I meant to send this earlier, but something came up at the last minute
and I had to put it off a couple of days. I wanted to thank all the
people who sent notes regarding my eyes problems. Also, I think I need
to clarify (and remark upon) a few rumors regarding my health.

First, thank you to everyone who sent the nice get-well notes. They are
very much appreciated and I thank you very much. Second, I am NOT dead;
I only smell that way. My kids have been begging me to eat onions and
garlic and switch to a manure deodorant so I would smell better.

Long time FMLer's know I have been fighting a medical problem for
years. Finding a diagnosis of that illness was very difficult, but
eventually it was diagnosed as a serious autoimmune disorder. The
impact of the disease was so severe that -- after several years of
denial -- I was forced to take a medical leave from my post-graduate
programs (I had retired from photojournalism and went back to school).
The disorder causes my immune system to attack connective tissue, so
I have had quite a number of surgeries to correct various problems. I
have also been on a number of drugs during that time that have had
some severe side effects.

One of the drugs I was given is normally a very benign agent in most
people. Apparently I don't make an enzyme required to break it down, so
it caused some very nasty side effects. One of the less serious side
effects of that drug has been the sudden onset of acute cataracts. I
realized the cataracts were a problem when I processed some film and
realized perhaps half of the images were out of focus. The kicker was
when Dr. Susan Brown said for the umpteenth time, "Bob, that ferret is
a chocolate, not a sandy." My eye doc agreed, so shortly I will have
the lenses sucked out of my eyes and replaced with color-corrected
plastic ones. No big deal and if I am lucky, I'll be able to toss out
the glasses I have worn since high school. You know, back in the stone
age when lenses were made out of chipped obsidian. If lucky, I'll just
slip into a pair for reading.

Ironically, I was on the same drug years ago and had eye-focusing
problems, but never made the connection (I knew it was a drug, but not
which one). At that time, my daughter Elizabeth would read the FML to
me and transcribe some of my posts. Elizabeth is now a married mother
ready to give me a second grandson, so her time for reading my computer
screen is severely limited (besides, the commute from Illinois is
killer). Besides negatively impacting my photography, about the worst
problem has been my ability to use the computer (a "glare from the
computer screen" thang), so I have been forced to limit computer time.
I had to make the Ferret Project a priority, which has made my email
responses scarce and short. I also have been forced to stop reading the
FML (and my professional mailing lists) for the most part. Driving at
night is sometimes interesting, but I have found the reflection in my
mirror is so much nicer now.

Well, that is far more than I wanted to report, but I have been sent 
a number of emails with erroneous ideas about my health that needed to
be corrected. I am fine. Also, I have been getting flack from friends
for becoming a poor emailer and for not posting much on the FML, so I
thought a message explaining things would be appropriate. It is just
hard to answer emails when the glare from the computer screen makes
reading unpleasant. So, have no worries and after I get my new bionic
eyes, I am sure I will be able to tolerate the glare from my computer
and will be better at answering emails and reading the FML.

I hope this answers people's questions.

Oh, by the way, did you know ferrets can probably see into the
infrared? I was told some interesting tales about it from a professor
and I have a copy of the thesis.

Bob C  [log in to unmask]

[Posted in FML 6216]