I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU!

Yesterday was the dentist, today was our visit to the optician.  I didn’t have good news from the dentist and need to go back in a month for another review so was hoping that our visit to see the optician would be better.

It’s always a pleasure for us to go into our opticians, Leightons, as we are always treated so well. There is a lovely atmosphere - it’s not at all stuffy and everyone is very friendly - in fact, we are usually laughing from the time we go in until we come out.   Kate, the Manager, knows about my Blips and is usually quite happy to model and today was no exception - I even roped in a couple of the other staff.  I did ask Kate if I could try on some of the trendy sunglasses and she was happy to let me - at least I think she was!

First of all I had the peripheral vision test - and I think I got 100%. Then Kate explained that she would use the the Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine which uses light waves to take cross-section 2D and 3D pictures of the retina so that the Optometrist can see the retina's distinctive layers. OCT is also useful in diagnosing many eye conditions, so we are pleased that we are able to have this up-to-date scanning.  I was asked not to blink, so that Kate could do the scan but why is it that when we are asked not to do something that’s the very thing we want to do? 

Following that I saw Raman, the Optometrist, and after he had done a thorough eye test, he confirmed that my vision had not changed that much from a year ago.  He confirmed that the cataracts and floaters were still there - but the cataracts were not bad enough for an operation yet.  We chatted about contact lenses and I was offered a free trial and decided to “give it a whirl” - after all, it was a free and “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, as they say.  Whilst I was sent out to have a walkabout wearing the contact lenses, it was Mr. HCB’s turn for the various tests.

I went out for a wander and called into a little café for a coffee but wasn’t entirely happy with my vision.  I had to hold my book at arm’s length and I noticed that I couldn’t see shop signs that well, so when I got back and had a chat with Raman, I decided not go to down that route.  However, when Raman reviewed the results of my OCT scans he wasn’t happy with them and decided that my pupils needed to be dilated more - so to save going in again, he said he could do the scans again today and would put in some drops - at this point there was much hilarity when Raman asked me to “look down at the ceiling” and of course, I then laughed so much that I asked if I should “look up at the floor”!  Well I did say it wasn’t a stuffy place!

As I had to wait for the drops to dilate my pupils, Mr. HCB went in to see Raman.  He had also tried contact lenses, but he too found that his vision wasn’t quite sharp enough, so he has decided to have prescription sunglasses instead, something he has been considering for some time.  Eddie helped choose them - and I think Mr. HCB looked very fetching with his sunglasses and hat, so I took the opportunity of snapping them together.  Of course, the sunglasses will be very useful when Mr. HCB is watching cricket and we hope they will have plenty of use for the rest of the season.  Thankfully my new scans were much better and Raman was happier with them. 

The collage going anti-clockwise shows me trying on the sunglasses with Kate smiling - the OCT machine - my various scans, Kate and Raman, the microscope used by Raman to look at the front of my eyes and Eddie and Mr. HCB.

We have had a great afternoon and I think the new receptionist was rather surprised at all the laughter, but she will soon get used to us - and after all, we are the “Silly Iles” as you know!

I have a fridge magnet of a Senility Prayer that I took in and showed to Kate, which says:

God grant me the senility 
     to forget the people
          I never liked anyway,
the good fortune
     to run into the ones I do,
and the eyesight
     to tell the difference.

P.S.  Apologies for not commenting yesterday, we went out unexpectedly in the evening, but thank you all for your comments, stars and hearts.  I have put a copy of the tendril from our passion flower plant in as an extra - one or two got it right - I’m surprised Angelique didn’t because she actually gave us the plant!