Some of you have been asking. I’ve been quiet because I was banned from Facebook . . . by my wife! Pain medication and social media do not mix. You can thank her later.

For those who don’t know, I’ve had back-to-back retina surgeries on my right eye. Here’s how I’m doing.

This surgery hurt and kept hurting. Reading, and writing, my two favorite things, made it worse. I had to stay away from TV, too. So, I’ve spent much of my time napping or listening to endless podcasts.

The pain is much better now. I’m using only over-the-counter drugs now. My mind is clear and buzzing with ideas from podcast direct infusions. I have plans!

But the other side-effect of two surgeries in a row is that I have the stamina of a gnat. This will get better. I was able to teach my audio class three days last week and collapsed in between.

I can keep my right eye open, now. It will be a blurry mess for weeks but it looks straighter than before. The last surgery left me with a twisted picture I dubbed Picasso Vision. It was comically disturbing.

I can see large, fuzzy shapes and navigate the familiar space of the house with my right eye but I can’t read and my eyes still don’t match. Time will improve all these things.

I will need at least one more eye operation and new glasses before we find out how good it will get. Until then I’m having to depend on corrective attitude, rather than corrective lenses.

The mental game, however, is awesome. People have told me I seem to have a good attitude but that’s an understatement. Having a forced time off and a new set of problems has made me focus in a way that’s invigorating. I just can’t share it yet.

Writing has been slow and probably will be for a few more weeks. I’m having fun playing around with voice to text apps. I’ve even considered starting a podcast. Hmm.

Of all the lessons I’ve relearned and reinforced, the most useful has been the airline safety speech rule: put on your own oxygen mask first before you help anyone else.

I have no choice but to take care of myself. (Sigh)

Energy is the prime issue. Healing takes energy. Thinking takes energy. That means I’ve learned some great things about focus, time management, energy creation, creativity, and communicating ideas. It’s going to change things for me.

Prayer is the peace. Mission is the drive. Time is the spur. Vision is the direction. God is the source. Under these circumstances, change is as unavoidable as it is desirable. Awesomeness ahead.

Stay tuned. This should be good.

Until then, thank you for your prayers. What power. I’m seriously grateful.

Blessings to you,
Dennis Ritchie

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Photo by Philip Brown on Unsplash