When you can't see the sea......
I had one of those life altering moments this morning that scared the crap out of me. Fortunately though, it also showed me what really, really matters. It was my blessing for the day.
About 6 days ago, I did something really dumb. I was diligently working on boat projects (what's new?) and was sanding the first coat of new Perfection paint on my helm pedestal. I was in our garage, door closed because it was stinking hot outside, no fans, no mask, no brains. I've sanded 2-part paints for years with no issues. Sure, I wear the 3M Cartridge mask when I paint or use solvents, but this was just sanding- bah! No worries!! Hum.... Well, about 20 minutes later, I started losing my voice. I could feel my eyes swelling up and my throat constricting. Fortunately, we had Benadryl in the house or I might have been making my way to the local ER (NOT in the High Deductable Health Savings cruiser fund I might add!). It took another 30 minutes before I could breath normally. The swelling in my eyes lasted to varying degrees for the next 5 days. Over the weekend, I went back to sanding and painting the head project (previously mentioned) on Luna Sole. I was careful to wear a full face mask this time (Darth Vader has nothing on this look) and had plenty of ventilation. Should have worked right? No dice. Over the next 2 days my eyes and upper lip started swelling again. Back to the Benadryl I went. So, here's the life altering stuff....
I was driving to work today (I have a 48 mile commute one-way and drive on major highways ie: I don't go the speed limit). I pulled onto the turnpike, and within seconds lost all sight in my right eye. BOOM- just like that! I freaked but managed to pull the car over in a safe spot, while driving with one eye, and sat there waiting to see what happened next. After what seemed like an hour (which was probably less than a minute) thankfully, my vision returned. I was left with a groggy head and lingering slight headache. What I realized though, was that during all this, the first thought that came to mind was "No God- please don't let me go blind- I can't sail a boat and do my watch if I can't see- our dreams will be gone". I wasn't concerned that I could not longer drive to work, or do my job, or any of those other things that used to be so important. All those things that used to define me- I was concerned about losing our dream. It was that moment of clarity in the midst of terror that helped me realize what is really, really important.
So, I'm off painting and sanding duty permanently....Tom says that our new cushions (which I'm sewing from scratch) better be freaking amazing. :-)
post note: I visited an eye doctor and after a thorough exam it was determined that my eye's are completely healthy! The Doc said she would be surprised if it ever occurs again- Great news!!!
Yes C... Tom cannot sail with a blind first mate. Geez that's scary stuff. Stick to the cushions and get Tom a scuba rebreather for working in that boat... Better yet... sell it. Be careful.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I just read this for the first time. I knew you had the initial issue with the breathing, but had no idea about you losing your sight while driving. That's scary stuff. Hope you're better now and no more sanding for you!
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