I realized this morning when I awoke a bit early that our medical system does need some refinement. The doctors are overloaded (with a daughter, a nephew, a niece and a niece in law all in medicine I feel I get a little insight into the difficulties). For instance yesterday my information on my appointment could have been more complete. I didn't research cataracts because my father's operation was straight forward fourty years ago and he ended up being quite content with the result as he could do his beloved cross word puzzles easily and on in his 80s at that time he was quite satisfied. Since my eyes were said to be exactly like his by Dr Dyson, our mutual ophthalmologist, I was simply in a very trusting mode and expected to receive the same treatment. I was told to set aside three hours and be prepared to be picked up at the hospital by my caregiver since I would not be able to drive. Since I do not drive on the highway no problem there. However, I should also have been directed to the document on the website about cataract surgery (although it was last updated in 2013 and probably could have an upgrade (this all takes time and physicians do not necessarily have time to put into this as it is on their own time (no one pays them to upgrade medical material)) and perhaps send a list of websites where I could become knowledgeable so that I was not presented with options about which I had no information in an appointment on a day when the office was crowded with people and time was at a premium. I am assuming that the three hour time was to take care of filling in the four page health form (again this could be sent to you in advance to keep the waiting room uncluttered) and all the imaging that was required and this of course has to be done on the spot. Efficiency is so important in the hospital and the overwhelming numbers of people a year younger than my age (I was born two weeks after Victory over Japan day) and for another ten to fifteen years after that due to the Baby Boom is crippling the hospital system. For myself I have had only one hospital procedure since my youngest was born in 1982 (the procedure I had recently I could have had twenty five years ago when I first requested it from our then family physician because my brother had just died of cancer and it was recommended by his physician in London, Ontario but my family physician felt that a fecal blood test was adequate). I was actually finished in an hour at the hospital yesterday but left with confusion in my mind about the options. I did not have any paperwork on these options and did have to research it myself online when my eyes had cleared a little. With all my training researching it was easy but it should have been in advance. One has to take the best care that you can of yourself to avoid clogging up the system and putting that burden on the much smaller group of younger people behind us. I now use the Urgent Care Centre locally for any after hours care (my last visit was for a tetanus shot after an engagement with rusty wire in the garden a while back now) in order not to clutter up Emergency as I could see that problem with my husband's chronic illnesses and the need to take him to emergency on occasion. And yes I did wait in a lineup around that building for my tetanus shot for over an hour but the wait in Emergency is hours and hours.
Now I know my eyes are not strong. It is not beneficial to have technicians say that these new lenses are marvelous and can make your eyes like new again - my eyes are nearly 78 years old - but you have come with absolutely no idea that such ideas are going to be proposed. I am not a dreamer; I prefer reality and reality is that until measurements are done and carefully calculated no one can tell if these newer lenses are a good fit. I have not minded wearing glasses in the least all of my life. Then there is my lack of desire to have bugs in my eyes. I have worn glasses so long as I can remember and way before then. I was patched for three years but I could not manage (it could have been my likely autism playing up no ideas on that) so I do not expect any miracles and in reality I prefer the basic lens because life will just move along as it has and I will continue wearing my distance glasses but will have the bifocal portion put back into them instead of having separate reading glasses. I have worn bifocals since I was 34 years of age (until I was in my early 70s when I found I was tripping because it was blurry looking down and age was catching up to me so I went to reading glasses and plain distance glasses). I can just take my glasses off when the terrain is rough or I am on stairs once the surgery is done and if the weak muscles of my eyes are strengthened by a new lens then great I could ski without my glasses since winter is not buggy in Canada! I hate wearing sunglasses but have done so the last dozen years and more. I like to see the world as it really is; the plants, the trees, the birds and everything else that God has given to us and Mother Nature tries to maintain in spite of homo sapiens.
There up early with all these thoughts in my head but today I am back to the Siderfin Book having quite nicely last evening resolved the lens question as my message on the telephone was answered by the assistant to the physician (I will go for the basic although the more expensive lens is covered partially by my insurance it appears when I checked that online) but I really do prefer wearing glasses that work for me such as keeping the bugs out of my eyes. I like to ski (although no bugs in the winter fortunately) and I like to kayak, I like to bicycle and I like to hike all occasions that have swarms of bugs often enough. Just sitting on the swing in the yard there are bugs. And I hate sunglasses.
On to the Siderfin Book and another great day it appears. We watered last evening and rain is expected later in the week. Probably we need to do some weeding. I am taking the backseat in all of this regenerative gardening since I do not mind just grassing it!
The day begins like all others with a thank you to God for the earth and all that is in it. Prayers that we can restore the earth and defeat Climate Change and continuing prayers for Ukraine which is caught in the cross-hairs of a rise in Nazism once again as the Nazi Putin and his enablers continue to bomb Ukraine (and another nine year old child killed by these psychopathic Nazis). The Russians do not appear to be able to get it into their brain that they are the problem; if they simply get out of Ukraine the world can go back to where it was in that area; Ukraine can go back to growing wheat for the poor of the world and everybody is content. Russia has no right to any Ukrainian land (Crimea is part of Ukraine) and it is nice to see that some people in Russia are now trying to get rid of the Russian Nazis in their midst; more power to them as it is after all their country and they should have a say in what their country does particularly to other countries.
How appropriate that today's Bible Reading is from Genesis 1:1-2:4a - The Story of Creation day by day. How privileged we are as human beings to walk on God's earth. To enjoy the luxury of Mother Nature. We need to do better and the Russians need to stop bombing Ukraine and the North Koreans need to stop bombing the oceans and destroying the fish ecosystems in that area - surely China can put a stop to some of this it does after all affect them as well. If you want to be the big boss or one of the big bosses you need to take hard stands sometimes.
Breakfast in a bit. First set of jumping jacks completed; second to come before Breakfast. Then weight lifting, jumping jacks and a good walk every hour. Perhaps kayaking again this afternoon (must try to work in my other set of jumping jacks) and then running in the evening since my daughter is here. I do the switch around to running in the morning when she leaves me once again to the solitude of my research.
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