March 27, 2011 Update from Ginny

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been an exciting week. On Monday, Joe got his scleral shell prosthesis installed in his right eye. It adds volume under his lid, giving a slightly more natural look. It will be enlarged over time, with the goal to relieve irritation and drainage and for aesthetic purposes. His right lid opens slightly, occasionally. It seems unlikely that the blinking function will return but we will see.

When asked, Joe says it is not too bothersome and says he is not willing to spend energy thinking about it. So that is good. We went to the gym yesterday. For jogging, he is wearing gauze patches underneath his eye patch to insure the shell does not fall out. This shell is bigger than the last one but would still fall out if the lid happened to open.

Last Wednesday Joe gave a practice lecture to two of his therapists; General Microbiology 1. The lecture is from the class he hopes to teach in the fall. It includes a PowerPoint presentation, chalk talk, along with the lecture. It got great reviews with one of the therapist indicating that she would have liked biology more if he had been her instructor! This was so reassuring to me and an answer to my prayers.

Then on Thursday we met with the therapists, disability/workers comp staff, and state rehab, trying to coordinate back to work needs. So much support has been offered. We are so blessed. New computer monitors, voice response software, and home therapy software are being ordered, along with some magnifying equipment for Joe's office and lab.

And finally, Joe is taking an on-line course in coaching so that he can support our Head Coaches for high school track and field. This has taken about 8 hours, and he is half way through. It is a lot of reading, short quizzes and tests. I am pleased to see him doing this task proficiently. It certainly has taken him significantly longer than it would otherwise due to his vision, but he has staying power and the willingness to do it even though it is a struggle and exhausting.

Eye (left) fatigues is a huge problem. We have some leads for this common issue, which will be on the agenda for after the next surgery....and tax season.

Spring has sprung in the South. The tulips are incredible.

Love, Ginny