Home Away from Home

I'm back in Oklahoma City in what has become my home away from home.  I know more of my teammates names, can mostly find my way around and am a better traveler than the first time I was here.  For my training weeks, I drive to OKC on Sunday afternoon and check into my hotel and will check out on Friday morning.  The first week I was here, there were some problems with the place that we stayed.  I personally didn't experience any problems, but my teammates did so we've moved hotels but we've been told we'll be here all year.  It's nice to be coming to the same place every time.  I told my dad today I've gotten better at being mobile.  Other than the wide range of materials and supplies that are constantly present in my car, I have a set of items that I bring with me for the hotel.  Things like a portable laundry hamper, night light and power strip are all part of my kit.  Between two computers, two cell phones, my GPS and my iPad, there are no shortage of electronics that I charge regularly.  At home I can spread those out around various rooms, here the power strip is a must have!

Here are some pics of my home away from home...

This is the view as you walk in the door.  I have a two room suite.  This weekend has included a lot of catch-up work for me and this evening was no exception, I've obviously already made good use of the desk and chair trying to sort some papers and files.

This room opens to the interior of the building so on the other side of those curtains is a view of the lobby.  I'm actually on the second floor this time so it's a distant view.

My living area includes a nice flat screen television as well as a fridge and microwave.  I made sure to bring a couple of snacks with me this time.  All of our meals are provided, which includes dinner.  Dinner however, is served at 4:00 so it's nice to have a snack for the evening if I want one.  My briefcase and purse are already packed for tomorrow morning and waiting by the door.  Since I have to leave each morning a little before 7:00 I try to be organized the night before.

I have a king size bed and lots of pillows which I like.  Typically I have a book on the night stand, but I haven't unpacked it yet.  My training days require so much concentration and focus that I don't usually have the mental capacity to work when I get out of class.  Unless I have assignments (which will likely be the case this week) I try to do some reading for pleasure in the evenings.  I brought a couple of new novels this week that I'm excited about.  I posted on facebook recently that spending a lot of time focusing and reading during the day keeps me from being able to do that at night.  Too much reading strains my vision.  However, my classes are just listening, so I'm hoping my vision holds up for evening reading.

I have a smaller television and coffee pot in my bedroom.  There is also a continental breakfast where I can get a cup of coffee, so I don't typically make any in here.  Breakfast is served as part of my meetings, but it's nice to have a cup of coffee when you're up that early!  I use the dresser to hold my jewelry (you can see it to the right of the TV), but all of my clothes are in the closet area.  I didn't take a pic of that, but I'm sure you can imagine.  It's a small walk in where the luggage rack holds my suitcase and the clothing bar holds my hang ups.  My laundry hamper and the iron and ironing board that's provided are also in there.

My Sunday evenings here are quiet.  It's time for me to get settled and set up for the week, catch up on some work, or read for pleasure.  My work yesterday and today are things that I would normally spend office time doing.  In the last two weeks however, Carri and I have had very little office time.  During lunch on Friday we decided that perhaps it's time for us to split up to better meet the needs of our districts.  We had said from the beginning that we would stay together as long as possible, but it's getting impossible.  I drove 2,025 miles in the last month.  We've been on the road four or five days a week.  I love our road time and I'm getting ready to invest in audible.com so that I can multitask during some of my drive time, but that much time on the road means office work is done after hours or on weekends and that's exhausting.  Splitting up and only going to our designated districts, instead of trying to go everywhere together will free us up for more office time. 

Our first week we were at the capital, the second week we were at the National Guard Regional Training Center, this week our classes are at the State Department of Education office building which is in the capital complex.  I'm a little nervous this time though and I'm not sure exactly why.  Maybe my nerves will settle when I see everyone tomorrow and get back in the grove of training.  This week promises to be packed with learning, I'm determined to have a great week!

Vision Issues: No Improvement, New Theory

It's been a while since I've written.  I told myself when I started this blog, that my first goal was to write something worth reading.  I've fallen into a rhythm with my job in the last couple of weeks, which doesn't lend itself to interesting blog posts, so I've refrained from writing.  Today however, I went to the eye doctor for another check up and thought I should update you about my continuing vision issues.

First I should tell you, if I haven't already, that I love my eye doctor.  He is incredibly thorough, goes above and beyond (often calling me at home on weekends just to see how I'm doing) and doesn't hesitate to refer to me to someone else if he runs into something he can't solve.  This isn't the first time that he's referred me to someone else, but it is the first time that the referral is due to severity of condition.

They did a basic eye screening today and again he attempted to refract with lenses to give me clear vision.  Like the last ever how many visits I've had (I've lost count at this point) he was unable to find a strong enough lens.  Without glasses and covering my left eye, I cannot read the top line of letters on the chart.  With the strongest lens he can put in front of my right eye, I can read the top line, but the letters are not clear.  He said right now I'm testing around 20/40 and 20/50, but again, nothing is clear.

It is taking increasingly more effort for me to focus to see.  Seeing or reading at a distance is a bigger problem than up close.  The amount of light can cause difficulty too.  It's better right now if I don't drive at night, which I discovered a couple of weeks ago when I drove home from Tulsa, completely in the dark, and had a horrible headache by the time I got home.  After working to see and focus, I almost always have a headache and recently I've begun having a swollen or throbbing sensation in my right eye.  When I explained these symptoms to my doctor today he said the throbbing and swollen feeling is due to overworking my eye muscles.  It's probably not actually swollen, but it is overworked and therefore feels that way.

The new theory is that I have a pseudo-tumor on my optic nerve.  A pseudo-tumor in that area is caused by a lack of pressure of the cerebral spinal fluid in my brain.  He said the optic nerve itself does not look inflamed but that the fiber is very thick.  A problem with spinal fluid pressure would not show up on an MRI.  Based on this information and all of the other tests that I've been through to this point, my doctor predicts that when I go to the Dean McGee Eye Institute in three and a half weeks they will do a spinal tap to assess the pressure situation.  Certainly what actually happens when I go to Dean McGee will be up to the doctor there, but this is theory that makes the most sense at this point given the pieces of the puzzle that I currently have.

When I texted some of my family members and close friends this morning after the appointment several of them asked me how I felt about this new possibility.  My response was that I'm mostly sad.  While I should probably be pleased that I have a direction to go and some possible treatment options on the horizon, it's difficult to hear the words, tumor and brain in the same sentence pertaining to you...even if it is pseudo.  I know that part of my reaction of tears this morning came from the fact that it's been an exhausting week, and I was already on the verge.  A tough conversation with my doctor just pushed me over the edge.  For the next three weeks, I'll limit my night time driving, take more breaks from concentrated efforts to see and continue to take Tylenol regularly to control the nagging headache that's constantly there.  I'll find my balance again and be thankful for the "it's not as bad as it could be" situation later, but that's not where I am today.