OK, enough about communication, I want to talk about my jacked up vision. After I got a handle on how to talk to people (sort of), my new #1 Issue was not being able to see well. My stroke hit my whole body, including my eyes, and they’re still messed up seven years later. You’d be surprised how much bad vision makes all your other problems seem smaller.

One of the issues is a condition called nystagmus, that’s when your eyes are uncontrollably jumpy, making it impossible to focus on anything. My neurologist prescribed for me a drug called Neurontin and it really calms my eyes down considerably. The drug is an anti-seizure medication that is meant primarily for people that suffer diseases like epilepsy, but it also helps treat my condition. I think it’s a wonder-drug. One time about a year ago, our order got delayed or crossed up and I didn’t take it for a day or so. It was very upsetting, I could really tell the difference and it felt like my condition was worsening. I’ve never been so relieved to hear the UPS guy!

Another condition I have is diplopia, otherwise known as double vision, and there is no treatment for that. Having this condition makes it almost impossible to read normal size text, making it difficult to read stuff like email and eBooks (I go through a ton of audiobooks, but that’s a topic for another time), or just surfing the web. I prefer reading text that is BIG AND BOLD. Having double vision 24/7 is probably like being a wino, without having to deal with that annoying hangover.

In addition to the things described above, I can’t move my eyes from side to side. This forces me to rely heavily on my peripheral vision to take in my surroundings. In other words Jen, I can still tell when the house needs some attention!

Since my eyes are pretty much out to lunch all the time, my sense of hearing has picked up a lot of the slack. My right ear is perfectly fine but my left ear is at about 50% making me a little hard of hearing – especially right after I say or do something wrong! What honey? Did I say what, now?

Because of my seeing/hearing situation, I end up listening to the TV more than I watch it (incidentally, we’re talking a boatload of TV). I like watching sports OK but I am in no way a diehard sports fan – I’m not even real sure what channel ESPN is. I especially like watching baseball, not a lot of action and pretty easy to follow. Did you know that in an average 3 hour game there are only 16 minutes of actual pitching, hitting, catching, throwing and running. That’s about my speed: s-l-o-w. After that comes golf. Not a lot going on there and the ball might as well be invisible but I can tell when they sink the putt, no problem. Basketball and football come next, as long as they’re wearing a Rams or Mizzou jersey. Hockey, MMA and figure skating – not so much!