Chicago and an eye Specialist

This last week and a half has been a whirlwind. Last Tuesday we closed on a house. We are excited about having our own home. I am coordinating with a contractor to remodel some of the house to make it accessible for David. On Thursday, I went to the emergency room because I was experiencing some strange symptoms as a result of my slipping on some ice and hitting my head the previous Sunday. The doctor said I had gotten a concussion and to rest. Ha! Whenever I tell the nurse about my life at home, they sort of smirk when they tell me to rest because they know it is almost impossible. My dear sister-in-law and brother-in-law came over Friday and let me take a long nap while they watched the kids and brought dinner and even helped pack a few things. On Sunday, David, Abi and I started out for Chicago in the afternoon. I was doing well until it got dark. It was like a switch turned off in my brain and the road started swimming in front of me. I was so dizzy. I was beginning to think that maybe I had not made a wise choice to drive by myself.  I knew I could not make it all the way to Chicago so we stopped in Madison and got a hotel. Thankfully David's first appointment with the eye specialist was not until the afternoon of the next day so I had plenty of time to drive in the morning.  We even had time to meet up with friends for lunch. :)

A lot of people have been asking me how the appointments went with this optometrist.  I will tell about it here so I don't have to tell it over and over.  Maybe I am a nerd but I find this stuff fascinating.  I think it's so incredible how God designed our bodies to be so intricate.  We are really masterpieces of His creativity and infinite intelligence.and wisdom.  We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.

David had 4 different appointments, all at one office.  This optometrist that he saw is not just a run-of-the-mill optometrist.  She specializes in neuro-optometric rehabilitation and visual processing and is a member of MENSA.  She is a brilliant woman that is world-renown.  She is also part of a scientific team that is proving that the retina is a part of the central nervous system.  They have shown that changing the way light hits the retina, whether changing direction of light, frequency or intensity, can actually change the brain.  David got primarily 3 main things out of his visit there.  The doctor was able to determine that blue tinted lenses relax his nervous system.  She also prescribed some prism glasses to make his brain more aware of the environment.  She described to us that his injured brain does not perceive changes in the environment as quickly or as well as an uninjured brain.  She demonstrated to me how the prism glasses exaggerate differences in the environment such as the placement of a picture frame on the wall.  When the prism glasses were on, the picture frame seemed higher on the wall than when looking at it without glasses, therefore making the brain aware of the environment.  He also saw a rehab tech that gave him some exercises to do to improve his hand/eye coordination, making a better connection between his brain and body.  One of the things he had David do was look at his hand while he crumpled a piece of paper while reciting the alphabet or talking in some fashion.  It was incredibly difficult for David.

Thank you to all who prayed for us on this trip.  David had his usual everyday headaches but he didn't have any of his really bad ones at all during our trip.  He even said it was lower on the drive home than usual!  I was expecting him to be in agony on the way home from all the stimulation and different routine.  The Lord also gave me the judgement to get off the road before I killed my family. :P