Feeling Lucky

Up this morning at 6:30 and on the train to Belfast at 7:22. Almost fell asleep. Taxi from Great Victoria Street to the back door of Eye Casualty and I was the second punter through the door at 8:50. Sitting in the Pharmacy at 10:00 waiting for my prescription... and waiting. I started to feel a tiny twinge of annoyance. Then I gave myself a shake. I'd just benefited from a free consultation, a free eye exam, free advice and here I was waiting for my free medication. How fortunate is that?

The outcome is I'm to take two new lots of eye drops, one a steroid, I'm to show up for the procedure on the 11th of May and, hopefully, I'll get the cataract removed and the artificial lens fitted. Oh happy day, please let it be so.

I decided to walk from the hospital to the city centre and got soaked to the skin. Missed my train by four minutes then killed an hour in Botanic Avenue charity shops where I purchased a small brass elephant for a fine pound coin. Who cares about missed trains and drenchings? Not I.

Elephant. A symbol of strength, protection and good luck

An Update On My Little Life

The first thing is these damn eyes of mine. Way back in January I got a date for the cataract procedure, for the 19th February and I was most delighted. Then that procedure was postponed and I started to think I had been forgotten about. Meanwhile the eye infection kept recurring and eventually I couldn't use steroid eye drops any more. Now I've got a new date for the procedure - next Monday, seven days hence. And the eyes are still bothering me. The condition has been diagnosed as adenoviral keratitis and it is affecting both eyes. So I'm off to Eye Casualty tomorrow with a letter from my GP. Catching the 07:22 from Cullybackey so hopefully I won't be at the hospital for the entire day. I expect to hear if I'll be able to go ahead with the procedure next week and, of course, I shall keep you all (all several of you) updated.

The second matter is Roy, the fat old collie we inherited. He's not been mentioned for a while. Happily he has fitted in with us far better than we ever hoped. He loves most people, though not that keen on the ones under three foot because they squeal a lot and he doesn't like CBeebies too much. When the small folk are around he hangs out in other rooms.

We thought, when he first arrived, that we'd have to put him on a reducing diet to get his weight down  but wait for a few weeks until he was well settled. It turned out not to be necessary. He started racing about after the other two dogs and within a fortnight the weight started to drop off him. The more weight he lost the faster he could run so he is a slender dog now.

I must organise an 'after' photograph. The 'before' one has already been recorded.

December Daily Post, No. 29

I was a patient patient today and Cousin Margaret was a patient patient supporter. For today was the day of my follow up appointment after my eye infection crisis.

Rather than be late for my date with the doctor we ended up being more than an hour early so we had morning coffee and scones in the Europa Hotel. It was sweet to be sitting in the Piano Bar watching and looking out at Robinson's and the Crown Bar. Belfast looked beautiful today.  

The day had not started well. There had been a very tight frost during the night and on my way out the door this morning to feed the hens I slipped on ice and fell on the broad of my back. I was looking at the bright blue sky before I had time to tense up and that was a good thing. I must have been shaken up still when I went into the henhouse for the damn rooster saw my defences were down and attacked me. The weight of him as he flies into you! I'm sure he'll make a delicious and hearty broth some of these days.

But it could have been worse. Poor Cousin Raymond was helping his daughter move house and he slipped on ice while he was carrying a washing machine. The washing machine fell on top of him. Apparently he is OK, still helping with the flit.

The doctor at the Royal Victoria Hospital told me that the infection in my left eye lingers on and I'll need to take another four week course of steroid drops. It seems it was a herpes infection and that I was lucky it was caught it at an early stage. Better news is that I am now on the waiting list for the cataract operation on my right eye and, in the meantime, I can continue to drive.

December Daily Post, No. 11

I can see! At least, much, much better than before. The relief is immense. Eyes still aren't perfect and I'll be putting steroid drops and liquid tears in them for many weeks to come but thank God for medicine. I also have to put an ointment on them at night to keep them from drying out as I sleep. That brings blurred vision back but it's for a good cause and instead of reading at bedtime I listen to the radio. Radio 4 since you ask.

Preparations for Christmas? I bought myself a new rainproof jacket. Does that count?

December Daily Post, No 10

This will be a short post as my vision is still very blurry. I'm glad I can make it because this morning it would not have been possible. Yesterday Bert and I had a long, long day in the Royal Victoria Hospital.* Thanks to everyone who commented to wish me well and thanks too to my family who have been very supportive.

Preparations for Christmas? What do you think? Not a lot.

*Where there were a great number of people far worse off than me.

Back when I took them for granted

December Daily Post, No. 9

I am writing this with great difficulty. My sight has worsened. I have just got back from the doctor and I am to see an eye specialist this afternoon. I am very frightened even though my GP says she sends at least two patients a month to this emergency clinic.

Preparations for Christmas? None. I'm even wondering if there will be a Christmas.

December Daily Post, No. 8

I am getting really fed up with this eye thing. The worst eye is, natch, sod's law etc., the one unaffected by cataract and I am actually visibly impaired in both eyes. I've been taking my sight for granted for years now, just thought all I had to do was pop on a pair of spectacles and I could see for miles.

I've just watched an episode of Homeland where I wasn't able to read any of Carrie's anguished expressions. Indeed, if it hadn't been for her shiny yellow hair I wouldn't even have known which one was Carrie. And I'd no idea who was being shot dead at any point. Bert was nearly as bad but at least he has one good eye to focus with.

This had better be improved tomorrow or I'm off to bother the doctor.

Walked for 40 minutes in icy rain. I wore waterproof trousers,wellies and a very silly hat. Was the warmest, dryest person out there.

Preparations for Christmas? Had a trial run of the steamed chocolate pudding. Very nice but would benefit from a bit of rum in the chocolate sauce. Martha enjoyed it. She had two portions.

I rarely write about serious stuff but I'm often reading it. I've just read this by Yvonne Watterson on racism. As always, with Yvonne, it's from the heart and so well worth reading.

December Daily Post, No. 3

Today has not been a particularly good day even though my eyes appear to be making some improvement. I cried a lot and I'm sure the floods of salty tears did me an awful lot of good. And why the tears? Well. The viral infection is making me feel very emotional and I read Michael Morpurgo's War Horse. I howled.

My friend came round today with half a set of twins and I lent her A Christmas Carol. She wants to read it to all her twins and her big girl. I also gave her a spare copy of Girl of the Limberlost. That made me happy.

Bert is very grumpy which is normal for him when I'm feeling below par. Not helpful.

Preparations for Christmas? I lent my friend A Christmas Carol. That's it.

Saturday Woes

I notice that Ganching regularly posts on daily pluses and minuses so, as I have had a couple of days of minuses, I intend to borrow her idea at least once.

Minuses

Bert broke my whizz mop. For those that do not know a whizz mop is the best way ever of mopping floors. Unfortunately, to allow them to be sold for an affordable sum, they are not as robust as they might be, I had an amazingly robust mop and bucket once. The only way it could be broken would be for a truck to run over it, or to be stamped upon by an elephant. The downside was you'd need muscles like Popeye to operate it and it slopped water all over the place.

I was eating a nice bit of crusty toast and raspberry jam and my dental plate broke. I got a temporary repair made but I'll need a new one. The new one will cost me the price of 14 whizz mops.




I put my Omron GoSmart pedometer in the washing machine. Fortunately it was a quick 30°C setting. I'm attempting to dry it out but if it doesn't work and I need a replacement and I don't win one on eBay that's near enough the price of one whizz mop.

And I have an eye infection. 

Pluses

I also have gin!