Between Internet Problems and health problems I am unable to use the computer very much. I have serious vision problems that are being treated and I hope to be back in a month or two with the aid of modern science and technology.

I miss you all very much and am sorry to not be around.

What kind of trouble are you getting into with out your favorite granny halfling rogue to tell it the way it really is?

I will be back they can't keep a Balder's gate fan down.

Ps: I haven't spell Checked or reread so I hop this makes sense and explains my absence. Hard to read, type or play.

Hope you get better soon Nakia! We miss you :(

Godspeed! Hope to seek you back soon.

Best wishes, Nakia. Please get well, and come back soon.

Indeed, I hope that your treatment goes well!

Well, given your lengthy and sudden absence, I was fearing worse than just poor vision, so in a way, I'm relieved.

Good luck with your treatments, and I look forward to having you back on the Boards! :)

My poor computer is upgrading so I [m still around. Thanks for the kind words. I'm one of the lucky ones. The condition - macular degeration is treatable and I have responded well. It is a slow and frustrating process but not painful. The tests are the most unpleasant part. Reading is slow and tiring so I can't go to my favorites ie: AoDA and AoLS and cause trouble there.

I can enlarge things on the Internet but get annoyed at the time and effort it takes to read things. I'm not a patient person and from being a speed reader I've become a snail.

Based on the response to the treatment I am sure that given a bit of time I'll be back to voice my always honest and never humble opinions.

There are people with a lot worse problems than mine and I have learned a lot from this experience. It is amazing how humans can adapt to things.

Splunge, you are correct it could be a lot worse.

Hope the road to recovery is as smooth as possible.

We were getting worried about the halfling granny, hope all works out.

Come back as sneaky as you've ever been, Grandma Rogue. Cheers.

It must be a scary, scary thing to have your sight degrade like that. I hope the treatment works well for you. Best of luck.

Oh dear! :( I hope your treatment goes well!

/me packs up huge "welcome back" hug for Tal to ship to New Jersey!

I'm very sad to hear you're not too well. :( I hope you get better, and can return to us.

Nakia, you probably know this, but just in case (and it might come in handy to others too): to quickly increase the size of the text on pages, you can hold down the Ctrl button and mouse wheel up or down (depending on your browser) to increase and decrease the text size. In Firefox, it's also pretty easy to globally increase font sizes for all the pages (the above needs to be applied on a per page basis). It'll break some layouts, but that's a minor inconvenience if it enables you to read easily. If you need any help with this, just let me know.

There's also a nifty "magnifying glass" that you can get from here (http://magnifier.sourceforge.net/)

Although Tal's suggestion is probably better.

---------- Added 2 hours, 2 minutes and 44 seconds later... ----------

I just realized that my second-last post could be construed as being dismissive of the problems Nakia is going through ("just" poor vision). Nothing could be further from the truth. :heh:

There's also a nifty "magnifying glass" that you can get from here (http://magnifier.sourceforge.net/)

Although Tal's suggestion is probably better.

---------- Added 2 hours, 2 minutes and 44 seconds later... ----------

I just realized that my second-last post could be construed as being dismissive of the problems Nakia is going through ("just" poor vision). Nothing could be further from the truth. :heh:

I certainly didn't take that way. The main reason I decided to try posting is I know that many of you have become friends and knowing my age might assume the worst. Believe me there are much worse things than what I have. Right now I think the thing that is getting me down is the frustration and the boredom. I hate being bored. :bang:

I definitely was wondering where you had gotten to, although I did not fear the worst (makes me more of an optimist that I think I am, I guess). Best of luck with the treatment.

For those not familiar with Macula Degeneration I thought I would post a short and simplistic explanation.

Macular degeneration is caused by the deterioration of the central portion of the retina, the inside back layer of the eye that records the images we see and sends them via the optic nerve from the eye to the brain. The retina's central portion, known as the macula, is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye, and it controls our ability to read, drive a car, recognize faces or colors, and see objects in fine detail. from the American Macular Degeneration Foundation.

It is the leading cause of blindness in people age 55 or over. It causes more blindness than cataracts and glacoma combined. It can happen to younger people but is fortunately rare.

