It has been a truly busy five weeks for the Cornells. I was constantly amazed at how much stuff a 4 foot and some change Great Grandmother could stuff into a two bedroom 1000 square foot condo. No one enjoys pawing through other peoples stuff especially for almost two weeks making decisions on what to keep, what to give away to who and how to get it out of there. When all was said and done, we managed to fill a 17' U-Haul cube van in two and one half hours and headed to Victoria, with stops in Langley, Surrey and South Vancouver. If I have learned anything from this experience, it will be to immediately go through all my stuff and reduce it down to a small truck load and hopefully simplify things for my kids when they need to go through my stuff.
Through out this process, Nonie managed to fit in some eye surgery and recovery. She started to experience some vision problems shortly after we arrived. A visit to the Optometrist,quickly followed by a trip to the Ophthalmologist and Nonie was diagnosed with a macular hole. This is a small tear in the back of the eye. We were referred to a specialist in Vancouver for the next Monday. Luckily, he had a opening in his surgical schedule for the next day and Nonie was slotted in.
The surgery involves injecting an inert gas to displace the vitreous fluid at the back of the eye. This puts pressure on the back of the eye and forces the edges of the tear back together so they can heal. As part of the recovery process, Nonie must keep her eyes face down as much as possible. This will keep the pressure on the back of her eye which will enhance the healing process. It has now been two weeks and the eye doc has given her the go ahead to look up. It has been a weird two weeks always talking to the top of her head and seeing her watch TV through a mirror. On the plus side, she was not talking as much. Oops, that was my inside voice.
The good news is she is doing well, but the bad news is that her return to China will be delayed. I'll return as scheduled with her to follow shortly (emphasis on shortly) there after. The gas must be completely gone from her eye before she can handle the high altitude of the flight. This could take up to 6-8 weeks after surgery.
Not sure I am comfortable in leaving her here but she has a great support group and will be well looked after by family and friends. This will be the longest we have been separated since we met almost 35 years ago.
