7/12/2026
Hello!
Update:
We are on the boat in Cape May, New Jersey, at Utsch’s Marina. We moved to a hotel in Philadelphia on June 30th after learning that I was to have eye surgery the next day. The procedure was a vitrectomy and repair of retinal detachment. It required me to lie on my right side for 5 days and follow up with Wills Eye in one week. We stayed at a downtown Holiday Inn Express until the day after the follow up and then took an Uber ride back to the boat.
The current
state of my eye and how it happened
The vision in
my left eye is expected to return in several months, 2 to 6 depending on what I
read. The eye looks completely normal, but when the ophthalmologist puts up one
large letter on the eye chart, I cannot read it. I can see light and different
colors. I love being in a familiar place like on the boat but venturing out and
walking around town is a little tricky. Lots of people have vision in only one
eye so I’m sure I will adjust to this hopefully temporary situation.
We raised the anchor early on June 26th and put the fore sail out to help our speed down the Delaware Bay. At 9 am we decided to furl in the foresail. I loosened the sheets (ropes on the sail) on port and starboard. Al held the furling line to pull it in by hand, which rolls up the sail on the front stay. The sail was out on the port side and that sheet flapped wildly due to the wind. I leaned towards the wench to pull in the flapping sheet and was hit in the eye by the sheet. It was a pretty hard hit. After a minute I opened my eye and could see black streaks as if black ink was swirling in water on top of normal vision. My vision got worse as the day went on and we both knew I needed to get help quickly.
I have never hurt myself so severely. What I am trying to figure out is why I let both sheets go at the same time. If I had slowly released the port sheet while Al pulled in the furling line this would not have happened. I do not believe things happen for a reason. I believe that there is an explanation for things that happen and the important part is our reaction and response to things that happen. The best explanation I can think of is a lapse of good judgement at the moment. I’m also trying to determine if there are any other lessons and take them to heart. Life goes on and there are many worse things that can happen to a person. I am determined to carry on, enjoy the challenges and joys that life offers and always hope for the best.
Thank you again
The kind and
encouraging comments posted were so helpful. I can’t thank everyone enough for
reaching out and staying in touch. It means so much to me and I’ll never forget
it. I could not have come through this without friends and family and also and especially
without Al.
Philadelphia, not a bad place to be for America’s 250th birthday
Our plans to be
in New York City for July 4th were scraped but we found ourselves in
quite an interesting and appropriate place. The surgery went smoothly on July 1st
at Wills Eye Hospital. It is probably by design that they have the eye patient
stand up in the recovery room when ready and walk out of the hospital. It made
me feel almost normal. The hotel was comfortable, had free breakfast every
morning and a television of course. We don’t have TV on the boat, so it was fun
to watch one of my favorites, Law and Order SVU plus learn about soccer. The
hotel was in Midtown Village, an area with a variety of good restaurants. First,
we ate every meal in the hotel room, Al doing the fetching. I was allowed to
sit up for meals. Grandma’s Philly was across the street with delicious Thai
food. We had to sample the Philly Cheesesteak at Uncle Gus’ in the Reading
Terminal market.
The hotel was just a few blocks away from the main historic sites. On July 4th Al set out to see something and ended up in the line for Independence Hall. Meanwhile a high school friend, Marilyn Meagher, came to visit me. She happened to be in town with the Pinellas County marching band The Second-Time-Arounders. If you know Marilyn, you know what a treat this was because of her incredibly buoyant and fun personality. She also brought me a Philly cheesesteak. We talked and laughed during her entire visit and there was even food left over for Al. Independence Hall turned out to be very popular on July 4th; Al waited in line for over 5 hours. He said it was very special to be on that day. On July 5th, Al went to the Museum of the American Revolution. After I could move around, we went to Elfreth’s Alley, a well-preserved historic street dating back to 1736. There was one house for sale there which of course I wanted to buy. On July 8th, around 5 pm, we were walking near Independence Hall and happened on the National Park Service employees handing out copies of the Declaration of Independence and conducting a public reading. We learned the original reading was on July 8th, 1776, at noon. It was very inspiring and we plan to frame the copy for our home.
Thank you for reading. The journey continues!
Love and Peace,
Fran Lima
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