Simply put there are two types, wet and dry. At this time the wet can be treated to some success but not the dry. There are some experimental treatments for the dry but it is early stages.

Lazer treatment may halt the degeneration of the abnormal blood vessels underlying the fovea but do not cure Macula Degeneration and can cause permanent vision loss in the areas treated. There are a couple of drugs which are injected into the eye that have proven beneficial in halting the degeneration. That is what I am currently receiving and it has been helpful. A couple of weeks ago the very idea of coming here and trying to post was ridiculous. I am one of the fortunate ones.

I ask one thing of you. If you come across someone who has Macula Degeneration please do not start telling them about the wonderful 'cures' you have heard about. There is no cure for Macular Degeneration and each person is unique and only a retina specialist can diagnosis and treat this type of disease.

Ps: Tal, I didn't thank you for your suggestion re enlarging the type. No I didn't know about the ctrl button + mouse wheel. It is much more convienent than a 'magnifier' which is needs changing. This rather fun. :)

Great, I'm glad I could help.

Hugs and prayers, Sis, hugs and prayers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7582242.stm I saw this. I know it can help UK residents, but the treatment may help if you can get it.

Thanks, Tak. As I said in FAI I doubt we have it here but I think we have a similar one that I'm getting. Maybe not as good but it has had some success.

I hope you're getting better with the treatment. Take good care and get well soon!

I dl the magnifier that Splunge suggested. It is very handy for use on my computer. I do find that Tal;s suggestion works best in the forum's.

I appreciate all the good wishes, prayers and help I have received both here and in FAI. It is hard to express in a forum just how much this means to me without sounding maudlin. So I'll just say that it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling.

SP has been my Internet home for over 5 years and I couldn't be here for my 5th anniversary. :cry: When I first posted I thought it would be rare for me to be able to participate in the forums but some of you may have noticed that I've been around quite a bit. :D The eyes have improved but please keep those good thoughts and prayers going.

Nakia, I was away on a long retreat and only just got around to reading this - hope your treatments go well and that your needed adjustments are not too bothersome. You go, granny.

A little update.

I had a test done this morning and another treatment. The eye has improved but there is still blood there. I [probably won't get back the vision I had before but it is better. He gave me the name of a local low vision specialist. Hopefully they will have aids that will help the vision.

I'm really sorry to hear that... the fact that it could be worse is never any consolation in cases like this. I hope for the best possible outcome under the circumstances.

Good to hear that your vision is improving. :D

If it does get worse however, you should look in to getting a helper monkey. :D Make sure it knows how to type though, we need you at #sorcerers. :lol: :rolling:

I'm happy to hear your vision has improved but sorry to hear it's not back to perfect :bad:

The other specialist will hopefully have something that will help. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thank you all. Kitrax, I'd love that helper monkey especially if it could do the housework. :D

Hope you keep improving Nakia! I'd train the helper monkey myself, but the pet shop down the road didn't have any. Helper budgies, yes, but they aren't very good at chores, especially the dishwashing. They can help with the dusting, though, if you've got a short stick and some KY jelly.

I don't normally come here to SS, but I did today -- I'm really sorry about your health troubles, Nakia. I hope things work out so you can stay happy, healthy, and my favorite Red Rogue!

Sorry to hear about the problems, Nakia. I hope your vision will get better further, I wish all the best!

definitely all the best wished for you.



Even on a purely selfish level, no one wants a sighting impaired ill-tempered halfling rogue running around.
Think about it, they only cut as high as they can reach, that could result in a LOT of new sopranos:eek:

Dang(rustling & searching noises), were is that mithril cod-piece?

definitely all the best wished for you.



Even on a purely selfish level, no one wants a sighting impaired ill-tempered halfling rogue running around.
Think about it, they only cut as high as they can reach, that could result in a LOT of new sopranos:eek:

Dang(rustling & searching noises), were is that mithril cod-piece?

:spin: I have warned them about this on FAI.

Thank you all for the good wishes. They help a lot.

martaug, just remember not to misspell roug...ROGUE! :p

Nakia: My best wishes for you! The BoM needs you! :)