Help from the local senior resource center

[CountAllVotes]

Last edited Sat Jun 7, 2025, 01:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Being I no longer have a car, I've been asking for help to get to/from appointments from the local senior resource center.

The other day this lady (who identified blond haired, blue eyed self) as being a "Cherokee princess" going back five generations. No Native blood shows up in her DNA however, but whatever.

She went on to tell me about what to do and what not to do, like keeping a bottle of water next to my bed at night. Oh, shame on me, SHAME.

Anyway, as the day wore on I was being corrected about everything in my life.

She told me that I was not standing up straight. That did it for me because, NO, I do not and cannot stand up real straight as I was born with congenital hip dysplasia so I've never been quite "right".

I am so discouraged! If I want a bottle of water I shall have one and if that is the worst thing I drink in a day, well shame on me.

I had some very bad news about my eyesight.

I have optical neuritis (30 years of it now) and a recent diagnosis of cataracts and now macular degeneration about two weeks ago.

Any hopes I had of getting a car and driving again aren't very high.

I hate people telling me how to live MY life and what I should and should not be doing!

Thanks for reading this friends.

CountAllVotes

P.S. An no, I haven't made an appointment to see an ophthalmologist yet as I'm in a state of *shock*. Who needs this crap?

[LiberalLoner]

1. Oh I am so so so sorry. I have MS too. Haven't had too much damage to my eyes yet from optic neuritis, but always

A fear.

I am so sorry. I’ve found once you have MS, or any other chronic disease, or if you are poor, people treat you like you are so far beneath them and something to be picked on and corrected, the way a troop of monkeys or chimps will do endless harm to their scapegoat.

I always hope people who are like that, experience the other side of it, someday.

You are perfect just the way you are. Sending you hugs.

You’ve got this. It’s hard, but you are doing just fine so far.

On a positive note, I got my cataracts removed last month, you can find my posts about that, and boy am I ever glad I got it done!

Easiest surgery ever, easier than getting a tooth filled, no pain, and it’s shocking to me how much better my vision is now! It turns out a lot of my vision problems were due to bad cataracts and not the optic neuritis.

Wishing the best for you. Please keep taking one breath at a time, and make it until the next day, every day. 💙💙💙

[LiberalLoner]

2. P.S. wish I lived near you so I could drive you. I would never talk about drinking stupid water or posture or

Any of those dumb things. I would just be there to help.

Maybe with some cookies or brownies or one of my silly horrible paintings as a gift.

[CountAllVotes]

3. Thank you

I was diagnosed with MS in 1995. I've gone blind from ON a few times but have some how managed to recover from complete blindness to where I am now (no sign of it oddly!). This woman kept saying I looked very strong for a woman with MS. HOW do we all look exactly?

As for the other problems with my eyes, I know them too well as my late husband was almost blind from macular degeneration and my father was the same. Genetic no doubt as my grandfather was also affected by it. Scary!

This know-it-all woman got angry at me when I told her that Native Americans held slaves and that I must be wrong. I told her that no, I am not "wrong", it is a historical fact. She kept telling me I am wrong wrong wrong.

As for my eyes, she had me lined up to get shots in the eyes already which is not the case for everyone with macular degeneration. My good eye is at 20/15 now oddly so I am far from being blind at this point and with any luck at all, that will not happen to me, I do not know.

Its a good thing I'm not thinking that Jesus guy will heal me.

I hate relying on others and I think you are of the same ilk.

If these are our helpers in life, well ugh, to hell with it!

Hang-in there LiberalLoner know you are never alone on this site as you have me for what it may be worth.

[LiberalLoner]

4. Thank you....you have me, too 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[LiberalLoner]

5. P.S. it cracks me up, "how are we supposed to look with MS?" I mean, we have to keep living,

We don’t have a choice, so we get through each day.

People feel bad for me for the spinal cord damage, but for me, the worst part of MS is the fatigue. I am always fighting against it and I so often feel like a failure for not accomplishing all my goals, all my “ought to do’s”

Is that the worst part for you, too?

💙💙💙💙💙

[LiberalLoner]

6. PPS I hope you get to have your cataract surgery soon and I hope when you do,

You will have an experience just like I did, where my vision got so much better.

I hope when you get the surgery, you will see everything so well, maybe the optic neuritis damage won’t even really impair you, nor the macular degeneration. That one is scary. I hope they have good medicine to help you.

[CountAllVotes]

7. macular degeneration

Macular degeneration seems to be complicated. My husband was doing ok with only one eye being affected until he got the shingles which got into his good eye.

After that, he had shots in that eye as he was blind in the other one.

It was awful taking him for those shots for 13 years.

I hope that doesn't end up being my story as if it is, I doubt I can tolerate it as I am highly needle phobic after having one embeded in my foot when I was sixteen years old -- never got over that phobia since.

I hope it doesn't come to that and if it does I hope I don't last long, that's all I can say.

I don't know if/when I will need cataract surgery. I thought the macular degeneration was from the ON being the lighting is changing.

It could well be all three things going on, that is what I suspect.

Thank you for you kind replies and after this recent experience, I may try driving again depending on what the M.D. has to say! I haven't given up quite yet! I suppose I look strong because I am physically fairly strong being I still work every day of my life like it or not.

[CountAllVotes]

10. Thanks for all of the great vibes!!

And yes, I can feel them! I truly mean that.

Positive!!!

[CountAllVotes]

8. oh baby well you look so good!

I felt like this woman didn't believe me.

What to I have to do? Carry around a copy of my MRI scan and neurological records with me?

No two cases of MS are EVER the same!

I hear you, I sure do and I'm glad I look so damn good, limp w/displaced hip and all!

[LiberalLoner]

9. Hugs 💙💙💙. Yeah if people only knew how horribly exhausted I am much of the time,

They would feel sorry for me, I think.

The cataract surgery is so easy! If you can get it done soon, I’d say that’s a great idea because I had no idea how bad my vision had gotten, until I had both eyes done.

I kept saying it was a miracle, and it really does feel that way to me. Best vision of my life.

I hope you won’t need the shots, or if you do, that they will knock you out some beforehand.

The good news is, numbing drops work like magic, I never saw or felt the scalpel, so if they used those drops, I would never feel a shot either, and probably wouldn’t see anything but the bright light, like I did during cataract surgery. I guess the eyes don’t really have as many nerve endings as I feared.

Hoping for the best for you! 💙💙💙💙