I was thinking about my grade school, Garfield Elementary. It was a happy place and a happy time. The school and playground took up about half a block. We walked to school and enjoyed everything we encountered. There were always stray dogs, bugs, butterflies, caterpillars, birds, and sometimes rain or snow. The school ground was well appointed with teeter-totters, a fantastic jungle gym, and monkey bars. Reading stories was exciting, and we looked forward to recess and the nutrition breaks with milk and graham crackers.

Our great grandkids are just starting school, and I wonder what kind of memories they and their peers will have. Many will be dropped off by their parents rather than enjoying the little things you would see on a walk to school. Rather than a wide open and welcoming school grounds, some will be greeted by a chain link fence with a locked gate and metal detector. They may also be greeted by a policeman or security guard. There probably won’t be any teeter-totters or jungle gyms as the schools must protect themselves from paranoid parents, liability, and lawsuits.

The changes will come about due to the world we now live in. Our kids are being murdered in their schools because their grandparents don’t have enough backbone to kiss the NRA goodbye. The money from the gun lobby is more important than the children. The litigious nature of our country has killed a lot of playground activities.

This is not our America. We don’t want our public schools to look like prisons, and we don’t want to see playgrounds that are as austere as concentration camps.

Dave Thomas

8/32/2023

Last year, I told you about some crows my wife, Pat, was feeding. It was an “on demand” kind of thing. They would squawk until she came out with some food. The way it worked was that the six crows would arrive, and five of them would settle in a tree across the street. The sixth one would land on the edge of our garage roof. Our attached garage forms a 90 degree angle with the rest of the house. The crow could perch on the edge of the garage roof and look across and into the picture window of the living room. When Pat heard the squawking, she would look out the window and make eye contact with the crow. When she opened the door and went out, the crow maintained eye contact at all times. It seemed to know that eye contact was an important part of getting your message across. Pat would put the food on the lawn or the driveway, and the boss bird and the other five would enjoy the feast. If they ate everything but were still hungry, the head crow would start squawking again and would keep it up until Pat brought more food.

Last week, after several quiet months with no crows, Pat thought she heard them out front. She went out, and sure enough, there were six crows on our driveway. Five of them were grouped at the foot of the drive, and a single one was closer to the house. The lone guy, the communicator, was yelling his fool head off. Pat said, “Okay, okay, I’ll get you some lunch,” and she turned and walked back toward the front door. The crow was following right behind her. Apparently, he didn’t want to lose sight of her. She went into the house and the quickest thing that came to mind was a handful of Cheerios. She took the Cheerios out and tossed them on the driveway. The six crows wasted not time in gobbling them up. After eating, they left, and we haven’t heard them around the neighborhood. I guess they were just passing through. I think that after all these months, it’s really strange that the crows knew which house to come back to for a handout.

P.S.- Here’s a little story Pat and I just heard today. Our grandson’s girlfriend, Meztli, says, “I just heard the strangest story. My grandmother feeds crows.” Our grandson, David, says, “There’s nothing strange about that- my grandma feeds crows, too!”

Dave Thomas

2/3/2022

Not long ago, I told you about Pat feeding the crows. The boss crow would land on our driveway and start squawking while his five or six buddies would settle in the tree across the street. When Pat came out with a slice of bread and a handful of Cheerios, the birds in the tree would join the Boss in the driveway, and they would all chow down. If Pat didn’t come out immediately, the Boss would fly to the roof of the garage and perch on the rain gutter. Our house and garage are in a 90 degree configuration. From the garage roof, the crow could see through the picture window into our living room and would watch for Pat while he kept yelling. He never gives up.

This has been the rainiest January we have had in years. This past Monday, the 30^th, it would rain and clear off and rain again. The wildlife like the crows and other critters couldn’t find anything to eat because their quarry was hiding from the rain. I figure that all of the local crows were complaining about being hungry, and the Boss crow said, “Let’s go see Pat!” The Boss landed on our driveway and started squawking. Pat took a slice of bread and some Cheerios out to him and tossed them on the driveway. Suddenly, there were crows everywhere. Pat said it was like that Hitchcock movie “The Birds.” There were crows on the driveway, on the lawn, in the street, and in the air. She had to bring out more food. When every scrap was eaten, the crows took off, and we won’t see them again until the next shortage of food.

Yes, I missed it. I was taking a nap.

Dave Thomas

2/1/2023

It’s always interesting to watch as fad words and phrases spread across the country. Often, they come from TV reporters who are trying to convince us that they are experts on whatever they are talking about.  For instance, when reporting on one of the Middle Eastern wars, it would be announced that we had “boots on the ground” in some location. That sounded knowledgeable and macho. It was modified a little for civilian use. For example, Correspondent Joe Blow, is “on the ground” in Paris to report on the protest.

I would like to spend more time writing about this, but I’ve got to go find my “wheelhouse.”                          

Dave Thomas

8/17/2023

My vision is gradually improving. I don’t know if there is one cause for this or if it is due to the sum total of all things tried.

