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Eyes set on Dr. Verdier
By EMMA PALOVA
EW Emma’s Writings
Lowell, MI- On May 16th, my world dipped into a blur. The white fuzzy ball in my right eye turned into fog that surrounded me.
As I turned on the computer in the morning I couldn’t see the Google logo on the screen. I panicked. I drove to the eye doctor in town, but I couldn’t see the signs on the road.
“What brings you here on a Friday morning?” asked Dr. Holzer.
“I can’t see,” I said with tears in my eyes.
After the exam, Dr. Holzer said, “I see why you can’t see. You have cataracts in both eyes.”
I was diagnosed with a fast-moving cataract in my right eye two years ago. Unlike the cataracts that most elderly people eventually develop, this one strikes younger people at a fast pace.
“You will need a surgery in two years,” said the doctor exactly. “I cannot correct your vision to 20/20. This is worse than I expected.”
I cried that fall as I walked to the newspaper office. I could barely see the sidewalk.
The new eyeglasses helped somewhat, but the right eye was useless. I started using the left eye straining it further. Now, the fuzzy ball was also in the left eye.
I couldn’t see from the treadmill my beautiful garden. Everything became a chore. I had to use the magnifying glass on top of the eyeglasses, and still the letters were dancing in front of me somewhere in deep 3D. I had to guess where everything was or used to be.
So, here I was two years later sitting across from Dr. Holzer by the optical equipment in the dark.
“You’re going to need a surgery in both eyes,” he said.
“I want Dr. Verdier to operate on my eyes,” I said.
“You know Dr. Verdier?”
I did know Dr. David Verdier from a story for the Grand Rapids Magazine and Advance Newspapers about his surgeries aboard the Orbis airplane in China. Orbis is a well-known organization among eye specialists, and Dr. Verdier is a renowned eye specialist.
I was well aware of Verdier’s specialization both in corneal disease and cataracts, and about his practice. Verdier Eye Center, located at 1000 E. Paris Avenue in Grand Rapids. That’s where we did the interview for several stories.
“You’re going to have to wait, but Dr. Verdier is worth waiting for,” said Holzer. “He can also correct your vision during the surgery so you won’t need eye glasses.”
The initial consultation was scheduled for Sept. 22 to evaluate how far along the cataracts were.
In the meantime, my eyesight was getting worse by the minute. On the night of the first Summer Sizzlin’ concert, I was blinded by the setting sun as I walked out of the Sneaker’s Restaurant. That was at the beginning of July.
When I was shooting the Riverwalk parade on July 12, I could not see the floats or candidate Lynn Mason marching in the parade. I was shooting into the fog. My son was standing by my side with baby Josephine and I could hardly make out their contours.
On Monday, when I walked to the Franciscan Sisters I couldn’t see my neighbors doing wood on the other side of the gravel road.
“Hey Emma, we’re here,” Karen shouted.
At the Sisters, I couldn’t see the nearby school from their Canticle House on the hill.
Finally, I couldn’t see myself in the mirror. I picked up the phone.
“I have to have the surgery as soon as possible,” I cried. “I can’t write, I can’t drive. Tell Dr. Verdier that I know him.”
To be continued
Copyright © 2014 story and photos by Emma Palova
Dad heads home to bid farewell to family
United Airlines flight 974 with my dad Vaclav Konecny on board just landed in Geneva four and a half hours late due to maintenance on one of the Pratt & Whitney motors.
My dad is 80 and he flew home to Czech Republic to say final goodbye to the family. Dad has only one living sibling left, aunt Marta.
He is the founder of our immigration saga that started with the Soviet invasion in 1968. And it continues to evolve to this day with third generation.
That is basically what my memoir Greenwich Meridian is about.
To be continued
Note: This is my 150th post on EW Emma’s Writings on WordPress. The 15th new follower of EW will get a $25 gift certificate to Steak & Shake.
Copyright (c) 2014
Sledujte nas na nasi pouti ke svatbe Maranda Ruegsegger a Jakub Pala v kostele Svateho Patricka v Parnellu, Michigan.
Follow us on our journey to the international wedding of Maranda Ruegsegger and Jakub Pala at Saint Patrick’s Church in Parnell, Michigan.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bridgefest-tickets-12717122255?aff=es2
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Lowell woman makes Pink Arrow Pride happen along with husband and other volunteers
By EMMA PALOVA
LOWELL, MI-When Teresa Beachum received a phone call from varsity football coach Noel Dean, she stepped up to take action.
Dean was telling her about a wife of a football player who was sporting a pink jersey at an NFL game.
The pink symbolized breast cancer. An idea was born seven years ago that has grown into a phenomenon.
The two wondered if the Lowell Football team would be strong enough to carry some else’s name on the shoulder of their pink jerseys.
“We wanted to honor those on a cancer journey or in memory of,”she said.
Beachum lost her brother Jeff Timpson to cancer.
The Pink Arrow Pride symbolizes the pride the players have to have to represent someone else, she said.
The Pink Arrow VII game against Chicago Hubbard is scheduled this year for Sept.5.
The Survivor’s Lap precedes the game from the Lowell High School down to the stadium.
“Everybody comes together, the fire and the police department, the band and the churches,” Beachum said.
This is followed by a victory lap around the stadium.
“The view is a sea of pink, the field, the goal post and even the trash cans,” she said.
And something new is added every year like fireworks last year.
But, there is more to this than just the game in pink.
“It teaches students how to channel grief and their emotions,” she said.
The Pink Arrow Pride has so far raised one million dollars. This money goes toward programming at Gilda’s Club, medical student scholarships, assistance to cancer survivors and Lowell Community Wellness.
“It has grown into a new dimension of playing for a cause,” Beachum said.
The two scholarships are Dr. Donald Gerard’s and Kathy Talus.
Beachum stays involved year round with the Pink Arrow Pride. Together with Ethel Stears, she delivers gifts to cancer survivors.
“I wanted to support the cause because everyone knows someone who has walked the cancer journey,” Beachum said.
The t-shirt sales have brought in $8,000 alone during the last worst seven years in economy.
“Cancer does not discriminate,” she said. “It strikes the young, the old, retirees and students.”
In the weeks prior to the game, Perry and Teresa Beachum turn their house into a Pink Arrow Pride stronghold with brochures, logos and promotions everywhere.
“The logo is customized and every year we add new things, “she said.
For their efforts, the couple has been awarded as the Chamber People of the Year.
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Copyright (c)2014 story by Emma Palova, photos by Pink Arrow Pride
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