Health Update

Almost a year after having cataract surgery I noticed that my vision was not the same and I was seeing worse than before surgery. It turns out that have to have a laser procedure done due to the secondary cataract, which is common. I had my right eye done in the last week. It made a difference! I am seeing better and now I keep my fingers crossed that it my vision doesn't worsen. I finally asked how much of my vision field I had left in each eye. I have 5% left in each eye, which is close to looking through a straw. It was a shock and put things into perspective.

After many years of dealing with lower back pain and losing my strength in my left leg, surgery was finally needed. I had discectomy of L4 and L5 in February. The pain has always interfered with my daily life, but it got worse again. I was stuck in bed and I was not able to get around. My left leg was weak and numb. I had to take the semester off from school. I might have to have my spine fused down the road since I have a fracture on a vertebrae.

"Walk in my Shoes"

Over the last two years I had been working along the side of a group of people that have Usher syndrome from all over the US and Mexico. We all wanted to create a book full of our stories with living with Usher syndrome. We wanted the book to be used as a resource and inspiration for others. In December 2016 our dream came true and the book was published!! It has been crazy seeing my name and picture in a published book. Chapter 22 is all mine! :) I have been working on promoting our book in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Day 16 London

Today was the last day of sightseeing and I was ready to be home. We were headed to the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels. When we reached the tower I knew this was going to be a rough day for me. I woke up not feeling rested and my eyes were hurting, which meant my sight was not clear. There were people EVERYWHERE, people were pushing each other to get through and loud music playing. My anxiety increased real quick. For the trip, I had been wearing only one hearing aid so I could listen to the receiver, but this day I knew I needed both hearing aids. I had to take lots of deep breaths to get through the day.

The tower was not what I expected, smaller than I thought. The Crown Jewels can not be describe because no words can be said to give you a picture in your mind of how breathtaking they were. We saw a video of Queen Elizabeth coronation, the cape she wore, and the gold dinning set and punch bowl. I couldn't believe all the gold! Everything looked so formal and elegant.

After that tour we drove by Kings Cross, which was a very boring building that was not exciting at all! We also drove by Buckingham Palace, but too quick for me to see a lot and take pictures.

Day 15 Stratford-Upon-Avon

We went to Warwick Castle which is very popular in England. This is a place that you get to see medieval demonstrations, explore towers and dungeons and walk the grounds of the very large castle. I don't know how to explain how this place looked. People everywhere that are dressed up in the era clothing, archery lessons, seeing bald eagles flying, sword fighting, story telling, and trebuchet show. There was never a dull moment. We started the day in a very warm day in the sunshine that quickly turned into a complete downpour! Everyone was running to cover and trying to stay as dry as they could under their raincoats and umbrellas. I stood under a tree with my umbrella in one hand and eating my hamburger in the other, watching everyone bustling around. I was glad that we were able to watch the Mighty Trebucet show in the sunshine! I explored the grounds and people watched. They had a section for birds and there were so many of them. I felt bad as they were either in a glassed cage or cuffed to a stand. I wanted to set them all free but they were beautiful. Inside the castle they had everything decorated and set up like it was being used- fake food, wax people and players going of conversations that would have taken place. It was neat and done up really well.

https://www.warwick-castle.com

Oxford

That afternoon we had a tour of Oxford College and the area around it. As we toured we learned about the history of when the school was first built and soon learned that I will see a spot where Harry Potter was filmed for a scene. Yes, I was excited! We got to see the hall where the teachers ate along with some students. It was set up just like Harry Potter!

Below pictures are where the scene when MadEye Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret in Goblet of Fire.

Day 14 Monmouthshire, Wales & Worcestershire, England

We said our goodbyes to the ship and the good food. It is not a lie when people say you gain weight when you go on a cruise. All that delicious food that you can try and more than one dessert without feeling guilty if you can't finish because you are so full. Yep, I think I would have gained a lot if I hadn't walked so much every day!

Wales

After we left the ship we headed to Wales to visit Tintern Abbey which was a sight to see! It was only the bare bones, the shell of the abbey that was left. King Henry VIII had removed doors, stain glass, roofing materials and anything valuable inside for money. This was known as "Dissolution of the Monasteries" during the English Reformation. The abbey was in a beautiful and in a peaceful green meadow that was surrounded by trees. There was no floor left of the abbey- it was full of grass and white flowers. Even though it was picked apart by the King it was still amazing to see. As I sat on a stone wall listening to our guide tell us about the abbey, I could tell that there was history upon these grounds. I could have sat there forever just gazing upon the view of my surroundings: blue sky with few fluffy clouds, trees, sunshine on my face, smell of the grass and dust and the abbey.

http://www.castlewales.com/tintern.html

 

 

 

 

England

Next we took a scenery drive into the county to visit the fist LDS chapel that was ever build. It was this small, cozy, stone building in the middle of no where on a dirty road. We had a small service and sang a couple hymns. At this point, I was getting my first migraine of the trip, which I felt very fortunate about since I can get them frequently. After the service people took the time to take pictures as I rested on the bus. I didn't get any pictures of the chapel since it was so small and too many people were trying. See the website to see the cute place!

http://www.lds.org.uk/gadfield-elm-chapel

After we left the chapel we made our way to Stratford-Upon-Avon for the night, which is also Shakespeare's hometown. Before we reached the hotel we stopped to see his grave. I stayed on the bus since my migraine was not gone yet. That night we walked around the town and had some yummy pizza.