

1. Maegan MELTON: She is such a fun person to hang out with. She is staying in Nacogdoches with her BRAND NEW husband, Philip. I hear we have more in common than we realize. AND I think she will have a lot to blog about in the near future!



2. Kalena Hanke: I secretly read her blog and I think she is a really really funny person with a beautiful heart.



3. Rhonda Romack: Duh. She's a Romack...need I say more? Oh, and I think she needs to find a little bit of time to blog something! I enjoy reading her blog.



4. Abigail: I secretly read her blog too. She is one of the two people who helped me get the wonderful job I have now. AND SHE BLOGS OFTEN!



5. Amanda Murley: She is my best friend who I miss a lot! And she needs to blog....even if it is a MySpace blog.

A Super Target Date

Just in case you don't already know, Justin posted a very detailed update on his surgery....click here to see it!

Last Friday Justin and I went on a Super Target date. I love that man!

[Justin slurps down a White Cherry Icee]

We went there to shop for Mother's Day, but were too distracted by things our mothers would not want...so we went to the snack bar instead. So this is what a Super Target dates looks like:

1. POPCORN

[Justin eating the "small" bag of popcorn...I'd hate to see the large.]

2. A GOOD DRINK

[Justin drinking our refilled icee.]

3. CHEESY SMILES

[Justin's cheesy smile.]

[And of course my cheesy smile.]

Page a Prayer for Justin

Justin and I ate dinner with my parents tonight in Lufkin. (Cheddars if you must know) While we were there my mom gave us a pager. Her church (FUMC Lufkin) has a Pager Prayer ministry which means when someone prays for you they dial your pager number and you will be notified (and encouraged) that someone just prayed for you.



It was very nice of my mom to think about giving us one. (but moms are nice that way, right?) So I wanted to extend the offer to you. If you are praying for Justin and want to let him know that someone just prayed for him just follow these simple steps:



1) Dial this Pager Prayer number: 1-888-210-1545.



2) After you hear the beeps, press "1"



3) Then, just hang up.



4) Your Pager Prayer is on its way! We will receive a message that says "New Prayer", but we won't know who did it.



Of course, if you want to pray for us and not use the Pager Prayer then that is ok too. I'm not trying to make this a contest to see how many times the pager will go off. But either way...PLEASE PRAY! We are getting up early tomorrow morning to drive to Dallas. We have to be there at 9:30 and his surgery starts at 10:30. (and those people are the most punctual people I know!)



I'll let you guys know what is going on. Justin will probably have me twittering on his new high-tech phone. Go until then....Goodbye!

Friday: 5/9

Justin was going to update everyone on last Friday's appointment over on his blog, but he now says that I "need all the posts I can get". We all know this isn't true. None-the-less I will give you guys an update...

As I said on my last "Friday Appointment" post we were going into this appointment with two possibilities in mind 1) there would be nothing else the doctors could do for Justin, or 2) they would be able to do surgery on him and fix his ciliary body. Of course, Justin was really hoping that they would be able to do another surgery.

After the doctor examined him, he told us that Justin's retina had partially detached. Think of it as an envelope. You know when the middle starts to bubble up, but the sides are still stuck down? That is how Justin's retina is right now--or at least when the doctor checked it. We don't know how long it was detached for because this past Friday was the first time the doctor has been able to see all the way to the back of his eye since the air bubble is almost gone.

As for the whole ciliary body surgery: there is NO way in heck that the doctors will touch it. Justin's doctor does want to go back in his eye, clear the scar tissue that is on top and behind the retina, re-attach the retina, inject silicone oil, and give him more steroids. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? It is. They are going to destroy the retina in order to repair it.

Justin had the choice of whether he wanted another surgery or not. He said yes. In fact, it is scheduled for this Thursday. If Justin doesn't get the surgery his retina will fully detach and without a retina you go blind.

The doctor said that because Justin is a rare case they have been very nervous every time they have gone into his eye. They described all of his surgeries as a "heroic cause" because it seems that there is a lot going against him. When the doctors look at the big picture they see that Justin wasn't suppose to have vision after the age of 10. He's 23! So I guess they kind of feel like they're skating on ice. Well, his doctor said that this upcoming surgery is very heroic because there is a large possibility that it won't work. That means that there is a large possibility that Justin will never see again.

Well we weren't sure what kind of vision the doctors were actually trying to save. Light perception only? Color and shapes? The good news is that if this surgery works they believe that Justin could go back to seeing things the way he was in December....which was GREAT! Also, the silicone oil bends light differently than the water that is normally in your eye, so if Justin does get to see again, the oil will actually magnify things so that he can see them even better.

