1. Today Christy swung by and drove me over to CdA for my post-op appointment. I went through a few simple vision tests and Dr. Dance put a contraption in front of me and peered deep into my eye. "Everything looks good." I received instructions: follow the eye drop schedule; don't do any strenuous activity until next week (is shoveling snow strenuous?); keep my right eye closed in the shower; wear the shield at night for a week; call the office if I have vision difficulties; expect the eye to be inconsistent for a few days. I see my optometrist in Kellogg in a week. I might want to consider having the right lens removed from my glasses. I might want to buy a pair of magnifying glasses at the store for reading. I return in three weeks for the left eye. I am eager for this surgery so that my two eyes will be working together with new toric lenses to see the world with renewed vividness and clarity.
A bunch of people wished me well with this surgery and it's uplifting and, I think, an aid in healing because it keeps me hopeful and keeps my spirits up. Many thanks to all of you who have been encouraging, told me about your experience with cataract surgery, and who have joined in my happiness that things have gone so well.
2. After a quick trip to Rite Aid and Albertson's, Christy and I ate at the Breakfast Nook and returned to Kellogg. I was grateful, mostly for Christy's sake, that both coming and going the roads were wet, not icy, and pretty much free of snow except on exit ramps. On February 6th, I return to CdA to have my pulmonary function tested and review it with a doctor. Because of all the toxic dust and gas that I inhaled when I was injured at the Zinc Plant in 1973, resulting in toxic pneumonia, and because I contracted bacterial pneumonia in 2009, the surgeon at the Transplant Center at Sacred Heart wants my pulmonary function checked out before I am cleared to be put on the transplant list.
3. I had a wild time with basketball once I returned to Kellogg. Stu drove over from his place perched in the hills above State Line to watch the boys and girls B teams at Kellogg Middle School play Bonners Ferry. Stu's son, Jeff, coaches the girls team -- Jeff's daughter is on the KMS A team. So, at 4:00 Stu and I settled into the bleachers and watched the middle school teams streak up and down the floor, miss a ton of shots, battle flat footed for rebounds, turn the ball over frequently, and, once in a while, score. Both of the Bonners Ferry teams were stronger and thumped both the boys and the girls. Both teams appeared to me to be enjoying themselves and I was glad that such a thing as middle school B teams exists. When I was in the 7th and 8th grades, the less talented players never got to play in a game. All four coaches today played all their players, giving these less developed players a good experience with what it feels like to suit up and compete.
I arrived back home after a shopping spree at Yoke's and flipped on a titanic basketball game between St. John's University and Marquette, fierce rivals in the Big East Conference. About a month ago, St. John's defeated Marquette in New York City and today they played on Marquette's home ice in Milwaukee. I tuned in at a dramatic moment. Marquette was chipping away at St. John's fifteen point lead and late in the game they completed their comeback and went ahead by a point. But, the Johnnie's dug in. Their star guard Shamorie Ponds scored 13 of their last 14 points, including a stellar drive to the basket to give the Johnnies a 70-69 lead, a lead they preserved with a commanding defensive stand to end the game -- a stand in which they forced Marquette superstar Markus Howard into a poor, off balance shot that missed everything.
I also learned that up at Spirit Lake, at Timberlake High School, the Kellogg Wildcats missed a last second three point attempt and lost by two points to Timberlake, 45-43. The Wildcats have now lost two games at the buzzer to Timberlake. I'm eager to see if possibly th e 'Cats can earn a rematch with Timberlake in the district tournament and avenge those losses.
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