Getting To Lilongwe, Malawi

I left Nashville and arrived to Atlanta with no problem. Plane ride one out of the the way. I hung out in the airport and boarded my flight to South Africa.

Tick Tock Tick Tock! We were and hour and a half late taking off. As soon as we got to our cruising altitude, I did just what I said I was going to do and went to sleep. 9 hours later, I woke up just in time for a snack. Only 7 more hours left! I took out my iPad and read Fifty Shades of Grey. Before I knew it, dinner was being served. Nice. I knew that we would be landing in an hour and a half! When I looked out my window on our descent, I could see huge fires just a blazing! Very cool. I learned that is normal. They burn everything here...Made it to my hotel by 6. Went to sleep around 9:00 and woke up at 2am and was up for the duration.

I love that Tambo airport in SA. HUGE. And very nice. It was like a shopping mall! Went and checked in to my flight and waited about two hours and once again, I was airborne. Nice flight on South African Air and their dinner was awesome! No picking there. I ate the entire lunch.

Arrived at Lilongwe and I could here the boys yelling Aunt Teri!! Over and over. They were easy to spot! That was very nice. I wish we could meet the planes in the states!

We got to the house and David had to rush off back to the Embassy for a official fourth of July function so Shannon took me to the one and only little cafe that is also a plant nursery.

The boys should be all the different fauna and recited each name expertly and when I got back to the table, I had a Caramel Latte and a piece of Carmel Cake. Yumm.

We let the boys play on the playground which featured an old tractor that Jorden would love! Then back to the house where Shannon had fresh dough rising for homemade pizzas!!

We went to a BBQ/Farewell on the fourth then can home to pack for our 4 day Safari!! I can't wait!!

Next post will be Monday!!

The Eyes Have It!

I have been distressed for the past 5 weeks. All that stress and worry disappeared this morning, as I woke up, stretched and remembered.... It all started three months ago when I went to see Dr. Barbara Bowers about Lasik. Although I could get the LASIK, it would only last about 2-3 years. Lens replacement was the better procedure for me. Multivocal intro ulnar lenses from ReStor. Ok. I made the decision. First eye was May 22nd and the 2nd eye, May 29th. The first surgery went well. Although I would not be a druggie as I could not even handle the little bit of narcotics I received for the 20 minute surgery. I went home and slept, not before I had lunch, or so I'm told because I certainly don't remember it. The next day, I put my glasses on, minus the lens for the eye which no longer needed a lens, and NICE! The vision in my right eye was amazing. At my post op appointment the following day, all looked great, figuratively and literally! As we started to discuss my next surgery, we hit a snag. Seems that the following Monday was Memorial Day and thus, my surgery would have to wait for June 5th. Great. I would have to walk around wearing glasses with only one lens. As the week wore on, I was beginning to notice that trees were looking like green cotton balls. Distress. I'll look at the trees the next day, maybe my eyes are just tired. The following morning, I get up, put my drops in, and wait. I go outside and , egads! Cotton trees again. What is going on? I turn the tv on and, not good; not clear. I can't wait for my pre-op appoint ment on May 30th. Time slows to a crawl and I am so disappointed. Perhaps this isn't going to be all that I thought it would be. Finally my appointment time has arrived. They take me back, check my pressures, put all the necessary drops in, and I wait. Dr. Bowers comes I. And takes a look as I tell her all my concerns. She tells me what is causing my distress. There is a film building up on the back of my lens, completely normal she assures me. Fourth percent of patients develope this film and a simple laser procedure, YAG, will take care of this. I don't understand how a film would cause me to be blurry. But fine. She said she would do this in August. AFTER my trip to Africa, but fine. She wants to wait and see what happens to my other eye. My next surgery came and went. I could see my phone, my clock, my books, my magazines with NO glasses!! WOW! I am so so so happy and thrilled. But I still can not see distance. And I cant understand how a "film" will cause that. I'm distressed. I tell Jennifer Nashe says not to worry. Easy for her to say. I start to contemplate Africa. I start to imagine this once in a lifetime trip in nothing but blurry. BLURRY?! I don't want to see Africa blurry. Tell Jennifer again. And again. And again. I go to my week post-op. go through all the drops and measurements and see Dr. Hobbs. He assures me all is well and the YAG will take care of the distance problem. Ok. I don't understand HOW! Make my appointment for August and leave. I am suppose to pick up paper work the following day for my insurance. It's Friday and Dr. Bowers has left for the day by the time I get there. I talk to the receptionist and I tell her I just can't wait until August. She makes my appointment for June 28th, yesterday. Jennifer drives me to my appointment yesterday. We wait. And wait. I have my eye exam i am distressed still because I don't understand at all how this can help me see distances. I get dilated. I wait. I wait. Come on already!! Dr. Bowers comes in and takes a look. Nashe puts more drops in and I wait some more. She takes me to another room, lasers each eye, repeatedly, and sends me on my way. I will be dilated for the next 12 hours. Great. More waiting. I get up this morning, put my drops in and, you guessed it, waited some more. Finally, I went outside to look at my trees... I SEE TREES! Not cotton trees; well defined trees! Hallelujah! I still don't understand, but I guess I don't need to understand because I can see so much clearer. Granted, it is still not perfect. She said there will be a little tweaking LASIK in a few months, but WOW! I can say now with absolutly NO reservations that I am VERY happy with the results of this surgery! Now I can see all of Africa through crystal clear eyes! Bring on the big cats!

I'm back!

I'm sorry I have been gone so long. I deleted FaceBook and I do not intend to ever go back. There was just too much information about too many people that I really do not care to know their every detail of their day. Watch back in a few days.