business degree cont. from page 12 Additionally, Franklin said her biggest supporter was her husband. Prior to each term, they talked about their work, family schedules and childcare needs, to make sure the classes she wanted to take would work in their schedules. “My husband was a first listener when I needed to practice presentations, and when I was frustrated he was there for me.” Nigrelli’s support were her husband, family and employer. “I look back now and wonder how I squeezed an extra 30 hours of homework a week into my schedule,” she said. “I think it helps to have some goals in mind going through a program because it helps you get more out of it.” Craig compared having the motivation to keep going in a degree program with being on a diet: knowing your ultimate goal is key to success. “When you’re exhausted and don’t want to write a 20-page paper, you can look at your goals and see the clear picture of what you want to do and the impact it will have on your life, so you can stay motivated.” Since earning her master’s degree in 2009, new opportunities constantly are appearing for Craig. In particular, she contributes to a recurring series on financial topics on Fox 6 TV and she’s an adjunct instructor at Cardinal Stritch, something she finds extremely rewarding. Nigrelli’s MBA program also provided her new opportunities. Through the program, she met an executive at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in Madison. A few months after she graduated, the executive contacted her for a new position at the company. Today, she is CUNA’s vice president for marketing communications.
“Connections are a big part of career advancements,” Nigrelli said. “If you choose a program that’s the right fit for you, it likely will have women in it that you can build friendships and peer relationships with. I learned so much from my peers. It helped me make decisions about my life path.” For Franklin, her master’s degree programs helped her personally and professionally. “It taught me to be more organized and plan my day better, plan activities with the kids better. I would never sacrifice going out and doing something with them during the day, but at night while they slept I needed to study and prepare,” she said. In addition, the programs helped boost her self-confidence and earn her more respect in the workplace. “When you have a degree behind you and you state things intelligently, you believe in yourself and they [your coworkers] believe in you, too.” l
March 2013 WISCONSIN WOMAN | 13
about eyes cont. from page 20
Detecting Diseases and Disorders
While most eye problems are minor and can be easily treated, sometimes your eye issues may be signs of more serious problems. This is why it is so important to have regular dilated eye exams by either an ophthalmologist or optometrist. A dilated eye exam allows the eye care professional to look at your inner eye, which is the only way to detect some common eye diseases that often have no early signs or symptoms, such as glaucoma. The following eye conditions can lead to vision loss and blindness. Your best protection against these conditions is regular eye exams, because if the problem is caught early it can often be treated and you can keep your eyesight.
Cataracts
are cloudy areas in the eye’s lens causing blurred or hazy vision.
Glaucoma
comes from too much fluid pressure inside the eye. If not treated, it can lead to vision loss and blindness. Retinal disorders are a leading cause of blindness in the United States. Retinal disorders that affect aging eyes include:
• Age-related macular degeneration, or
AMD, which can harm the sharp vision needed to see objects clearly and to do common things like driving and reading. There are many treatments for AMD.
• Diabetic retinopathy, which is a condition
brought on by diabetes. It develops slowly and with no early warning signs. If you have diabetes, be sure to have a dilated eye exam at least once a year and keep your blood sugar under control.
• Retinal detachment, which occurs when the ret-
ina separates from the back of the eye. This is a medical emergency. If you see new floaters or light flashes, go to an eye care professional immediately. With surgery and laser treatment, doctors often can prevent loss of vision.
Your Eyes and Your Health
Your eyes are one of the few organs in the body that allow eye care professionals to directly view of your veins, arteries and optic nerve. By doing this, he or she can often detect high blood pressure, as well as other cardiovascular and systemic diseases even before you experience any symptoms. Here are a couple of the many other health issues that may be detected by an eye exam: • Xanthelasma palpebra, or bumpy yellowish patches on the eyelid, are usually a warning that you may have high cholesterol. • When the whites of the eyes turn yellowish, it could mean jaundice, which could be a sign of problems of the liver, gallbladder or bile ducts, including hepatitis and cirrhosis. Bulging eyes, or protruding eyes, could mean hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid gland), especially the form known as Graves’ disease. about eyes cont. on page 22 March 2013 WISCONSIN WOMAN | 21
about eyes cont. from page 22 times, laypeople equate “cosmetic” with self-pay/ not covered by insurance. “As an Eye Plastic Surgeon,” Dr. Massaro says, “most of my ‘cosmetic’ patients complain of the look of their eyes.” They complain that they look tired, sad or older than they feel, and these patients are looking to improve the way they look, it has nothing to do with improving their eyesight. However, many of Dr. Massaro’s patients undergo eyelid surgery to correct medical-functional problems; that is, lid surgery to improve vision obstructed by drooping tissues. “Unfortunately, many of my patients who seek improvement in their sight are being denied, in recent times, coverage for eyelid surgery by their insurance and are then deemed ‘cosmetic,’ not medical,” said Dr. Massaro. “This insurance trend is increasing.” In other words, there are two types of eyelid surgery or blepharoplasty. There is blepharoplasty for cosmetic reasons, which removes redundant, puffy, saggy eyelid tissues that create an appearance of looking tired, sad or older; and there is blepharoplasty for medical reasons, which is primarily done to improve functional vision by improving the patient’s available visual field. Medical blepharoplasty may, in some cases, improve certain skin dermatitis, tearful eyes and aid in reducing frontal headaches. When asked who would be a good candidate for this type of cosmetic surgery, Dr. Massaro said, “Cosmetic patients for blepharoplasty surgery are patients with truly lax tissues that would only be improved with surgery. Generally lesser degrees of skin aging might be improved with non-surgical spa type treatments; however, I discourage injections such as ‘fillers’ as they may make true surgical correction difficult or impossible. All candidates should also be well informed, emotionally stable and in good physical health.” After blepharoplasty surgery, the results are definable and normally lead to eyelids that appear healthy, rested, natural, more youthful and do not compromise visual function. But these results don’t happen immediately. “I tell all patients for eyelid surgery to choose a month for the surgery with low social significance,” says Dr. Massaro, “as everyone will have some degree of swelling and bruising for several weeks post surgery.” That is why everyone must use ice compresses the first two days and remain in town for two weeks for a follow-up visit after surgery. “I tell all patients to allow six weeks to use as a buffer from big events, such as weddings and extended travel,” explained Dr. Massaro. “The surgery, itself, is outpatient and not painful, but it is a bit of a pain putting compresses over closed eyes and limiting activities for the first week or two. Most people take one week off from work.” Besides blepharoplasty, the most common surgeries for eyelid rejuvenation, according to Dr. Massaro are directed toward the problems involved. For example, patients with drooping lid levels require ptosis repair and some may benefit from forehead and/or eyebrow lifting as these tissues add to the heavy look and feel of upper eyelids. Lastly, Dr. Massaro says his aim is to let patients concerned with possible eyelid surgery know that there are specialists like him who only do eyelid surgery. “You should be aware that many other types of surgeons rarely do eyelids or simply state they ‘also do eyelids.’ I encourage all candidates to do their homework and choose wisely.” l March 2013 WISCONSIN WOMAN | 23
UWMad School of Bus
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