I didn’t know I needed to meet a barred owl! I’ve always loved owls and when we lived in Colorado they were so easy to spot in the wild, especially when the leaves were off the trees. They liked to nest and perch in the scrub oak trees which are all over the front range of Colorado. In Wisconsin they prefer the pine trees and it's near impossible to see them. As we have moved back to Wisconsin I’ve been keeping my eye wide open for an owl, any owl! And I saw a Barred Owl which was wonderful about two years ago.
So when the Lake Wissota State Park near me was doing an owl program one Saturday morning early summer this year, I jumped and went! Something said to me that I must go! I got to meet Luna, a Barred Owl with the Beaver Creek Nature Preserve. She was quite the sight and it was great to meet her.
Her handler explained a little about Barred Owls and then said Luna came to them after her recovery from a car collision. She had lost her right eye. Wow, imagine that! She’s just like me!
I have MS and about 6-7 years ago I had a relapse with optic neuritis. For many people optic neuritis is the diagnosing symptom for ms. It happened to me about 15 years into this MeSs. I was out gardening and got a little too hot and the next day my right eye was fading in color.
Over the next 48 hours the fade had turned totally black except for my peripheral vision. I couldn’t see anything right in front of me except blackness. It was very upsetting and extremely concerning as it affected my eyesight so I went to the neurologist. I learned that steroid use may (may?) help it heal faster but the end result will be the same with or without the steroid use. Based on my past steriod use it can be very harsh on our bodies and sometimes I feel the treatment is worse than the problem. So I decided to wait it out not wanting to go through the side effects of steriods again knowing full well how important eyesight is.
The end result after about 6 months was that my eyesight was somewhat resolved. After a year it remained the same. And after about 5 years it has still remained at that permanent damaged state. I can see with my eye but it’s like looking through glass smeared with vaseline. I can’t read or really see what’s on tv or details when looking at people. My left eye can see all that, thankfully.
As a photographer I’ve learned to adjust. My right eye was my dominant. But not being able to see through my camera lens made me switch it all up to use my left! And that works just fine! I can see completely with my left eye no problem.
Thinking back to Luna, the Barred Owl who does public awareness for Beaver Creek. Does she know how important she is? Does she know why she is there helping others and helping us to learn about wildlife and their plight? This came to me as I watched her watch us with her one eye. And I realized I can use my knowledge (and my one eye) to help others who are living with MS. Navigating a chronic illness takes support from family, friends and support groups. So through the help of some friends, I was able to publish a book of my photography with inspiration as the background theme. And I’m working on a longer book about my life’s journey due to publish later this year. In this future book, you will read more about the issues I’ve had to overcome living with MS. And learn that survival is a mindset of positivity and finding what our strengths are. Living with one eye isn’t all that bad, my glass is half full, not half empty. I think it’s Luna approved!
Learn more about Luna and other animals at Beaver Creek Nature Reserve.
