Extraordinarily simple scary scientific study. A Car ‘Splatometer’ Study Finds Huge Insect Die-Off | WIRED

Measuring how many bugs fly into car windshields might sound silly. But to scientists predicting an “insect apocalypse,” the numbers are deadly serious.
— Read on www.wired.com/story/a-car-splatometer-study-finds-huge-insect-die-off/

Hurdles in my Life, they didn’t slow me down much!

We’re all born with our own unique genes often translating into how our life unfolded to a certain extent with a couple of mine causing a bit of roadblocks or challenges that do make us stronger as a person.

From my ancestry I inherited a genes that made my life unique saving me in some instances.

When I was about 1 1/2 years old my parents began noticing an odd thing about my behavior that turned out to be caused by my eyesight, I’m eternally grateful for my eyesight and all the wonderful vision specialists who’ve graciously helped me along my way.

Once I began learning to walk just like all toddlers my parents were helping me take those first giant leaps as a growing child. Fairly quickly it was noted I commonly traversed the wrong path to one of my parents as they were calling for me from a few feet away, across a room or down a sidewalk. Both my maternal Grandfather and paternal Grandmother had poor eyesight each had their unique eye issues I inherited.

With extreme nearsightedness my world was a complete blur, still is today, and both of my eyes were crooked; one looked down and out while the other looked up and in. That crookedness was not noticeable as a baby however once learning to walk it became clear something was wrong, when one is cross-eyed there are doubles of everything and mine were blurry beyond sight recognition.

Dr. Jester was thought to be the best Ophthalmologist in our rural area who treated my vision for my first quarter century. My earliest memory at his office was sitting scared in the darkened exam room, held by either Dad or Mom, with patient Dr. Jester holding a stuffed teddy bear at varying distances asking me if I could tell what it was then if the teddy bear was more clear with lenses 1 or lenses 2. Already scared by the darkened strange new place unable to identify anything visually though knowing my parents nearby voices was no fun for a child making me ready to go home, now!

Dr. Jester was able to fit me with glasses to help my vision though I constantly ripped my specs off my face throwing them or twisting them like they were play dough! Quick solution was a new pair of glasses arriving by mail each week.

Cross-eyed solutions were not quite so advanced however once I was a bit older and walking more Dr. Jester issued me a “pirates’ patch” with instructions to alternate between my eyes to help build stronger muscles in both eyes and ultimately work a bit better together. In the event my reader is unaware, how your eyes work together is hard-wired in your brain. When born cross-eyed your brain knows that’s how they are naturally to be so even with modern eye muscle surgery your brain tells your eyes they are to be the ‘crooked not working together’ way not ‘straight working together’ like the bulk of humans.

Not until once I reached the age of 30 did I meet an Ophthalmologist, Dr. Patricia Mauer, who as she stepped into my exam room on my first visit asked “Why are you walking around with those crooked eyes?” To which I gave a simple history I inherited them! Dr. Mauer’s response was awesome; “We’re going to fix them……if you don’t mind.” I was flabbergasted however in total agreement! After several visits where Dr. Mauer used various prisms measuring over and over the angles my eyes were drifting off center. Once satisfied with her measurements I was given warnings about it being extremely painful for approximately 24 hours, my eyes wouldn’t be perfect but better, the brain would eventually move my eyes back to their natural crookedness, and it might take more than one operation to complete.

Luck and Dr. Mauer’s skill were on my side with my results being very good after that first surgery though two years later I did go through a second surgery as I was moving away from the area and wanted her help to tweak her excellent work! It’s now 25 years later and while my eyes are not as straight as after that second painful surgery they still remain markedly better than the first 30 years of my life. Thank you, Dr. Patricia Mauer!

Along the way it was discovered I had Fuchs Spots or sometimes Gokul-Fuchs’ retinal Spots. Fuchs Spots are a degeneration of the eye macula in case of high myopia. It is named after the two persons who first described it: Ernst Fuchs, who described a pigmented lesion in 1901, and Forster in 1862. The size of the spots are proportionate to the severity of the pathological myopia. In my right eye it’s resulted in a constant sight distortion that interrupts reading though thus far my left eye is much more clear.

Just as I was 12 years of age another family health issue became apparent, Bilateral Lymphedema in my legs. Not such a sexy thing to start ones teenage years though I’d been toughened up by being heckled and poked fun at over my eyes my entire life so the Lymphedema while quite a hiccup for a 12 year old boy didn’t slow me up all that much. Over the years the Lymphedema has been with me and I’ve done my best to manage it as a part of life. It gets in the way of some more narrow legged pants, shoes and stretches out my long underwear in the Winter. Before and during weather changes and during full moons my calves ache and the swelling is subject to easily breaking open skin and aches when they are hit.

My general health is quite good otherwise though under a separate entry I’ll address another health issue that hit me at 50. Otherwise, onward!

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