Sunday Dinner, May 24, 2009 & Update On Lamar

Happy Memorial Day weekend! And in the fine tradition of Memorial Day I will be spending minimal time in the kitchen this weekend.

Cecil and Ducky bought a smoked pork Boston butt and it will be the main course for our Sunday Dinner this week. After we get home from church on Sunday afternoon I'll slice the meat off the bone and put it in the oven to warm for barbecue sandwiches. We'll have hamburger buns, slaw and barbecue sauce to go with the meat and everyone can construct their own sandwiches to suit themselves.

Jessica made a double batch of MAMA'S CHEESECAKE for our dessert and unless somebody brings something else for the meal that's it as far as I know: Pork barbecue sandwiches with (or without) slaw and homemade cheesecake for dessert.

Sounds like a plan to me.

What are your plans for Sunday Dinner this week? And just to make things interesting, feel free to share your Memorial Day plans/menu too.Lamar saw the retina specialist from Memphis again on Friday and we received some cautious good news and a few answers to our questions about Lamar's condition.

Dr. Meyer told us that Lamar's eye is a little better, praise God! He said the inflammation, swelling and the hemorrhage in his eye is a little better overall, although his eye is still very sick. He said that the eye is not "out" and did not "blow", his terms, and that there is still hope that Lamar may recover some vision in his eye.

The doctor stopped short of saying that Lamar will ever have normal vision in his left eye again, but he did say that anything is possible. It's impossible at this point to know how this will all play out and he still wants Lamar to be seen by a virologist or infectious disease specialist.

For some reason the infectious disease specialist that was supposed to see Lamar wouldn't get back to us with an appointment, and I suspect that it's one of those insurance things, but have no way of knowing for sure. At any rate, all the offices are closed now until Tuesday due to the Memorial Day holiday so we won't be getting an appointment before then.

Dr. Meyer said he's going to call another virologist himself and set up an appointment for Lamar as soon as possible, even if he has to make the appointment with a specialist in Memphis.

Dr. Meyer told us that it was definitely a systemic virus that attacked Lamar's eye and caused the severe inflammation, which in turn caused the acute high pressure, blockage, thrombosis and ultimately the stroke in his eye. Now they need to determine if the virus has run its course or if it's still active in Lamar's body.

If the virus is still active, they'll have to isolate it and determine the precise strain so they can target it with the correct antiviral drugs. If it is still active it can do more damage to Lamar's eye and could attack another part of his body as well.

The doctor said it could be nearly any kind of virus that attacked Lamar's eye, including the common herpes virus that causes cold sores, chicken pox/shingles and any number of other viruses, including one of the rarer types. Although it is very rare for them to settle in the eyes it does happen, and Lamar is just one of those unfortunate enough to be affected.

But for now we're just grateful for the bit of hope they've given us and that we have some answers, albeit not all our questions have been addressed.

Today Lamar is able to see a little better than he has since this ordeal began about 10 days ago, which is a blessing and reinforces that bit of hope Dr. Meyer offered.

Thank you again for your prayers and keep 'em coming!Our life for the last 10 days has involved doctor's offices, medical tests, hospitals and pharmacies almost every day, including an emergency visit to the eye specialist on call last Sunday morning from 1 am until 4 am. We had to wake the poor man to open his office and examine Lamar because they thought his retina was detaching, and it was a close call as it was. It's still highly elevated and they're watching it closely.

While we've been on this whirlwind of doctor visits and tests most of our life has been on hold, including my blog writing, visiting and commenting. I apologize for that, and I want to thank all of you who've been faithful to visit and comment even though I haven't been able to reciprocate.

Assuming we can stay out of the doctor's office this week I'll try to visit and comment more, but I can't make any promises. We just don't know from day to day where we'll be and Lamar's eye health comes before anything else at the moment.
I want to wish everyone a blessed and meaningful Memorial Day. May we never forget the sacrifice of those in all branches of our armed forces - past, present and future.

To any of my family and friends who read this and who are veterans or serving actively: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to our country, and ultimately, for your service to protect MY freedoms.Y'all have a great weekend, and may God bless each and every one of you. May God meet all your needs, and may you have enough to share is my prayer for you.