Did Sugar-Overload Cause Blindness in Kauai Woman In 2 Hours?

Despite extremely bad weather today, I had a good day at the annual St. Michael's craft fair. I think the bake sale and the generous and delicious laulau plate lunch had something to do with that, but the St. Michael's volunteers and customers--made up in large part by their congregation--are especially gracious. I also always enjoy my fellow vendors. It was very convenient to be able to earring-shop during the lulls because Sue Okada was on the next table. I'd say her earrings are recession-proof because they're beautifully creative and yet very reasonably priced. I was also able to get Donna's Edibles caramel apple--my favorite coconut/mac nut-- just two tables away, yay! Yep, Jimmy Choo shoes or a Gucci handbag would not thrill me more than the booty I got today.

Just a few hours ago, however, following the craft fair, I began having these disturbing symptoms: a curved line of "lights" that flash in my right eye when I moved my eyes. I recalled reading that flashing lights in your eyes are bad news. Sure enough, my internet research scared me because they recommend seeing a doctor within 24 hours because a detached retina could result in blindness! As much as I hated bothering Dr. Lee at his home, I decided blindness trumps embarrassment so I phoned him. He assured me that Monday would be soon enough, and related the exact symptoms I'm experiencing because he'd had it himself recently. Well, if I can still see after Monday, I'll let you all know!

And now for this week's "Health Things That Make You Go Hmmm":

I must preface the following with a reminder that I'm no expert and I just like to pass on information of what others have experienced. We can't know everything on our own after all and even at my advanced age I often find myself saying, "Whaaat? Really? Nah!?"

The other day a friend told me that her dad had been experiencing a health issue for several months. It began with severe stomach pains that woke him at night and progressed to him having hallucinations and memory issues. Because of his advanced age--90--and because tests showed nothing conclusive, it was assumed that his "mental fog" was due to his age and his family worried that they'd have to put him in a care facility soon. Luckily one of the doctors, a gastroenterologist, suggested changing his diet because he'd been eating a lot of raw vegetables. Lo and behold, his stomach pains ceased and he was able to sleep comfortably. Most importantly, because he was now getting proper sleep, his mental clarity sharpened back to "normal" (pre-stomach problem).

Remember my blog a couple of months ago regarding my mother's bad reaction to "Bactrim"? During the worst period, my mom, a very mentally-sharp 80-year-old, was also not "herself" mentally, alarming my sister. Mom is pretty much "back to normal", but still has blurred vision in one eye from the Bactrim. I received emails from a few people who read my post saying they were similarly affected and one woman is still unable to work SIX MONTHS after taking Bactrim! [Again, I recommend going to AskaPatient.com to inquire about any medication you are considering.]

My point is, we shouldn't assume that a senior citizen who seems to be mentally hazy is simply experiencing "normal" age-related memory issues. Instead, it may be a symptom caused by something other than aging, such as medication, sleep deprivation, etc., so be sure the doctors explore all possibilities.

In closing, here's an unusual tip I got online for anyone experiencing frequent leg cramps at night: Put a new bar of soap under your bottom sheet (so mine is between the fitted sheet and the mattress cover). If you check Snopes.com, this is not disputed--it actually works for a lot of people! You may have to change the soap every few months. Some people even claim it helps Restless Legs Syndrome also. Sounds crazy, but wouldn't hurt to try. Please let me know by commenting if you find that this helps.

Two Most Talented People of the Planet?

Simon Cowell called Terry Fator "one of the two most talented people on the planet" and although it's not clear who Simon meant was the other one, it's clear to me, anyway. (Hint: look left for both!)

Being slot machine addicts, when we go to Las Vegas, we almost never go to see shows. I've been to Vegas probably 30 times and I've seen 4 shows total. [Okay, so I went to see Smokey 3 times at the Desert Inn, but that counts as one show.] In fact, until this last trip, I'd seen only 2 shows in 30 years: Siegfried & Roy and Smokey!

My mom and I love watching "American Idol" and "America's Got Talent". It cracked me up when she once confessed that she voted TWENTY TIMES for someone. Meanwhile I think I voted 200-300 times for Justin Guarini---uhhhh, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back. I now limit myself to an occasional 10-20 minutes of voting tops, figuring my efforts did nothing for poor Justin so what's the sense? I mean Terry Fator got himself a $100 million contract and what do we get? I'm thinking there should be some kind of voting incentive....like the chance to win cash for dialing. Throw us poor voters a bone! *LOL*

I digress....anyway, like mother like daughter, my mom has seen just a couple of shows in her almost 40 years of Las Vegas trips, but she requested that we go to see Terry Fator at the Mirage. Having already spent $400 on Mariah Carey tickets for Jordan and myself, we decided to wait til the Terry Fator tickets went to 25% off. It was somewhat stressing to wait because I had to check daily to make sure the show wasn't selling out, but it was well worth the wait because we were able to get nice seats for the discounted price.

Terry's show is very popular--it was a full house--because it's highly entertaining and I recommend it even at full price. It's amazing enough that he's a good ventriloquist and funny, but he can sing like dozens of celebrities while not moving his lips. Whaaaat!? It's mind-boggling to say the least. My favorite is his Michael Jackson/Cowboy Walter Airedale routine where he's dressed like a Weird Al version of Michael and confesses that he's "different".... because he likes country music and wants Cowboy Walter to listen to him yodel. Walter, meanwhile, hopes Michael doesn't have a crotch-grabbing moment.

I was happy that Terry decided to keep this routine in his act after Michael's death. As a fan of Michael Jackson, I wasn't at all offended and loved every moment of it. Even if you're unable to go to Las Vegas or don't care to drop $100 for a ticket to his show, you can still enjoy Terry Fator either on YouTube or better by purchasing his DVD online.

After the show we were able to meet Terry and get an autograph. What we didn't know, however, was that they don't allow you take a photo with Terry with your own camera because they have a professional photographer taking your photo and hope that you're willing to pay $44 to get a copy! I wish I had known this ahead of time or had thought quickly enough to have Leonard surreptitiously click a photo from the sidelines with our new 7x zoom camera! The ushers, however, were nice enough to give us the heads up so we were able to take photos of Terry as he walked to the meet/greet area.

This past weekend the three of us, all MJ fans, went to see "This Is It." Not sure if it'd be crowded with Kauai fans on Sunday (the fifth day of showing), we were there exactly an hour before the 6:45 p.m. showtime and as we purchased our tickets, were asked if we were sure we wanted to buy them so early. *LOL* At least being the first to buy tickets for that showing, we were able to secure a bench to sit on while we waited. We were treated to--or others may say subjected to--impromptu MJ impressions by one of the theater ushers, obviously a devout fan who admonished a group waiting for "Zombieland", "You should see Michael Jackson instead!" An hour later, the theater, although not sold-out, was respectably full, "Zombieland" or not.

Consider this my public service announcement: You have just a week more to see this movie on the big screen and if you have any interest in Michael or music concerts or dancing, do yourself a favor and see it. You won't regret it. I came away feeling very uplifted. The movie truly did his fans a service by showing that he was still on his game despite being away for a decade. After all he'd been through, I admit I had my doubts about his abilities. Watching the movie, however, I was even more in awe of him than ever, not only because of his still-amazing dance moves or hearing his singing, but witnessing his sheer genius as he took part in directing different elements of the concert numbers. This truly would have been a special--if not history-making--concert and although it's tragic that it will never take place, I'm grateful that we are given glimpses of what would have been, and also grateful that our last view of Michael Jackson was such a glorious one.

As I said earlier, it's clear to me who THE most talented person on this planet was.