It is February! I know because everything is decorated in red and pink and white hearts in honor of St. Valentine and love, not necessarily in that order.
And speaking of love, I want to throw out a big thank you for philia, brotherly love. I am always amazed and grateful at how people look out for me. Time and time again people make sure I am taken care of. When my Zumba instructor found out I had a 40 minute wait for my ride, she had me cancel and hustled me into her car. At the school party, my boss was asking the people I was sitting with if I had a ride home. If there had been any question, she would have driven me home herself or taken it upon herself to find someone who would get me there. I am blessed.
Some of you think I live in a happy fairy tale. I have had people comment the people in their communities would never do such things for them. I disagree. Ask. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.
Another thing about February? It is Macular Degeneration month. How about that? We have our own month!
Of course, now that it has been given to us, we have to figure out what to do with it. It is not like you can just go and return a month. And if they don’t see us using it, they will think we don’t like it. That could get awkward!
Healio reports eye care organizations are encouraging people to go for regular eye exams with ophthalmologists. Ophthalmologists and not optometrists, the guys that fit you for glasses.
If you have a good optometrist and he sees something wonky, he may refer you on, but it does not always happen that way. Go see the physician who specializes in eyes, the ophthalmologist.
Medscape also said organizations are educating people on the fact – and this is true! – AMD is not a lost cause and NOT sure blindness any more. We are moving ahead so rapidly it could make your head spin!
So, yeah, what they said, but we should have some special way of putting our own mark on the month; don’t ya think? What can we do to contribute Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month?
One thing we have that just about all eye care professionals and a lot of organization types don’t have is, well, Age-Related Macular Degeneration! …or at least I hope they don’t. I don’t think I would want my retinologist analyzing my OCT scans when he could not see them!
But I digress again. My point is we have stories. We have skills and knowledge. We are survivors. We each have been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. Who are more perfect to tell newbies about living with AMD than we are?
Lin adds new Facebook members almost daily. Small wonder. Medscape also reported blindness and low vision rates are expected to double in the next 30 years. Good grief.
I would propose we share our stories and knowledge with others. An insider’s perspective on AMD. Maybe adopt a ‘little sister’ (or bro). Pass on the philia. After all, it is the month for love.
[Lin/Linda here: in the Facebook group, I am also asking folks to write about their journeys to add to our already wonderful list of Guest Authors. It’s easy – you write the words, I’ll edit and format them in a page or pages and publish them on the website. I’ve also asked our members to write short statements of advice for those new to the diagnosis. I’ll start publishing them as I get them so send me yours to add to the list.]
written Feb. 6th, 2018