Several years ago, I read that blueberries were good for the eyes. Every morning, I have a ½ cup of blueberries with my Cheerios. Pat makes sure our diet consists of plenty of fresh vegetables. The Eylea injections keep the eyes from bleeding, thus giving the retinas a chance to do their job. The Sifovre injections may improve vision, but I haven’t been taking them long enough to reap the benefits.  I use the computer and video magnifiers for several hours each day. I figure that the eye muscles need to be exercised as much as the other muscles in the body.

I’m grateful for the amount of vision I have today. Fortunately, it seems to get just a little better each month. I can function reasonably well within the confines of my home. It’s always dark, like twilight. One measure of progress is television. For months and months, all I could see was a black screen. Now, if I get 4 or 5 feet from the TV, I can see figures moving around. If there is a close-up shot, I can see the eyes, mouth, and nose of the face, but can’t see them well enough to identify the person. Also, it has been a black and white world. I was surprised the other day to see that a lady was wearing a red dress. Thank God for small favors.

One big problem is that of keeping your head on straight and not letting the negative stuff get you down. I don’t mean the “why me” or “woe is me” crap, but the real issues. If I can’t drive, can’t do yard work, can’t do my handyman stuff, then I’m a freeloader, a leach, a bum, and not worth much. I decided that the best antidote for this kind of thinking was to get busy and learn to do some tasks that would save time or steps for Pat and Terri.

I made lots of mistakes, but soon had a list of accomplishments to add to my resume. I can load the dishwasher, start the dishwasher, unload the dishwasher, put away the dishes, make the beds, start the dryer, unload the dryer, fold and put away the clothes, feed, the cat, make coffee, make a sandwich warm a can of chili, and do several other jobs. Every little bit helps. I soon recognized a problem, though. As I became proficient at these little tasks, I also became possessive of them. If someone did one of my jobs, I perceived that it was detracting from my self-worth. This called for another little talk with myself. “Chill out, Dave! Help as much as you can and stop whining.” Now that we have got that straight, everything is going well. Be alert and don’t screw yourself up.

I know this has not been anything earthshaking. If you’ve got MD or know someone who has the problem, I wish you good luck and a good future. Stay positive. I can’t stand disabled persons who think they have a right to be a grouch and mistreat those around them.

Dave Thomas

8/10/2023

Having a doctor you like and trust is mighty important. If you can get a referral from a family member or friend, it is beneficial. I’ve been fortunate to have three doctors that have been real professionals and good guys as well. They are, Clifton Beasley of Fort Worth Retina Specialists, Lon Poliner of San Diego Retina Specialists, and Nikolas London of San Diego Retina Specialists. They have all been top guys and have done a lot for me.

The biggest thing in the life of a person with low vision is their support group. I am so lucky to have my wife, Pat, and my daughter, Terri, looking out for me. They see to it that I am well cared for and safe. The countless things they do for me do more than make life tolerable; they make life good.

I’ll give some examples. One of the simplest things that keeps me from falling and busting my head is to tell me when I have a shoelace untied.

Eating a meal seems simple, but since I can’t see colors or details, I have no idea what is on my plate. They solve this when placing a plate before me by saying something like “Green beans at 12 o’clock, mashed potatoes at 3 o’clock, meat at 6 o’clock, and cottage cheese at 9 o’clock.

I haven’t learned to cut meat. Often, the meat ends up lying uncut on the table. Pat or Terri cut the meat for me before placing the plate on the table.

Another great aid is that they put things in the same place. This really helps when getting clothes or getting stuff from the refrigerator.

Just being in the same room with Pat or Terri can keep me out of trouble for they can spot stuff before it happens. They notice when I am about to bump into a glass of water, or I have a shoelace untied. They continually keep me from making a mess. Of course, they do a lot of good stuff like reading me the mail and keeping me current on what’s happening.

Along with all the things they do to keep me functioning, I can always hear Pat and Terri talking and laughing and that keeps the house feeling warm and happy.

David Thomas

8/3/2023

There is a lot of stuff available to help combat low vision problems. I’ll list what I am using. Veterans can contact the Low Vision Department of their local VA and be provided with the video magnifiers noted below:

Cataract Sunglasses- (Available on Amazon. I just searched “cataract sunglasses, and several options came up.) The glare of the sun was more than I could stand when I went outside. Regular sunglasses didn’t help much. I remembered that after cataract surgery, I was given some inexpensive plastic sunglasses that really helped. They had black lenses and then wide bowls that kept the sun from coming in from the side. These glasses are available from Amazon or Walmart. I think they are about ten bucks.

Pocket Magnifier- (I found it on Amazon by searching “pocket magnifiers with 10X magnification.) Being a diabetic, I wear a 24 hour Dexcom Glucose Monitor. Blood glucose numbers are registered on a small meter carried in your pocket. Naturally, I couldn’t read the numbers. A small pocket magnifier takes care of that problem.

Ruby XL HD Video Magnifier by Freedom Scientific- This is a tool I use all day. It has a 5 inch screen, and is about the size of a cell phone. Pressing a button allows you to select magnification from 2x to 14x. Another button allows you to select different font and background colors. This device is lightweight and can be help up to the computer screen without tiring and is simpler to use than changing font and display sizes on the computer.

