Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Terrible Pterygium - June 15, 2011

So back in the winter, I started noticing a fleshy spot in the corner of my eye that would get red when I’d spend too much time on the computer.  When it didn’t go away (and when my coworkers were telling me with increased frequency that I looked tired), I figured I’d make an appointment with an ophthalmologist.
“It looks like you have a pterygium,” the doctor told me.  That doesn’t sound good.  “What exactly is a pterygium?”
The answer: a noncancerous growth, common in light-eyed people who spend a lot of time outdoors, particularly on the water. 
“Are you in the sun or on the water a lot?” he asked.  I felt so convicted.   I’ve been on the water more in the last six months than I have probably my entire life, thanks to this obsession hobby.  So I confessed that I started surfing last summer, causing me to be on the water quite a bit more than I ever used to be. 
Dr. Mallory smiled. He’s a dear man in his 70s who has a very pleasant nature.  But unfortunately he didn’t have very pleasant news.  These growths can be difficult to get rid of and surgery has a low success rate because the pterygiums usually return, often times bigger than they were originally. 
Surgery?!?!  On my eye??  Oh no thank you – I don’t even do eye drops…let alone stitches on my eye ball!!  I’d rather have a glass eye.
Luckily, my pterygium had not yet begun growing over my iris, and surgery isn’t suggested until the pterygium begins to impede vision.  So he took some measurements and prescribed steroid drops to use twice a day.  He told me to come back in two weeks to see if it shrank at all.  The upside of this was that I had to conquer my eye-drop fear. Yes, just like Rachel Green.

Love that show.
The downside was that the pterygium hadn’t shrunk.  So Dr. Mallory told me to continue to use the drops (though not twice a day since they can cause glaucoma – score) and make another appointment in six months to see if it had grown.
My checkup was yesterday and I was very confident.  In addition to using the steroid drops (enough to hopefully shrink the pterygium, but not enough to increase my risk of glaucoma – quite the little tight rope I’ve been walking), I had also been using artificial tears.  Those both keep the eye moist, which reduces the redness around the pterygium, but they also can act as sunscreen for the eye when in the sun, I learned. 
More than that, I went the extra mile by investing in a surf hat, which is a ball cap with chin straps.  And yes, it is absolutely as nerdy as it sounds.
Let’s be real honest – as a 30-year-old, fair skinned, freckly woman learning to surf, I could use as much help in the Cool Department as possible.  But I was committed to not having someone bust out the sewing needle anywhere near my eye ball, so I wore the damn hat.


What's left to say?
Unfortunately, my efforts did not pay off like I had hoped as it has grown 1 millimeter, thereby doubling in size.  That’s right, doubling.


My male coworkers (who have gallantly taken on the role of my older brothers by teasing me relentlessly – damn them for being too funny not to laugh at my own expense) had fun with this latest saga.  They asked me if I was going to wear a patch while I surfed and looked up horrible pictures of pterygiums on Google – don't do it, you will seriously regret it...or thank me for losing your appetite for a week and dropping a couple of pounds, in which case, you're welcome. 
How could a person take a sport so cool and turn it into a fountain of nerdiness?

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Popup for a Shortie - May 31, 2011

This past weekend was Memorial Day and we were among a group of people invited out on our friend’s sailboat for a trip to Shell Island.  This barrier island, separating the Gulf of Mexico from St. Andrew Bay, is a hugely popular spot for boaters in the area.  Because there’s limited access there for the tourists, it’s the most local beach around.  

We persuaded the Captain into letting us take our boards so we could paddle to shore and walk across to the gulf.  He obliged, so after we anchored up on the bay side of the island and ate our picnic on the boat, we jumped onto our boards and navigated through the other boats having their own Memorial Day parties.

Since getting the shortboard for Christmas (okay, no – a 7-foot board isn't a shortie, but it's short to me...kinda like my 2004 Volvo, it's not new, but it's oh-so new to me), I’ve been diligently practicing my shortboard popup.  Because my feet hang off the back of this board, I can’t use them to pop up. 

For grins, lay down on your stomach and don't let your toes touch the ground.  


Now try, in one swift motion, to push up with your hands


 and swing your legs through to a standing position…  


without using your feet.
Photo Credits: learnsurfschool.com

I know – it’s tricky.

So after searching “How to do a shortboard popup” on The Google Machine (thank you Sallie’s dad), I found several videos of pre-pubescent guys practicing popups on their shortbards (and annoyingly, making it look very easy).  For example: 


Because I’m neither 14 years old, nor 100 pounds with most of my strength in my upper body, I knew I’d have to put some work into getting this down.

Luckily, I enjoy working out; more than that, I enjoy working out toward a goal.  So this was a fun initiative for me.  I did extra pushups, planks, jackknifes on a yoga ball, and tons of popups.  I used my office (since that’s the only carpeted room in my house) for my nightly – okay, almost nightly – popup workout and each time I was thankful that I don’t live in an apartment with anyone below me to hear the thudding.

Through the course of several weeks, I was making progress in getting my feet up closer to my hands.  This is a critical element because if you don’t get your feet pretty much right under your hands, you’ll wind up too far back on your board when you stand up, which will weigh down the back of the board and cause you to stall out.

When we got invited on the boat, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take my shorter board and put all my practice to the test.  It was weird at first, not being able to put my feet down on the board, but I had to figure this out since I can’t surf my "fun board" forever. 

Since Ted is officially the most patient person in the world, he offered to push me into the waves so all I had to worry about was my popup.  All the practice must have paid off because with the first wave, I took a few paddles then planted my hands directly below my shoulders; with as much power as I could muster, I used my core to whip my feet up pretty close to my hands. 

I couldn’t believe it – success on the first try!  I LOVE being rewarded for hard work!  So I did it again and again, working on my speed and getting my feet closer and closer to where they should be.  Even though guys everywhere are doing shortboard popups, it was a thrilling breakthrough for me. 

After a while, we figured we should probably get back to the party.  So we started our trek back across the island and out to the boat, where there were a couple of Coronas waiting for us.

Here’s to breakthroughs.  
Photo Credit: thesaltedrim.com