Fresh, Hot Wastes of Time

So nice to be able to see.

I had been getting a ton of fearsome headaches and tried everything to make them go away. Finally, after my daughter said she was having problems focusing up close (and getting headaches herself), I decided to make us both eye doctor appointments. Hers was easy – same prescription in both eyes, handled with off-the-rack drugstore cheaters. Me? My prescription has changed significantly in two years. Astigmatism worse, myopia better.

It had been a few years since I last had contacts, and I never tried extended wear, so I got a trial pair. Which didn’t work. So I got another trial pair, which also didn’t work. And so on. I tried every single brand of extended wear toric contacts there are, and finally when I got to the last option available, Purevision Toric, I found one that worked. I can wear them for days (technically 30) at a time. Cool. They were $70/box at the doctor, or $37/box online. Combine with a $50 rebate and I get a year supply for $100.

But one of the main reasons I’d been putting off going to the doctor is that my last pair of glasses was over $350. Welcome to presbyopia! Then tack on $100 or more for prescription sunglasses, and it’s no wonder I don’t want to go back every year. This time was different, though. Based on recommendations from Ask Metafilter and elsewhere, I took a whole bunch of measurements of my current frames and headed over to Zenni Optical to order some specs. I decided on this pair for regular and this one for sunglasses. My progressive lenses with anti-glare coating and a pair of polarized sun shade clip-ons cost $61.85. My sunglasses cost $14.90 (I paid more for non-RX sunglasses at Walgreens last week). I got both pairs less than 2 weeks after ordering.

I haven’t taken them in to get them checked for accuracy, but they feel pretty right to my eyes. The only problem I’ve had so far is a nose pad breaking, but that was my own stupid fault. One should not attempt to adjust the nose pad angle by grabbing on the nose pad and yanking. I called Zenni to see if I could order replacements and they said they would send me three pairs of pads, screws, and a tool to put them in with, all for free.

So, to sum up – between Zenni Optical and ContactLens.com, I got a year’s supply of contacts and two pairs of glasses (one progressive) for $175.

Icey wasn’t looking quite as pink and plucky this week, so we took her in for a blood check.

I haven’t updated with the previous news, which was that her red blood cell count was up in the 30s and the vet was very pleased with her progress. I thought that I might jinx it by putting the words here. Maybe I should have anyway.

Her red blood count was down a little bit, to 28. Not too bad. Her white count was high though – the vet wanted to send the blood sample to the lab. She called back the next day. “I have terrible news,” she said, and the world sank. Icey has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Her white count was 150,000 – 130,000 of which were cancer cells. She does not recommend treatment.

“Acute lymphocytic leukemia is treated with the same protocol as lymphoma, but only ~25% of cats obtain remission. For those that obtain remission, the average length is 7 mo.” The Merck Veterinary Manual.

We just have a few weeks, if that, left with our kitty. She’s six years old and looks at least twice that. Her muscles have wasted away all over – behind her eyes, along her spine, even on her nose. A friend who hadn’t seen her in a couple of weeks was shocked at her appearance. But she’s still lying here at my side, one paw stretched out to touch me as she sleeps. I’m really going to miss her.