Explorer 8, a video amplifier by Enhanced Vision- This unit is much like the Ruby but has an 8 inch screen. It has great resolution so is good for reading faded documents.

Merlin Ultra, a video magnifier by Enhanced Vision- This amazing unit has a 24 inch screen and an X-Y table. I use this unit many times during the day for both reading and writing. There is plenty of room to get your hand under the camera, and you can see your hand, the tip of the pen, and the paper well enough to do a decent job of writing. There is an optional switch available from Enhanced Vision that allows you to switch back and forth between the Merlin and your computer so you can flip from screen to screen when working on a project. All three of the magnifiers listed have the same basic function and are quite usable.

LyriQ text reader by Zyrlo- This is a magic device. You can lay a printed page on it’s platen, and it will read it to you. You can select a male voice or a female voice. And it can read pages printed in English or Spanish. You can control how fast they talk and how loud they talk. LyriQ has a limited memory, so you can save items if you wish.

Lined tablets are available that have heavy black lines about ½ inch apart. People with poor vision have trouble writing in straight lines, so the tablet helps a lot.

Dave Thomas

7/20/2023

When I first showed signs of macular degeneration (MD), I was referred to a retina specialist. At that time, the fix for MD was a laser treatment to cauterize the blood vessels. I had several laser fixes during the first couple of years. Medications were being developed for injections directly into the eyeballs. When the first medication became available (I can’t recall the name), I got those injections when required.

In a few months, a new medication called Eylea became available. I was told it was developed to fight cancer by starving the cancer cells of blood. Some research group thought it might work for MD as well, and they were proven to be correct. I’ve had Eylea injections in both eyes every 6 to 8 weeks for some time now with great success. So far as I know, I’ve had no bleeding at all.

I can never get enough light. It’s always twilight. Dr. London suggested that eyelid surgery would open my eyes enough to improve my vision somewhat. He was correct. The surgery has given me more light and has helped. With the eyelids open further, I’m now prone to dry eyes and must use eye drops. I’ve never used eye drops and am not very good at it. I’ve begun to refer to eye drops as “face wash” as I get the stuff all over me.

There is a part of the eye that hardens as you age and causes a condition known as Geographical Atrophication or GA. A new medication has become available to combat this- Sifovre. It also requires injections in both eyes. Some patients have declared that it has improved their vision. I hope I’ll be able to say the same.

Dave Thomas

7/20/2023

I have the wet type of macular degeneration. That means that my eyes bleed. The retinas decide that they need more blood vessels, so they just go ahead and grow them. The blood vessels leak blood and ruin your center of vision and cause blindness. I’m legally blind. In basic terms, that means I can’t read the chart on the doctor’s wall. Don’t worry. It’s not all gloom and doom. I can see well enough to walk around in the house without bumping into anything.

I thought I would write down some of the things we have learned and share them with anyone who might be starting out with this problem. There is a lot of help out there, but it takes a while to find it. 

With me, the disease took 2 or 3 years to develop. I knew there was something wrong but didn’t know what. I had cataract surgery on one eye, and a couple of years later after I had learned of the macular degeneration, I had cataract surgery on the other eye.

As you lose your vision, you learn to depend more on your other senses and you start looking for aids. When my vision was at its worst, I depended on memory and muscle memory. If I set my coffee mug down, my body knew just where to reach for it. Touch was important, as was counting steps from one place to another.

As my vision improved a little, I noticed the way light was reflected from some objects. It made it easier to find my coffee cup or water glass. A big step forward was made when I realized that light was being reflected off my pills. I keep my pills in one of those plastic 7-day pill boxes. I would open the little lid and shake the pills into the palm of my hand. Picking up the pills from my palm was sometimes difficult because I couldn’t see them, so I would chase them around my palm until I sometimes knocked them on the floor. One day, the ceiling lights were on, and I saw the light being reflected from each pill. Duh! Now, I always use the ceiling lights.

A sharpened sense of touch became important. I use a Phillips Norelco electric razor. That’s the one that’s got 3 heads. The shaving heads got dull, and my daughter, Terri, ordered replacements. I couldn’t see well enough to change them out. Fortunately, my son-in-law, Steve is pretty good at that kind of stuff, and he changed them for me. The next time the heads got dull, I figured I should try changing them myself.  Each shaving head consists of a flange and a cutting blade, so all together, you have 6 pieces plus the retainer to deal with. To give me a contrasting workplace, I put an 8 ½ x 11 inch sheet of printer paper on my desk and placed the parts on it. The razor is a marvel of simple mechanical design, and I expected to conquer the job immediately. Every time I got most or all of the pieces loaded in, while putting the retainer in place, I would bump the thing and scatter the parts all over the desk. A couple of times, I ended up with parts on the floor. Since I couldn’t see, I had to lie down on the floor and rub my hands on the carpet until I found the pieces. That first job took me 2 hours to complete. Having done the job several times now, my record time was 7 minutes when everything just fell into place perfectly, and I didn’t bump it and screw it up. My average time now is probably 15 to 17 minutes.

That’s enough for now. Later, I’ll tell you about the medications and some of the low vision equipment available.

Dave Thomas

6/29/2023