There is a lot of uncertainty on our part as well as the medical staff's. We know that this is a huge opportunity for God to take something that so many see as impossible and turn it into something that is possible. We also know that this is an opportunity for God to use this as a tool to refine us so that we are more like His image...even though it may hurt.

Please pray for Justin, his mom, the doctors, and myself this Thursday. His surgery is at 10:30. I'll most likely let you know how everything goes via Justin's twitter.

The Nerd In Me

A long long time ago when I had all the time in the world I absolutely loved watching the Weather Channel. Tonight the wind has been picking up, there's lightning, and a lot of thunder. I decided to go check out the weather on ktre.com. And to my surprise:



They are doing a LIVE feed of the weatherman sitting on his laptop checking out the weather. I love this for so many reasons!! 1) I obviously enjoy hearing the "behind the scenes" of our local news station, 2) I like to hear what's going on now just in case there is something like a tornado, 3)you never know when something cool will happen like a man emailing the weatherman telling him that his cow just flew away or something.



Unfortunately I must peel myself away from it and go back to schoolwork. But I can't promise you that I won't go back on ktre.com when I finish....if I every finish.

Be Prepared

Dark all day. The wind is blowing hard.

Do you think Mandi knows something we don't?

[A view from the guest bathroom door. Mandi is in the bathtub!]

[A closeup of Mandi in the tub.]

Or maybe she is just bored because we've neglected her all week.

And yes, those are drums in our guest bathroom.

Friday: 5/2

Hey, I'm actually typing a post about Friday on Friday! I was unable to go with Justin to his appointment today. This always frustrates me because I want so badly to be where he is! I want to be by his side if he receives bad news or if he has some big decisions to make right there on the spot. I would gladly pick everything up and drive him anywhere if he needed to go, so it bothers me when I can't because we need me to be here at work sometimes. That's how I feel today.


Here is how today's appointment went...


They always call Justin into the office twice--once to dilate his eyes, check his eye pressure, ask how much light he can see, or if he can see anything from a distance AND the second time to see the doctor. He went in the first time and they could get a pressure reading on him. This is bad because it means the pressure is so low the device can't detect it. Oh, and the device they use isn't that little puff of air they shoot in your eye when you go to get an eye exam...they use this thing that resembles a digital thermometer and they actually press up against his eye! Not only was his eye pressure undetectable, but he was unable to see the guy waving his hand in front of him. Last week he could see the guy waving his hand. We knew something was going on though because Justin had been experiencing some weird light flashes and the light he could see had all-of-a-sudden gotten dimmer. He seriously thought his retina had detached since the doctor was so surprised last week that it hadn't.

When he saw the doctor, he was told that his retina was still intact!! That is great news. The doctor was sure that the retina had detached before he looked in his eye. The retina not detaching is definitely God's doing! We are encouraged by this.

Now the low eye pressure was very concerning. They sent Justin to the lab for an ultrasound of his eye. The technician was able to feel how soft his eye was which is scary. You see, when your eye pressure gets lower your eye gets softer. This is how we know that Justin's eye pressure is SO much lower without actually being able to get the reading. The ultrasound just proved that the retina was not detached.

The doctor said the reason for the low eye pressure could be because there is also scar tissue on Justin's ciliary body which is the part in his eye that makes aqueous humor. The scar tissue could be causing the ciliary body to not make the aqueous humor which means the eye pressure will remain low. If the aqueous humor gets so low, and the eye pressure gets so low, Justin will go blind. The doctor said that he does not know how to do surgery on the ciliary body....afterall, retinas are his specialty. The retina doctor will talk with his colleagues and Justin's glaucoma doctor to see if they know of anything that can be done. We will find out next Friday when we go back.

I saw on the internet that there are such things as surgeries on the ciliary body so that is a little encouraging to know that surgeons can get back there. Of course we still don't know if anything can be done. This is an entirely new chapter in the problems of Justin's eye.

For now we have to wait which is hard. Harder for Justin than for me, of course. Every little change in his vision frightens us. We think: "Surely the retina is detached now!" Then we have to deal with the possibilities of that and all those questions of uncertainty that come flooding in. And then the next day his vision has changed in a way that leads us to believe that no the retina has not detached. Every week is sort of a roller coaster. We have our good days where it is easy for us to trust in God and see beyond what so many other people are seeing as hopeless. (it is hard for me to believe, but there are so many people who see blind people as worthless) Then there are bad days where we have doubts and the negativity seems to consume us. Thank goodness that there are so many more good days than bad! Justin has the best attitude ever and I have a large amount of respect for him because of that.

Oh! Another good thing the doctor told Justin was that the head positionings are not as important anymore. That means he can sleep on his right side too if he wants. :) He is still supposed to take it easy though, which isn't too hard for him considering he gets so tired so quickly now because he was in bed for so long.

Okay...I think that is it. I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us.