It didn't end up alongside the barn, but the shipping container is in the next best place behind the barn.

August 24, 2017 - Thursday

34 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

It appears there's a very light frost covering the garden. Whether it's heavy enough to have done any damage, I'll know once the sun peaks over the horizon.

There's entirely too much to talk about in one writing, so I'll just post pictures and get on with the really important news towards the end.

First the pictures. 

I had way too much nervous energy Wednesday morning to sit around waiting for the shipping container to arrive. Consequently, I worked while on my hands and knees in the garden all morning, pulling weeds and doing some basic maintenance that's been delayed due to this season's rain. Mostly, I just wanted to keep busy.

Asparagus ferns cut and disposed of

The rutabagas were once again thinned. Some are small like this one above, others are the size of a large softball.

Most of the orchard was weeded and made ready for the fall season. 

The shipping container arrived shortly after noon. The driver checked and double checked any possibility of parking it alongside the barn which was my Plan A. 

After no small amount of time, he told me that unless I wanted to move a wood shed and cut a large maple tree, there was no possibility of getting the trailer where I hoped it would go.

We moved to Plan B. It was with no small amount of effort that he pulled into the secondary drive on the other side of the garden, turned around in the front meadow, then threaded the trailer backwards between the trees.

The storage container was backed down the path behind the barn, completely out of sight, yet readily accessible. It's wasn't our first choice of places, but definitely not a bad one. 

Once in place, a large hydraulic ram lifted the front of the trailer causing the container to slide onto the ground.

I placed treated 4x4's under the corners and sides as it slowly slid downwards to keep the bottom off the ground.

Before we knew it, our new storage unit was in it's final resting place.

The unit is forty-five feet long. I had no idea how large that was until I opened the doors and walked inside. There'll be no reason for any of my equipment to sit outside over the winter months.

Now to the important news:

I've been doing research on the newest methods of treating Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD.) There are new protocols of treating the disease, some still in the testing stage while other's have completed rigorous testing. In fact, Mom is currently involved in one in Indiana.

I've been in contact with the leading scientist in photobiomodulation (near infrared light) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Dr. Janis Eells. Dr. Eells, along with Dr. Bob Dotson of Seattle, Washington, and Dr. Graham Merry of Toronto, Ontario, have all collaborated and been leaders in treating AMD using near infrared light. After many test groups, the results have indicated that in the vast majority of test cases, the treatment not only halts dry macular degeneration, but often reverses the damage created by the disease. There have been zero cases of adverse affects in photobiomodulation so the risk is slim to nil and it has been FDA approved.

After treatment, many who had given up reading can now read, the same with driving and other every day activities.

In talking with Dr. Eells today, I learned that she and Dr. Dotson are developing a protocol for me using a small hand held machine that emits special near infrared light. In fact, Dr. Eells is sending me a unit from her lab. She says it's something I can do here at home under her guidance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nltOGcOnJ4

It appears the treatment will take 90 seconds a day for three weeks. Benefits should be noticeable fairly quickly and can can last up to three years.

Nothing is guaranteed, but for a disease that supposedly has no treatment, I feel I'm being thrown a lifeline. 

Why me? I have no idea, but I believe even the possibility of halting this disease, let alone reversing the damage it has caused, is a miracle from God. 

To be able to drive and see my grandchildren? To go fishing and actually catch fish? To once again dream of long distance hiking and not worry about walking off a cliff or getting lost? The possibilities are endless when one has his sight.

Up to now, I've been told to gulp handfuls of AMD vitamins and hope they slow the spread of my macular degeneration. There has been no proven cure, but photobiomodulation offers some promise.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768515/

So that's my big news. I will begin the treatment after I receive the unit and get the protocol from Dr. Eells and Dr. Dotson. After that, it's up to God.

So, I'm a happy and VERY tired boy. What an emotional roller coaster. I know if I keep going like I am, what the end result will be. Suddenly, my world, one that has been dimming on an almost daily basis has the chance of becoming much brighter. There's hope and where's there's hope, there could be a cure. 

Sargie has cautioned me not to get my hopes up too much to avoid any disappointment I might experience should the protocol not work. I'm trying to keep them dampened, but it's hard. 

I've got work to do today after my walk. Now the container is in place, I can begin to move my treasures from the barn and FINALLY begin working on the addition to the shop.

So much to do, so little of me. If only you had my life.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

A daisy framed by pumpkin leaves