Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Eye Appointments and More Visits

I had an appointment with the ophthalmologist, today.  This is an annual appointment which had originally been scheduled for October, which I had rescheduled for when my daughter would be here to drive me home, afterwards, since my eyes would be dilated.  The appointment went well.  My eye pressure was good, I have no glaucoma, no retinopathy, and the cataracts (in both eyes) are still quite small and nothing to worry about.  The doctor was quite pleased with my most recent A1c blood sugar levels (although they had gone up a little bit from the previous reading; my primary care physician won't be quite as pleased when I see her, next week!)  I am to return for a follow-up next year in November.  I made the appointment before I left the clinic and asked for, and received, a copy of my report.   Then, my daughter drove me home.

Earlier in the morning, before I went for my eye appointment, I had texted my friend's older daughter to ask for a status on her mother.  She texted back that her mother was unresponsive, the doctor had been to see her, and they are monitoring her situation.  Later, when we were in the waiting room at my eye doctor's clinic, my friend's younger daughter called my daughter (my daughter went out of the waiting room to take the call) saying her mother was receiving end-of-life care, the doctors have given her 24-48 hours; now would be a good time if we wanted to visit to say our goodbyes.  My daughter had explained that I was at the doctor's office, myself, and that she'll call back.  I told her we could go after my appointment.  

But, first, we went home so we could eat something.  Then, we went to the hospital (my daughter drove since my eyes were still feeling the effects of being dilated).  We took some food for my friend's husband and daughters so they could have something for a late lunch.  And we basically spent the rest of the afternoon and early part of the evening at the hospital.  My friend drifted in and out of consciousness.  She was mostly unresponsive, but, there was a period of time when she was alert, smiled, and tried to communicate. The doctor came in and checked on her twice while we were there.  

Eventually, we came home and had a cup of tea.  The new printer we ordered had been delivered while we were out and it was waiting for us by the front door.  My daughter was too tired to set it up, today, but, she'll do that tomorrow.

Later, I cooked the salmon fillet while my daughter made a cucumber salad, cut some potatoes into wedges and baked them for our dinner.  Then, we ran the dishwasher.

After dinner, I fell asleep on the sofa! I had an almost 2 hours long nap, waking up a little after 11:15 p.m.  Of course, I am wide awake, now, at 1:30 a.m.!  LOL.

Today, I am grateful for:
- My eye appointment went well and there's nothing wrong other than the cataracts
- My daughter being here to drive me home afterwards
- Safe drives to and from the doctor's office and the hospital
- Being able to visit my friend and be present for her family
- The new printer was delivered 

Today's joyful activity was seeing my friend being responsive for at least a brief period of time.  

Plans for tomorrow include M tending to the garden and I might ask him to do a couple of jobs for me inside the house, too (ceiling fans need to be cleaned and the smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced; M is tall while I am vertically challenged and my daughter isn't much taller than I am!)

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad your eye check went well and no treatment required. It's good your daughter was able to drive you.

    I'm so sorry to hear that A is at end-of-life. I'm glad you were able to spend some time with her and that she knew you were there. It was lovely of you to take food in for her family, that's so thoughtful of you. Sending hugs to you at such a difficult time xx

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    1. Thank you, Eileen; yes, I had rescheduled the appointment to coincide with when my daughter would have been available to drive me home. :)
      I spent this afternoon, too, with A and her family; her daughter texted me in the morning, asking if I could, because "Mom seems to be more relaxed when you are there". I took them some sandwiches for lunch and some fruits and cookies for snacks.

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  2. I know you are thankful to be able to spend time with your friend and her family. What a difficult time.
    Is this the friend you made the crochet blanket for?

    Question - Is the printer the kind where you have to get a subscription for the ink? Or can you still buy cartridges yourself?
    I know that many of them are subscription based now.
    My printer stopped working several years ago and the many at Staples were subscription based. I was lucky and a friend was getting rid of a printer so we have that one now. It's quite large for my needs but hey it was free and works fine. I don't print much but it is convenient to have. Although I have taken to printing off free vintage images from Graphic Fairy and putting them in yardsale purchased frames. I'm having fun with that :)

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    1. Yes, it is the same friend (A) for whom I crocheted the prayer blanket.
      The printer apparently had a subscription option for the ink, but, my daughter chose to buy the ink cartridges. We bought it from Best Buys on sale. Free printers are wonderful! I don't print too many things, myself, but, a working printer is helpful to have when you want to print out a confirmation of a payment or something and canning labels! :D

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  3. That's great that your eye appointment went well. You did well to get something to eat before going to the hospital and it was kind of you to take food for your friend's family. How lovely that she responded for a while and I'm sure that she felt surrounded by love with everyone that was there.
    I got the bed changed this morning and washed and hung the sheets in the basement. Apart from lunch I haven't done much else, having a few rests along the way.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I was glad that the eye appointment went well.
      Yes, I needed to eat something before I went to the hospital because I had to take my morning medications, etc. I was happy I was able to take some food for my friend's family. I think A was very aware of the love surrounding her.
      Sounds like you got plenty done, considering you've had your flu shot and are probably feeling the after effects of that, along with last week's booster and the fall prior to that!

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  4. I'm sorry for your friend and her family as they go through this time. It'll be a year since my sister passed away, the day after Thanksgiving. It's hard anytime to lose a loved one. You and your daughter are so kind to sit with your friend. I hope this Thanksgiving is peaceful for you, and you and your daughter have joy together.

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    1. Thank you, Celie; it's hard to lose someone at any time, but, this close to the holidays makes it even worse, I think. Hard to believe it's going to be one year since you lost your sister. Being with my friend's family was the least we could have done and we spent the afternoon with them, today, too, at their request. I hope that you, too, will have a peaceful Thanksgiving, whether you spend it with friends and family or on your own with your kitty. :)

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  5. No wonder you took a nap. You had a long and stressful day, I'm sure your friend's family appreciated your visit and food. And I had to laugh at how different our schedules are. If I'm not asleep by 11:15 pm, its late for me. :)

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    1. I guess I was tired. I eventually went to bed around 4:00 a.m. and woke up at 10:00 a.m. :) I will try for an earlier night, tonight. :)

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  6. I am sorry to read the news about your friend. It must be reassuring at least to know she is comfortable and is aware of the presence of her loved ones. Xx

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    1. Thank you, Jules. Yes, she is being well looked after, but, it is hard for her family.

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  7. Hi Bless. Your daughter is the daughter we all wish we had! And so good of you both to visit (your friend) and feed others (her family). You are an example to us all. Glad your dr visits have been going well.
    Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea; my daughter is truly a blessing! It was a blessing to visit my friend and take food for her family. We have to be there for others during their hour of need.

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  8. Glad your appointment went well. So sorry to hear about your friend.

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