macular degeneration, macular, diagnosis Preparation: Start Now! – My Macular Degeneration Journey/Journal

Preparation: Start Now!

Greetings from a rainy Labor Day weekend. Supposedly this rain is a Harvey leftover. We had a ‘little flood’ here six years ago right about this time of the year. What a mess! Hubby and I did not get much of that; we are on a hill. However, I went into town to do some shoveling and needs surveys….Never got so sick in my entire life. Flood mud crud is nasty business, folks. If you are helping, wear masks and goggles. Take any innoculations they offer. I was sick literally for weeks.? Once more, try to profit from my stupidity!

Of course, the good news is what doesn’t kill you can make you stronger. Except for the food poisoning I don’t think I have been sick since! ?

Anyway, in the States Labor Day is the unofficial official end of Summer. That means today before the rain we were preparing for cool weather. The houseplants came in from their summer home on the deck. I picked the tomatoes that had not yet ripened for my friend’s mother. She is supposed to make a mean green tomatoes pie. Ran into a little snag in trying to close the pool, but that will get done before the leaves start to fall.

Preparation. We prepare for Fall. We prepare for holidays. How many of us prepare for vision loss?

Many of you are in the early stages of this disease. I truly believe research will soon make it possible to slow or even arrest the progress of AMD. I believe you could easily be spared the worst of AMD. But just the same, preparation is a good thing.

Harley Thomas is blind. Last February he wrote a piece in his blog. The title was, of course, How to Prepare When you Are Going Blind. Harley (he looks like a nice guy so I will refer to him by his first name) says preparation can give you a sense of control. He agreed with other people I have read in saying starting now to learn skills will make things much easier later.

Harley would approve of us all learning about our disease. He would also approve of how we are coming together for support. He talks about ADA and telling your employer about your sight loss.

There are lots of references and links on Harley’s page. One of them is entitled “What to Tell Your Employer When You Are Loosing Your Sight”. I have not read it yet but somehow I don’t think it says to call work in hysterics directly from the doctor’s office like I did!

Harley suggests habilitation/rehabilitation and independent living courses. He also talks about getting your house organized. All good ideas with links to how to posts. [Lin/Linda: if you’re curious, there’s a difference between habilitation & rehabilitation.]

What Harley does not talk about are transportation and finances. To me, these are huge! I believe trying to get services and benefits from the government can be one of the most convoluted and frustrating things you have ever done. It literally took a couple of months to line up transportation. I had straightened our financial house several years ago when I got an inheritance. If I hadn’t, the income loss could have been problematic. Looking into the basics of getting around and doing what you can to get – and keep – your finances in order is crucial. Start now. You will be glad you did.

Written September 3rd, 2017

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