It’s interesting. I commit to a thirty day health blog and ‘life’ has had other duties for me to fulfill. The best part of this, is recognizing when to let-go and focus on what is truly important. And the biggest irony of all, is one the reasons for not being at my computer, has been the ‘health’ of my eighty-four year old father.

I’m an only child. My dad has and always will be my hero. Even in all of his frailties, his transgressions, his addictions, he is my ‘go-to’ guy, my cheerful and always optimistic dad. He was diagnosed with macular degeneration six years ago. (Eleven million people have some form of macular degeneration here in the United States, and is the leading cause of blindness in individuals over 60 years of age.) At that point, he’d been golfing eighteen holes regularly having taken up the sport at 75. He and my mom, hiked, camped, traveled, skied and played together, having joined forces fifty-eight years ago. With the total loss of his right eye in a blink, it rocked his world. His left eye has been legally blind since he was a kid. Having to see completely out of a blind eye was a new instant reconfiguration of his life.

You have to understand this guy. He was the first one as a child, who would tell me I was fine, I would heal instantly by just knowing it. You could watch these huge cuts and bruises on him heal over night as his immune system kicked into gear. He was my first ‘healing’ teacher, the one that started my direction. And he didn’t even know it. He has had innumerable injuries all of which healed rapidly and even more so, incredulously.

Skiing with my dad, Hoodoo Ski Bowl, Oregon

He began working his defunct and dis-functional left eye, doing daily exercises till he could see the print on the newspaper (of course with magnifying glasses). He could watch TV, could go out for a walk with my mom. He never gave up the task of being better, of healing – to see. And then the left eye began to deteriorate.

Thus began the long, arduous ordeal of routine shots to the eye, super-duper drug injections to ward off macular degeneration. Ironically, from my point of view, they have only  hastened the decline. Every time a new shot was injected, his sight never recovered to the point before the injection. Their belief in the doctor has never desisted, instead always choosing to listen to her, even when common sense dictated otherwise.

The bigger picture is he is on ‘coumadin’, a medication used for keeping the blood thin and free from clotting. Rat poison from my perspective, however they believe in it’s power. In addition, he’s an alcoholic. A great prescription for thick blood, high blood pressure and liver failure. I have tried so many times I can’t begin to count, to dissuade them from this journey, allow the eye to take its course naturally especially at his age, to utilize alternative substitutes to improve his health and immune system, natural remedies for the blood such as ‘nattokinase’, a plant and soy based supplement with fabulous blood balancing results. (I have my husband on it, having weaned him from high blood pressure medicine. His numbers are great too.)

I have had strong images of what was in-store. I wish I’d been wrong. He went in for his monthly shot and a blood vessel was hit, his eye filling with blood. The blood began to clot and become thick, not allowing the body to absorb it. The doctor had to go into the eye again and rotor-rooter the inside of the iris, sucking up the excess. Fortunately for that moment he was able to see again. Unfortunately his doctor was adamant that only by continuing the shots would he be able to stave off the degeneration.

Okay, let’s take a minute. He’s on coumadin. He’s a heavy drinker. He’s 84 and has just had  innumerous shots and trauma to his eye. Are you beginning to get the picture? I suggested, invited, cajoled, anything to get him to NOT have another shot. He was given a reprieve, a gift. Don’t mess with it. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. He went in for anther shot the day before they came for the holiday and guess what?? It happened again. Another blood vessel was struck filling his eye with blood. He is now 100% blind. The irony is, the doctor filled the eye with medication to fight the macular degeneration only to get the results they were hoping to avoid.

Lights out. Game over.

My parents were here with me this past week. My mom who is 76 is doing all the work, all the time. She’s amazing, a woman half her age wouldn’t be able to keep up, however the stress is taking its toll. I tried to help her by helping my dad.

The reason for sharing this story is to remind, invite and encourage you to listen to your inner voice. Utilize common sense when dealing with your health. Reach out and learn new modalities for your best direction or someone you love. I have heard of a doctor here in Washington who is having success with macular degeneration by using  intravenous vitamin therapy. There is hope in alternative directions.

I just hope the loved ones in your life will listen to you.

Cosmic sunshine to you.

The proverbial iphone arm-extension photo.