We went to visit Shani Simmons today in her lovely home and yard. She’s a board member of the Bay Area Butterfly Festival and had a garden tour. There were many monarchs and finches in the yard, so she takes her volunteerism seriously! I’m glad Shea got a chance to meet her and I got to meet Shani’s husband Steve. I just realized I neglected to take a picture of the huge portion of her garden which was comprised of milkweed!
Today marks eight years since my best friend and mom died. I was a big-time momma’s boy. For so many years (thanks to technology), I was in touch with her all day long. We always kept some chat window open and messaged each other about various things no matter where we were in the world. What’s unbelievable is that her house was destroyed by a fire a few months before she died of fucking ovarian cancer. She, my brother and nephew came to live with me immediately after their fire, and then she got the Stage IV diagnosis just a few weeks later. She did not even live long enough for her house to be renovated and died when she was only 73. That’s part of the reason when I had an opportunity to work for City of Hope (which just bought Cancer Treatment Centers of America), I jumped at the chance. As if losing five of my dogs wasn’t enough, it was excruciating that the most sentimental pieces of her furniture that had been professionally cleaned in 2016, were incinerated in MY house fire in January. I can only imagine what she would think of the craziness that has ensued, including one of her sister’s family-destroying exploitation of her estate, effectively disinheriting my siblings and me. The entire family in Italy (which is very large as my mother was the first of nine siblings) has been affected by the internal family feud, which is STILL in litigation. Thankfully my siblings and I have been able to prosper despite the lack of an inheritance of our parents’ sweat equity, but my Nonna (who survived my mother) never spoke to that traitor daughter of hers — or her progeny — ever again. I know Mom would have been proud of my purchasing a home and improving my health (she was always concerned about my weight, sometimes bluntly), but devastated at the deaths and loss of family memories just a few years later. Years after she died she is still an inspiration that encourages me to make her proud.
This is documenting Bonnie’s progress in her history of eye irritation with her glaucoma and dislocated lenses, I thought I’d take some video as we plan to return to the ophthalmologist.
Today I received daunting news from a veterinarian ophthalmologist on the condition of my beloved Bonnie’s eyes (she’s in the foreground in the picture below taken earlier this month). She may have already lost her vision completely, so enucleation (removal of the eyes) may be imminent and the most humane thing to do to keep her out of pain given the futility of the eyes remaining. The procedure would mean she wouldn’t have to endure the 22 drops a day I currently put in her eyes plus an oral medication. Moreover, she’d be completely pain-free after the procedure because the eye pressure from the glaucoma is what causes the pain. She also came to me with the other permanent vision loss condition of dislocated lenses. Over the last week or so I noticed her irritation with one and then both of her eyes. At her eye doctor appointment about a month ago, I had been warned that removal of the eyes was projected for the future, but that she was stable. I therefore hoped that anything of this nature wouldn’t manifest until she was much older, since she is only seven. I am broken-hearted that it might be only weeks away if the regimen doesn’t work well. It might just be inevitable, but I still intend to give her the highest quality of life possible and I’ll still look for the silver lining in this, as my whole mission since the tragedy of the fire in January has been about finding silver linings in life.
She’s very sleepy in these pictures, but you can sort of see some clear liquid wetting under her eyes and some redness where it should be the whites of her eyes.
There was the usual summer evening sailboat regatta while we were rowing last night. There were also several outriggers, so we were in good company on the water on a very warm evening.
We’re getting ready to float down the Russian River next week at Lazybear! I’m so pleased these two floaties survived the fire in January and seem to be intact and retaining air. We wouldn’t want to have them deflate when we’re an hour or two downriver!
Eye candy I’m fortunate to have lingering around me.
It was probably the first time Snoopy ever encountered this praying mantis, which was shaking in the breeze like a leaf to try to avoid detection.
Snoopy and Bonnie playing and resting despite Bonnie’s eye irritation.
