…the eyes have it…

…but not for long!

Some of you may already know this…but I can’t help but talk about it….I’m stoked!

I’ve been unable to ride due to an eye disease since Nov 08…I’m not a very pleasant person if I can’t ride (hell – I’m barely palatable when I can LoL)

I have an eye disease called Map Dot Fingerprint Dystrophy (Cogan’s Dystrophy) – in essence my corneas look like cobblestones…plenty of pain, often feels like there’s glass in them, water like crazy and I end up not being able to drive cos I can’t keep the active or flaring eye open….I end up laying in the dark…with a boomin headache and can’t read, can’t watch tv, can’t be on the puter…for days at a time….and when it gets unbearable I have to impose on one of my friends to take me to the hospital so they can freeze the damn eye to get it to stop.

it’s a major PITA…I’ve been fighting it for about 6 years but the last 2 years have been the real pinnacle

the surgery I need is a type of corneal abrading that will force my cornea to regenerate (Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK))…the theory being that the regenerated cornea will be normal and I shouldn’t have the issues with my eyes once it’s done

so….I need in the ballpark of $5000.00 (anywhere from 1500.00 to 2500.00 an eye) worth of laser surgery and BC Medical wouldn’t pay it cos they’ve decreed that all laser surgery is cosmetic…and I sure as hell ain’t got no $5000.00 to throw around…

my arguement all along (once I really found out what it was – cos that was no walk in the park either) in my case the surgery won’t won’t “repair” my vision like it would if I was getting PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) which is the surgery they do so you don’t have to wear glasses anymore

I keep saying that I’ll happily wear glasses for the rest of my life if I just don’t have to have sore peepers….and if I don’t have sore peepers…I can ride!

today word came in that the surgeon has finally been able to convince the MSP board that I should be funded and that they have agreed.

So I get to have the surgery on the 4th of June…that fact in itself wasn’t any kind of a celebration because my boss tried to tell me that it meant that I’d have to cancel all my holidays this summer if I took a week off to have this surgery…but after several phone calls and some “information sharing” via our HR dept it’s booked!

So about a week recovery

and then if all goes well I can go back to work….but mostly I can insure the Pickle and see if I can get the old girl to start.