While I wonder if eastern Canada will ever
be able to emerge from under their blanket of ice and snow, for those of us who
live in the west it has been an especially mild winter. Indeed, March has come
in like the proverbial lamb. This was especially good for me as this past week
saw us again on the road to Edmonton. This time it wasn’t for another medical
appointment but for surgery. I was
especially grateful for the mild weather on the day I was discharged. Even
pick-up parking around the city hospital was a bit of a zoo.
When all of this came up, I realized how
fortunate I have been in that I hadn’t been a hospital patient for many years.
I was quite unprepared and really didn’t know what to expect. A pre-admission
clinic gave me the ins and outs of the medical/surgical side, but I wondered
how different, or indeed if at all, a hospital stay would be for me as a
legally blind patient rather than as a sighted person.
My first decision was to make sure that
anyone I encountered knew that I was legally blind. This led to some
interesting contacts. I was asked on more than one occasion – Well, what is it
that you see? How much can you see? Can you see me? Do you know who I am? I
thought you might recognise my voice from the other day! Re that last question,
I made sure that anyone who came into my room identified themselves before they
started any sort of discussion.
I suppose that I have been fortunate in
that my last hospital stay was many years ago. Still, this left me somewhat
undecided as to what I would need to pack in my little bag for the stay. Of
course I would need the regular things like comb, toothbrush, etc, but would I
need more than a sighted patient. I decided on my audible watch and my Victor
Stream reading machine. They turned out to be excellent choices.
The watch was great for those lonely hours
when I couldn’t see the clock on the wall but didn’t want to bother staff to
ask the time. I could press the audible signal and know exactly how much longer
it would be until my next pain medication came along. I could only wear the
watch on the wrong hand because of an IV in my left, but the upside down
position seemed of little significance in the long run.
I loaded my Victor Stream with several
books prior to my stay. In the end I only managed to listen to one but I am now
listening to the others. The best feature on the Victor Stream was the sleep
factor. Setting the recording for 15 minutes meant that I could doze off at
will – something I did frequently – and still find my place in the book when I
woke up.
I also found that I often needed to remind
staff to leave things the same way as they were when they entered the room as
when they left. Probably this is also important for someone who is sighted but
being unable to see the position of items on a tray or being unable to distinguish
between a call button and a light switch is a bit frustrating. Just being there
was frustrating enough without other additions.
So, that was my experience of this past
week. I hope that it doesn’t sound like
too much complaining because in reality I am so grateful for the marvels of
modern medicine and for the friends and family who have supported us with their
thoughts and prayers through all of this. I am now hoping that this beautiful
March weather will continue until I am able to walk outside and enjoy it.
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