Yesterday I spent three and three-quarter hours at the hospital's eye clinic, my usual appointment for my eye tests, scans and eye injection. The intervals between these visits had, at one time, extended to every ten weeks as the condition seemed to have stabilised. (That means, not got any better but not got any worse.) However, a previous appointment a few months ago showed that there had been a deterioration in the condition and so I was put on an eight week cycle instead of ten.
Yesterday's appointment was depressing for me. I knew that my vision had dramatically worsened since my last appointment, eight weeks previous, but I didn't expect things to be quite as bad as they were.
My eyesight reading test showed a definite decline, (as I'd partly expected,) but the scans of both eyes revealed that the condition has now affected my left eye to the point where injections are going to be needed in that eye also, as well as my right eye.
Before this, only my right eye required these injections and the left seemed ok after I'd had laser treatment in it a couple of years ago. Now though, it has deteriorated to the point where only injections in it will possibly slow the potential for blindness.
So, yesterday I suddenly had to endure injections in both eyes for the first time. One eye being injected is unpleasant enough but two is an uncomfortable ordeal. And to top it all, I now have to return to the hospital every four weeks, (instead of eight,) for the procedure to be repeated. Not a lot of fun to be had from that...
The only ray of sunshine is that, on some occasions, the doctor/consultant who deals with me is a lady called Susan who is very nice and I feel I can talk to her about my condition far more comfortably than the other doctors who I've seen there. Despite the shortage of staff in that department of the hospital and the amount of patients requiring treatment, she always has time to talk and listen and there's no sense of being rushed through the process.
The discomfort in both eyes after the injection is palpable and I'm not allowed to drive for 24 hours due to the extremely blurred vision that ensues. This may become a permanent thing if the condition worsens.
Tomorrow I have an early morning appointment with the Podiatrist for my regular foot inspection and treatment. More medical concerns to deal with. Not sure how I'll cope with getting up so early to get ready to travel and arrive by ten o'clock...I'm a 'late to bed, late to rise' sort of person. Hey, ho...
Meanwhile, work still continues on the never ending recording session: 33 tracks completed for the 'These Stars Are Fire' album and more still to come. Sorting through this amount of music to select the right tracks for the triplle album that I'm planning to release for my 70th birthday celebration party/concert is going to take some considerable time. But I'm generally pleased with how it's going. I think it will be a very interesting set when I'm done...
