This week I collected my new glasses from the opticians …they are amazing …I can see!
I first wore glasses as a small child until the age of around 12. This was for a squint and a tendency to being long sighted. I spent quite a lot of time having tests, wearing patches and visiting the eye hospital. After that, I think I last had my eyes tested when I was about 20!
Over the last few years I’ve been buying off the peg reading glasses and have reached the point where I can’t manage without them! Primark and Aldi have provided my optical services and I haven’t spent more that four quid for a pair!
A couple of months ago, I was advised by an occupational therapist to get my eyes properly tested. Apparently this is very important at my advanced years and even more so as I have MS!
Optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve) is a very common MS symptom, in fact it can often be the first symptom MSers experience. It made sense to get my eyes checked.
I decided to go to a qualified medical optometrist, rather than a high street optician and was glad I did. I am now the proud owner of not one, but two, new pairs of glasses!
It turns out I need one pair for distance and one for reading (I can’t have varifocals because of my balance issues) so I’m now nearly £400 worse off. But things are now much clearer …I can see to read and can see the computer screen at work and (as the optometrist pointed out) with my distance glasses on for driving I “can see the whites of their eyes when I hit ‘em!”.
The optometrist was also able to check the health of my eyes and could see that my optic nerve is in good shape and free from neuritis.
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Life feels very hectic at the moment. There’s so much to do to be ready for our evening fundraising event and I’m also starting to plan for my trip to Russia. The clinic is working on my contract and other paperwork and I’m in touch with a visa agency and starting to look at flights.
The other big development is that I have made some decisions about my travel to and from Moscow. I’m going to make the outward journey on my own. I’m not worried about this and the hospital will arrange to meet me at the other end. I’m expecting the return journey to be a little more tricky as I could be feeling quite weak and tired and I need to do all I can to avoid infections. My lovely friend, Karen, has offered to travel over so that she can make the return journey with me. I’m so grateful for this and now feel the journey home is something I don’t need to worry about. Thank you Karen xx
There are still tickets left for our evening event …get them while you can!
