Laser Beams, Puppies and Eye Patches
What do older people do when they're bored? Doctor visits galore. Not that we enjoy doctor visits, but they do tend to come up as we all get older. For you younger folks, see what you have to look forward to?
Terry was told a while ago that he has cataracts. It was time the cataracts were removed, so we headed into his first appointment with his optometrist. That was fun (insert eye roll here). After many minutes of looking into bright lights, being told over and over again to "Keep your chin on the rest," and waiting (Oh, my God the waiting!), we were done. Terry was told he had a tear in his retina in one eye. We were then referred to a specialist who would do a deeper study of the eye and consider him for laser surgery. This meant another appointment the following day. See how much fun we're having? Yee-haw!
The following day we went into the specialist's office. More waiting, more of the "Look up, look down" rhetoric. Unfortunately, after all was said and done, Terry has three tears in his one eye and one in the other. Our touring of eye doctor's offices just broadened. He was told to come back the following day to get his first laser surgery done on the eye with a single tear, but it would be accomplished in his office in Eugene. Of course, that meant we could make a day of it. Family meet-up, head into stores we love and the other things we enjoy doing while in Eugene.
(Picture of Terry's retina with a tear showing)
Returning home that day, we informed Terry's daughter of the procedure. Mallory was wanting to accompany her father to the surgical offices in Eugene, which is understandable. The following morning, we headed out to pick up Mallory and drive to my hometown.
Of course, I love Eugene as I have said many times in our blog. Eugene is where I grew up and where I have most of my memories. But the reason we were going put a slight damper on the visit. I was concerned about Terry and what would happen. I realize laser surgery is quick, easy, and helps immediately, but with tears around his retinas, that bothered me. He was dealing with it well, even though he was a bit nervous, as anyone would be.
We picked up Mallory and began the drive. The trip was enjoyable, the roads clear of snow, rain, and any other sort of inclement weather. It was a nice drive actually. The three of us chatted for the hour-long trip. Sharing tales of the week's occurrences also brought laughter, along with a few, "Wow" moments. Along the way I contacted my daughter, Marina, and asked if she wanted to meet us at the bookstore, where we were going to stop first. She also had a doctor's appointment that morning and I was anxious to hear her results.
Marina met us at Barnes and Noble, our favorite bookstore in Eugene. She brought along the puppies, as Franklin, the St. Berdoodle (Saint Bernard and standard poodle), is being trained to become a therapy dog. This means taking him into public as much as she can to ensure he is used to children and adults petting him, tugging on him, and basically adoring him. Let's just say it doesn't suck for him.
Mallory is a huge animal "freak" like I am, so this delighted her. Marina's other dog is a female named Charley Girl, and she also loves the attention, but not from many people. Charley is frightened of sounds from her surrounding environment and is easily spooked. She is adorable though and immediately jumped on Terry's lap when we arrived.
Marina and Mallory were introduced and there was an immediate connection in terms of their love of dogs. The dogs were enjoying every single hug, kiss, and belly scratch. Franklin flopped onto his back and let Mallory scratch him and pet him as often as she felt she wanted to. Franklin is 8 months old now and weighs in at a whopping 90 pounds of cute, bubbly, puppy fun. Actually, he's over 90 pounds, but who is counting at this point?
(Mallory and Franklin)
We sat in the bookstore holding the puppy and playing with Charley. Charley is a "doodle" as well. She is a poodle and lab mix. The term for that mix is "labradoodle." The mix of the two breeds creates an intelligent, amazingly sweet dog.
(Franklin loving his belly rubs from Mallory)
After settling in and getting introductions out of the way, plus receiving our "mauling" by the fur babies, we grabbed some drinks. Peppermint tea over ice was mine and Marina's drink of choice and Terry had is favorite of a mocha frappe with whipped cream. Yum.
We realized it was getting close enough to the appointment time to go have lunch somewhere. Marina suggested a place called Pastini's, an Italian restaurant in the Oakway Mall. We loved the sound of that! Marina led the way and off we went.
After a short drive, we arrived. What a great choice this was!
Pastini's Italian restaurant in Eugene, Oregon
The menu selections were wonderful!
The ambiance at Pastini's is very comfortable, casual but classy.
We had our lunch, consisting mostly of various pasta dishes. The food was awesome! I had baked cheese ravioli with salad and beautiful sourdough garlic bread. Terry ordered the ziti, along with the tomato basil soup instead of salad. The meal was heavenly. But it was time for the "big event." Getting Terry's eyes fixed.
Mallory and I walked into the doctor's office with Terry while Marina took the dogs for a walk. We checked Terry in and watched him walk in the back room with the nurse. I hated leaving him. Back in the day you could stay with the patient, but now it's all about the waiting room for anyone coming with the patient.
Marina, Mallory, and me left the offices and walked a couple of doors up to a brewery where we each grabbed a drink. I had a grapefruit lemonade, which was fantastic by the way, and the ladies each ordered a small glass of wine. We had a little time to chat and get to know each other a bit better. Love these two girls! Beautiful, amazing young women who were great single moms. Strong ladies! Our drinks were done and so was our time. Terry sent me a text telling me he was done.
We met Terry and said our goodbyes to Marina. She had a long drive to return home and so did we. Terry was fine and said the surgery went well, with one exception. Once we got into the car, he informed us that he had to return to Eugene the following day because his eye with three tears wasn't fixed yet. The first eye was complete, however, it caused pain that wasn't really expected. The doctor wanted to put him under anesthesia to complete the second surgery procedure. So back to Roseburg we went, worried about the man Mallory and I love and care about. It was scary knowing we had to return once again for more surgical work, but this time a much deeper, harsher surgery.
We drove home in silence. One, to let Terry sleep and two, thoughts were running through our minds. I cannot speak for Mallory, but I kept wondering what would happen the next day. It was such a blur from his appointment on Wednesday, Thursday his surgery, and now another surgery being done on Friday. Would he be okay? Would he lose any of his eyesight? We would know more on Friday, I guess.
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