Been a while since I've posted or done much! I unfortunately had to take a break from the trains for a while due to an injury in my left eye. It apparently got a small scratch from somewhere, and then the excessively dry air this Winter caused my eyelid to stick to my eye during the night and open a large surface abrasion directly over my pupil. That essentially made my left eye legally blind for a few weeks. My right eye was still good, so I could at least go to work and all that.
Although I did go back downstairs a few times now and then, it was difficult to focus on the small details of my numerous projects, and putting too much strain on my eye was rather painful, so I had to avoid doing much of that kind of detailed work.
2 months later, my eye is pretty much back to normal! I'm still having to keep it from drying out, but I can comfortably focus on small details again. Moment of truth will be taking the bandage lense out in the next couple days (it's a clear lense that keeps your eye from rubbing and reopening damage), but right now, I'm getting back to work on the trains and clearing a good space on the workbench to get some long awaited projects finished.
Moral of the story, protect your eyes! A scratch and abrasion hurts like you wouldn't believe, and it makes life and railroading difficult.
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Darth Santa Fe"Healed up, getting back to it!".
Glad to have you back and thanks for sharing your experiences
I hope you are fully recovered soon...
Regards, Ed
That sounds terrible.
Glad that you are back and doing better.
I protect my eyes as best as I can, all the time. I have seen two many one-eyed elderly people.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Glad to hear this, Darth! I had cataract surgery on both eyes in the early 2000s and it made a big difference, although I was still stuck with bifocals, an upgrade from trifocals, at least! About six years ago, I started having focusing on fine details, even under the 3x magnifying bench lamp I've been using since Old Age forced me back into O scale. Turns out I have something called "Brown's Syndrome," double-vision caused by something similar to "Trigger Finger." I got hardly any model work done for a while, but I have a good ophtalmolgist who understands the problem. Surgery (yikes!) is possible, but I have horizontal prisms in both lenses to compensate and I'm happy to say I'm happily back at the workbench, building again.
Model railroading is, IMHO, the best hobby there is and I'm glad you're back at it. Remember our motto: "Illegitimi Non Carborundum!"
Deano
Darth,
Wow, close call and hope your recovery continues.
Yes, take care of your vision is good advice, otherwise lots of things in life besides model railrooading get more difficult. Makes it hard to even do research and read MR if you can't see. I need to avoid the sweet stuff I like, for instance, and that's hard to do, but I keep trying. I became a historian as a second career because I managed to tear up enough of the rest of me working that only the stuff above the shoulders still works reliably - most days. When I still had enough balance to ride my bike, I always wore my helmut, because I need my brain and still do when out on my trike. The eyes are right behind the brain in what I hope to keep healthy for a couple of more decades, knock on wood.
On thing that has helped me are magnifying visors, but I oftentimes have some issues with my binocular vision. What works even better for me are the eye loupes like jewelers use that fit like a monocle in one eye. I fiound a 5 piece set at Harbor Freight for under $5 that includes 2x, 3x, 5x, 7x, and 10x. They may need your scratched eye to heal completely before using it, but if the other one is good they might help you out.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Darth, Glad your eye got better and of course glad to see your return.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Welcome back Darth! My wife is recovering from a detached retina. She and her doctor caught it before it completely detached.
Mike.
My You Tube
Glad to hear that you're recovering, Darth!
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
Welcome back Darth!
I knew I sensed something different in the force recently!
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
It's always heartening to see a fellow modeler overcome adversity and come back to post that he's back pounding spikes. Welcome back, Darth.
Welcome back, Darth. Hope the recovery continues continually.
York1 John
Hey Darth,
I'm sorry to hear that you have had some problems, but I'm glad to hear that you are getting better! Scary stuff!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thanks everyone! Now all that's left is to not get sick from the virus going around. Fortunately, the company I work for sent me home with a work computer so I can continue working without leaving my house and risking exposure. Maybe I can take it downstairs now and then and say I'm "working on the railroad."
Wow! You are very lucky and blessed that it's healing and pretty much normal again. The eyes are a very sensitive thing. In 1984, (before I was born) my grandmother fell very hard on ice and both retinas were detached and she had surgery to repair the damage. They were able to repair one eye, but the other was beyond repair and she ended up losing it. On an interesting side note, she was in the same hospital as boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, who was in for a similar condition, and she actually got to meet him. Hope your eye continues to heal properly Darth.