I call her Tinkerbelle.
She is a loyal companion. She follows me everywhere, and likes to poke her nose into what I am doing, curious and wanting to be included.
She nudges me and reminds me that I am living in a human body, that life is not perfect, and that it can be whimsical even in in moments of frustration.
The moniker science has assigned to Tinkerbelle is a “floater“.
Some years ago, three or four I think, but who’s counting, I suffered from a PVD, Posterior Vitrious Detachment. I was seen first by an Emergency Room doctor, then hours later by the Ophthalmology Department in a larger city hospital. Luckily the condition did not progress into a detached retina. I got off lightly with just a floater, a HUGE floater… aka Tinkerbelle.
At first Tinkerbelle could block vision in that eye. Eventually my brain learned to see around her, and I’ve unconsciously become adept at moving the her out of the way through eye movements. She is here to stay.
Until recently her name had not come to me. It was only after she received her name that my reactions to her constant companionship evolved from mild distress to acceptance and amusement. Now, when she is in my way, we play, I chase, she runs, then she loses interest.
I’ve read that cataract surgery, which is in my near future, amplifies the presence of floaters. I guess she and I will be in for some game time!
Weather Report Thoughts
Apparently on Monday we might be in for some snow flurries. I would like to state that it wasn’t me! My snow pants and the rest of my winter wear still hanging on their hooks and ready to go. Fate was tempted by someone else. You know who you are!
Worldly
Weather
15°C
Date: 8:00 PM EDT Saturday 18 April 2026
Condition: Light Rainshower
Pressure: 100.5 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 15.4°C
Dew point: 14.5°C
Humidity: 94%
Wind: WSW 17 gusts 36 km/h
Visibility: 5 km
Quote
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
Carl Jung
1875 – 1961
Your brain learns to ignore them. My Tinkerbelle is more like New Zealand, or Japan, or any country with a southwest-northeast axis in the corner of my right eye. Why, there it is now! Thanks for nothing. But they’re nothing to worry about.
You too!
They are nothing to worry about, as annoying as they can be. I am not sure what my relationship with Tinkerbelle will be after the cataract surgery, hoping for the best.
Maggie, I named mine Jimmy. Since I had already had my cataract surgeries by the time my PVD happened, I was able to have a vitrectomy and Jimmy and his band are long gone. As far as the other eye, I haven’t had a proper PVD, just an increasingly messy crowd. Most annoying.
Wendy, I was told there was nothing that there was no treatment for floaters, but found that that is not true. The vitrectomy is described as the only effective treatment for very large floaters, there are other treatments that break the floater up into smaller pieces, I am not interested in that, I think it easier to deal with one big Tinkerbelle. Thanks for sharing about the vitrectomy, there are warnings that it has its dangers, and yours is a success story!
Maggie, I’ve had floater ablation in the other eye to break up Bobby, Earl and several of their other friends. In my case, it turned out to be a good choice because a retinal tear was found in that eye and, since the ophthalmologist was playing “space lasers” in the eye anyway, he was able to repair it.
While the floater ablation helped, that eye has since grown more floaters but none quite big enough to have a name. I finally got a referral to a retinal specialist but she’s hesitant to proceed with vitrectomy since it’s not possible to confirm externally that the vitreous has fully detached. I remind myself that just because the first vitrectomy went really well, that’s no guarantee about the second one.
Meanwhile, the gang in my right eye interferes with my work and often brings on squinting headaches. My brain is supposed to learn to ignore these things. It doesn’t.
I hope you and Tinkerbelle can get it worked out.
Wendy, that is lucky, that the ophthalmologist caught the retinal tear!
Getting an appointment with an ophthalmologist here in Ontario is a long process, wait times here are very long, that is if one can get a referral so as to get in line.
The gang in the right eye thing sounds truly annoying! I have been lucky to learn how to “see” around Tinkerbelle, I wonder if is easier for the brain to adjust when there is just one huge floater.
Thanks for sharing all this information, I might have some decisions to make going forward and knowledge is power.
Ah, the naming of the body peculiarities! I’ve been trying to come up with a name for my ulcer. At present, I have only “She who must be obeyed”. Until I come up with something briefer, this will have to do!
Joan, “She who must be obeyed” is a great description for an ulcer 🙂
Not a pleasant condition to deal with!
Your description of the ulcer puts me in mind of Cixi, an Empress of China, in that initially fated to provide pleasure (concubine), she found herself ruling China, an Empress with absolute power.
“Empress Dowager Cixi
A woman who should be among the most well-known in history is Empress Dowager Cixi. She had a few nicknames, including ‘dragon lady’. The Empress was a former concubine who rose to power and ruled China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). She’s not only China’s last empress, but also it’s most famous. Cixi shaped the politics of Imperial China through her various rebellions and policies.
Empress Cixi didn’t start as a political activist and influencer. At a young age, she was chosen as a concubine for Emperor Xianfeng and lived a life of extravagance within the imperial court. Some years later, however, after two coups and some luck in loopholes in China’s imperial policies, Cixi found herself as sole ruler of Imperial China.
After the first coup, Cixi became Empress of China alongside two members of the former emperor’s family. During this period of triumvirate rule, the various rebellions destroying north and south china were quelled and a period of reform was implemented. Cixi was a great supporter of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1800’s that formed part of China’s rise to power. Anti-corruption laws and changes in governmental establishments were just two of the many reforms established.”
Source: https://historyguild.org/5-inspiring-women-of-history/?srsltid=AfmBOopcms6X0Qwu8_haiidYYrDQuIPg931QuUB0z5d-aLOrCh7FlAr5
You got me. Still wearing ski pants, parka, tuque, boots, and mitts. -Kate
Kate, you are made of hardy stuff! I sure hope a glorious spring arrives on your doorstep soon!
I am a lot further south than you are, and the Great Lakes moderate the weather here, milder, but wetter I think with the Westerlies picking up moisture as the winds pass over the lake system.